Empiricism Gender and Identity

Does space have gender or sexual identity?

‘If orientation is a matter of how we reside in space, then sexual orientation might also be a matter of residence, of how we inhabit spaces, and who or what we inhabit spaces with. - Sara Ahmed’

[Empiricism] - A theory that states that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experience.



In this blog i am going to be learning and exploring the awareness of how space is actually produced and how it affects different people, bodies and identities.

Terminology:

Sex = biological (male/female)
Gender = social construction
Sexuality = desire
Gender identity = the way someone chooses to identify themselves

It is clear that over the last few decades, a growing number of theorists and practitioners have discussed how gender and sexual identity relate to space and architecture and how often spaces are discriminatory.

I believe a much less discussed topic is the sexual orientation and sexual identity and their relation to the built environment. I think that often they are much less visible and their discriminatory consequences can easily be ignored. However, in recent years education and politics have allowed more in depth research on the intersection of sexuality and design.

Who creates a space?

Architecture is not just the architect or interior designer who defines how a space is going to be produced. The client is often the body who ‘creates the space’ as they can perceive space in a complete different way.

Architecture is made not only in the act of designing or commissioning it, but also by the way of using it. - Giuliana Bruno, 2007’



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sacred Geometry & Humane Architecture

Image
Sacred Geometry & Humane Architecture Sacred Geometry:  Sacred definition: does not mean ‘holy’, but rather pertains to certain truths of mathematical and geometric constructs that are rooted in deep meaning both as microcosmic and macro cosmic scales. ‘It is our own sacred connection with creation eternity and the totally of the great ecosystems, inner and outer’. - Plato defined a range of Platonic solids in which he posted that each form represented an element and were so elegant and essential that they make up our entire universe. These forms Were defined as: Cube (earth) Pyramid (fire) Octahedron (air) Dodecahedron (ether) Icosahedrons (water) - The idea of these cosmic building blocks remains and resonates today. Microcosmic and macrocosmic relationship. The whole related to the parts and the parts related to the whole. - Mans fascination with the forms of our cosmos has constant. From the astronomers of the ancient Arab worlds through to he philosopher and mathematician...
Read more

Japanese Architecture

Image
I have found Japanese architecture very interesting to research in this weeks blog as it differs in many ways to that of European architecture that i have been previously looking at… Japanese structures are traditionally built for the summer and therefore are very open and lack a sense of ‘security’. They typically may feature transparent, sliding doors as the main access into the house. The Japanese share spaces such as gardens with their neighbours. Traditionally, structures are built from wood and elevated off the ground with tiled/ thatched roofs. Spaces are extremely functional, for example walls can be partitioned by grooves in the floor to slide and allow easy change to the layout and therefore use of the space. This a clever use of material as it can create different environments in summer or winter depending on how the partitions are arranged, somewhat acting as ‘clothes’ for the house. The word ‘ shoji ’ is a term to describe the partitions between rooms. This can make the li...
Read more

70s Architecture and Interior Design

Image
  ‘Brutalist’’ architecture emerged during the 1950’s and its style rose in popularity until it peaked during the mid 70’s. Hans Asplund, a Swedish architect created the word ‘’brutalist architectural style’ to characterise the Villa Goth in Uppsala, which he designed in 1949. It originated from the French word ‘Beton brut’’ meaning ‘ready mixed concrete’. It is also used by Le Corbusier to describe the type of material he uses for his architectural works. (Villa Goth pictured below). Known for its use of functional reinforced concrete and steel, modular elements and utilitarian feel, Bruutalist architecture was primarily used for commercial and institutional buildings however is seen a lot today still as was used for creating critically needed housing. Brutalist architecture declined in popularity heading into the 1980s, due to the cold and harsh nature. It also didn’t age well in British weather with concrete often showing signs of damage and decay that brought down the overall a...
Read more