The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Gilman, P. (1892). The Yellow Wallpaper. New England, United States: New England Magazine.

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story narrated by a young, unnamed woman who suffers from temporary nervous depression. Husband and physician, John, believes that it would be best for him and his wife to move to an old mansion for the summer as a form of treatment. The two stay in an upstairs room which she assumes was once a nursery. The narrator writes multiple journal entries about the yellow wallpaper on the walls of the room talking about how the more time she spends alone with it, the more it moves and shakes, especially under the moonlight. On the last day of the summer the woman tears down the wallpaper ‘freeing’ the lady she saw from behind it, soon becoming that lady herself.

The way the woman in this text became so connected to the wallpaper within her room I found particularly interesting. This made me think of the many ways that people become emotionally and physically attached to places that they spend long periods of time. I personally can relate to being attached to an environment and this place is my house and farm in Pukekawa. After spending almost all of my life living in one spot, so many memories and stories are connected to that space. When thinking of this text in relation to my current studio work I have definitely realised I am more emotionally attached to my farm than I thought I was as I am always using it as inspiration to draw ideas from. 

People not only get attached to spaces because of the times they have spent there but because of people or events that may have occurred. This then makes me think more about what has to happen to make a ‘space’ meaningful enough to have an attachment to it. Whatever needs to happen will be different for each individual. In this text the woman connected with the wallpaper as it was her way of escaping the life she was living. I often use my farm as a place to escape from the rest of the world. Sitting, surrounded by rolling hills gives me time to slow down and forget about everything. When I go home I am able to relax and escape the ‘city life’ that I am not used to.

Our Sea of Islands by Epeli Hau’ofa

Hau’ofa, E (1994). Our Sea of Islands. The Contemporary Pacific, 6(1), 152-153. Retrieved from https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/stable/23701593?seq=5#metadata_info_tab_contents

Epeli Hau’ofa’s, Our Sea of Islands is about how people view size. The example Hau’ofa relates his article to is the Polynesian and Micronesian Islands. The article explores the differences of viewing the area as ‘islands in a far sea’ and a ‘sea of islands’. The first focuses on the fact that the islands are in a vast ocean, far from everything else. The second is from an ‘ocean people’ perspective where their islands are anything but small. They see their land as not only the dry surfaces they stand on but also the surrounding seas, the underworld and the skies above.

I found this article so interesting as I had never thought about people’s different perspectives of size. People’s perception of size is based upon what they’ve always known. A line that really stood out to me was “Smallness is a state of mind”. To me, this means that things are only as big as people want to see them. When thinking about this I began to realise that New Zealand itself would be considered small by most other countries in the world, not only because of the size of the land itself but also because of our small population. I personally see New Zealand the same way, small compared to other countries. However, within New Zealand itself, I think there are also areas of ‘big’ and ‘small’. Coming from an out of Auckland area that I would consider small makes Auckland feel very big for me. Sometimes being in the city can be overwhelming as I don’t really know my way around. 

I also found it interesting that the ‘ocean people’ viewed their islands and homes as more than just the land itself. Due to hearing years of myths and legends that exaggerated the size of things many generations have grown up with the belief that their sea of islands is large if that’s what they want to believe. This brings me back to the idea that people’s perception of size is really only based on the knowledge they have gained while growing up.

When thinking about this text from a design perspective I realised that almost everything is designed around the idea of size. Most designs are created with the aim to make spaces feel bigger than they really are. Even when places are photographed, they are manipulated to appear bigger. 

I think this text can be related to, Acoustic Intimacy, one of my other reading logs. The reason I think this is because both texts explore people’s different perspectives of their surroundings. Both texts think deeply about how we see things in our everyday lives and how we could possibly learn to perceive spaces in a new or different way if we tried.

On Slowness by Tod Williams & Billie Tsien

Williams, T., & Tsien, B. (1999). On Slowness. Retrieved from http://www.twbta.com/3031

‘Slowness of Design’ is a section of the essay ‘On Slowness’ about Tod Williams and Billie Tsien strategy of design, and how in fact, there is no set strategy. The essay explains the design process and how slow it can be. The two focus on the idea that ‘progess is a stutter step’ and how designs take on a dance like pattern, moving forwards, backwards and even sideways trying to pull many ideas together.

This section of the essay actually surprised me as it was able to put into words the way I feel when given a new project. Each paragraph moves through the stages of the design and each stage was definitely relatable. I was particularly drawn to the first few paragraphs where the authors describe their process from rough ideas through to development. I really like the way Tsien and Williams brought up past designs. They wrote, “It is so easy to use the cushion of past thoughts to soften the terrifying free fall of starting a new project.” I often struggle with making the first mark when it comes to creating new designs. Sometimes it’s hard to not think about past designs and how they could be modified to fit a new brief. Describing past designs as a cushion justifies that that is the easy option. To me, picturing new projects as a “terrifying freefall” means that once you take the step and begin to fall, you don’t know where you could end up, which is exactly how the design process should be.

The steps described throughout the essay can easily be related to my work in studio. The thought of “I don’t know what I am doing yet, but I do have a feeling” is something that goes through my head almost every time. I tend to write small notes or draw quick sketches of any thoughts or possible ideas for my work. I refer back to these notes and sketches often to remind myself what actually sparked my interest for each idea in the beginning, helping me develop my designs further.

