Social Sciences And Politics In Relation To The Body And Interior Space

Urban Planning:

Urban social theorist Henri Lefebvre suggests that in societies driven by capitalism, an abstract space is created, distinguished by the supremacy of mental space over natural and social aspects. The interplay between capitalism and abstract space is exemplified through the standardised and uniform state architecture associated with Bauhaus. In the context of Urban Space, the production of space is a major philosophical work by Lefebvre which has provoked renewed interest and reinterpretation in recent years. He argues that space is a social product broken down into three categories: Intuition (representational space/ lived space), Intellect (conceived space/ abstract representation of space) and Instinct (perceived space/ spatial practice)

Much  more contemporary design styles such as brutalism has led to a huge increase in design that ultimately prioritises social development rather than social aspects, which are arguably much more important to the human experience. Capitalist ideologies and social production presented ‘idealistic’ ways of living that promoted the use of cars and minimised walkable spaces, with suburbs like this being presented as ‘The American dream’.

Famous examples of this are such as Le Corbusier’s ‘Plan Voisin’, his urban plan for historical Paris that would have overshadowed and disregarded much of Paris’ historical value in place of controversial design. Although this proposal was not approved, real life hostile architecture is seen all over the world through, sometimes subtle, anti-homelessness architecture. It is vital to understand that architecture has the power to evoke certain behaviours and can be employed in many ways; it is up to designers how they choose to use this power. Urban planning has so evidently changed over time and drawing comparisons through different time periods aid in supporting a visual understanding of this. The sheer juxtaposition between the layout and design of the Gothic quarter in Barcelona and the Barcelona Grid located near shows how developments in architectural design change and adapt to fit with one another. 

Third spaces:

The sociological theory of ‘Third Spaces’ was introduced by Ray Oldenburg in his book ‘The Great Good Place’ and referred to the social surroundings that are separate from the two usual social environments of home ("first place") and the workplace ("second place”). He wrote to explain the importance of having a third space and argued that they are central to local democracy and community vitality.Examples of a third space could be coffee shops, stores, bars or any other space that tends to promote a social element that humans fundamentally need. Oldenburg’s criteria of a third space are as follows:

• Free or inexpensive

• Food in close proximity

• Highly accessible

• People can congregate there

• Neutral ground

• Low profile

• Playful mood

• Conversation is the main activity

This aligns with Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ theory stating five categories of human needs that determine an individual's behaviors- psychological needs, safety needs, love and belonging, esteem and self actualisation. Having and utilising a third space would coincide with the love and belonging aspect as it tends to bring in a social aspect into one's life. Many workplaces have begun to implement this idea of a third space to promote a healthy and enjoyable work environment for employees. For example WeWork co-working spaces and many of the Google offices encourage this concept as it has proven to increase productivity in a much more human manner, 

Placelessness - insideness and outsideness:

Placelessness is the sense of not belonging or having no attachment to a space, coined by Edward Ralph in 1976, he suggested that “an authentic sense of place is being gradually overshadowed by a less authentic attitude that he called placelessness: “the casual eradication of distinctive places and the making of standardized landscapes that results from an insensitivity to the significance of place”. With Seanib and Sowers (2008) summarising that “Relph examines ways in which places may be experienced authentically or inauthentically”. An example of a placelessness place could perhaps be a parking space, merely designed for function and purpose over sentimental or mood evoking value.

Relph’s elucidation of insideness is perhaps his most original contribution to the understanding of place. If a person feels inside a place, he or she is here rather than there, safe rather than threatened, enclosed rather than exposed, at ease rather than stressed. Relph suggests that the more profoundly inside a place a person feels, the stronger his or her identity with that place. 

Outsideness on the other hand, a person can be separate or alienated from place, and this mode of place experience is what Relph calls outsideness. Here, people feel some sort of lived division or separation between themselves and the world—for example, the feeling of homesickness in a new place. The crucial phenomenological point is that outsideness and insideness constitute a fundamental dialectic in human life and that, through varying combinations and intensities of outsideness and insideness, different places take on different identities for different individuals and groups, and human experience takes on different qualities of feeling, meaning, ambience, and action. (Seamon and Sowers, 2008)

References:

Lefebvre, H. (1974), ‘The Production of Space’, Blackwell

Le Corbusier, C. (1925), ‘Plan Voisin’

Oldenburg, R. (1999), ‘The Great Good Place’, Da Capo Press

Maslow, A. (1943), ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’, American Psychological Association, Macmillan & Company

Relph, E. (1976), ‘Place and Placelessness’, Sage Publications

Seamon, D. And Sowers, J. (2008), ‘Place and Placelessness (1976): Edward Relph’, Sage Publications