“Certainty is a prison” is the final sentence of the section and I think that it sums up the main idea of the piece perfectly. If you’re certain of your design from the very first sketch you are stuck within that one idea, trapped in a prison. Uncertainty should always be important in design. Not knowing where it is going to go is a good thing, it leaves so much space open for creativity. Even in the essay, Williams and Tsien talk about continuing to develop ideas and details as the building is being constructed. Being sure of a concept from the very start only limits your own creativity. 

Inside Out, or Interior Space by Rebecca Solnit

Solnit, R. (2014) The Encyclopedia of Trouble and Spaciousness. San Antonio, United States/Texas: Trinity University Press

‘Mudding and Taping’ and ‘Walnut Veneer’ by Rebecca Solnit both address how there can be many different types of materialism. She talks about how “by getting and spending, we lay waste our power” as if everything revolves around ‘getting’ the perfect tangible objects. Materialism will have a different meaning to each individual depending upon their personal desires.

I personally found these particular sections of writing very interesting as many sentences stood out to me. A sentence from ‘Mudding and Taping’ that made me think was “For admiring houses from the outside is often about imagining entering them, living in them, having a calmer, more harmonious, deeper life.” I personally never thought about it in that way. I always admire houses from the exterior and without realising I’m always imaging the interior as well. What’s the layout like? How is it styled? Or how would I style it? In ‘Mudding and Taping’ I think that Solnit is referring to materialism as the desire for a better life, the ideal life or the life we wish we were living and we could create that life with the perfect home. I can personally relate to this as I have recently moved houses into a new home. My family and I created our ideal space just the way we wanted it to be resulting in a happier lifestyle. I think this is why I refer back to my home so much when coming up with new concepts/designs because it is such a happy place.

In ‘Walnut Veneer’ Solnit wants to clearly make a distinction between what gets called materialism and what real materialism might be. Again, materialism can be different for each person and in this specific text, Solnit focuses on an artist’s point of view and how it is quite different from others. Most forms of materialism revolve around wanting more and more, thinking it’ll make you happier, but the more you get, the more you want, resulting in a never-ending cycle. I found the way Solnit described materialism as an artist useful because it is so true. Artists do use materials to communicate and make the “mute material world come to life”. We don’t just want things to make us happier, we create things that bring happiness to more than just ourselves. After thinking about this, I’ve begun to see this idea as something I could work towards as a goal for the future, creating happiness with my designs. 

Acoustic Intimacy by Juhani Pallasmaa

Pallasmaa, J. (2012). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the senses. New York, United States: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

Juhani Pallasmaa’s, Acoustic Intimacy questions the way we look at buildings nowadays. He writes about the importance of including all five senses when it comes to the art of a building. By becoming fully occupied by our visual sense we suppress the opportunity for a real spatial experience.

I personally found the type of language used in this piece of writing very effective. Pallasmaa consistently compared the differences between sight and sound from a design perspective. This helped me understand the text easily and made the main point very clear. I also liked the way he used real-life examples, such as the shopping mall or the echoes of footsteps on the pathway to relate the text to many everyday experiences. Sight is our dominant sense, we always rely on it to take in new surroundings. We need to learn to connect with spaces in more ways than just one.

An example that Pallasmaa used that I can say I have experienced is, “One can also recall the acoustic harshness of an uninhabited and unfurnished house as compared with the affability of a lived-in home, in which sound is refracted and softened by the numerous surfaces of objects of personal life.” During the building of my home, I specifically remember the harsh echos created by sound within the empty house. As carpet and furniture were added the echos began to be absorbed and eventually disappeared. I think when the house was empty I was able to use the sense of sound easily as it was a noticeable difference to my previous home. Now that it is furnished I think I have pushed aside my other senses and fallen into the trap Pallasmaa is writing about. Suppressing other senses and only focusing on the visual. 

A line I find specifically interesting is “the eye reaches, but the ear receives.” To me, this line means that we look for the things we want to see while we hear almost everything even if we don’t want to. Our eyes give us control, were able to turn away or close our eyes from what we do not want to see. Blocking out unpleasant sounds or smells can often be more difficult. 

The chapter ends with the line ‘“our ears have been blinded”. Ironically, our ears have been blinded by our eyes, and I think that is our choice. We forget to stop and truly take in our surroundings. Buildings are everywhere, we are so used to seeing them that we don’t appreciate them as much as we should. When surrounded by nature we often stop and take time to watch, listen, smell and touch things surrounding us. Why don’t we do the same with buildings?

Walking in the City by Micheal de Certeau

Certeua, M. (1988). The Practice of Everyday Life.  Berkeley, California: University of California Press.

Walking in the City by Michel de Certeau looks at the city (in particular Manhattan, New York) and how it can be perceived in two different ways. One from above the city, the other from ground level de Certeau describes social interactions and how pedestrians work within places, changing the way the areas may have thought to been used when planning the city.

The first perspective de Certeau writes about is the idea of being above the city. He wonders why there is a source of pleasure from seeing the city as a whole as if you were to be lifted from the cities grasp. How one’s body could no longer be clasped by the streets that are shaped around an anonymous law. City planners and architects craft rules regulating social interactions and social norms that please themselves and create the sort of society that works best for them or corresponds with their ideals. This perspective represents the view of New York that Michel de Certeau saw from the height of the Twin Towers. The city below him has been laid out and carefully constructed according to a detailed and a very well thought out architectural plan. As if the areas are to be used in a specific way. 

The second perspective de Certeau refers to is the ‘down below’. Although the area looks like a well-organised space from above, being down within the city a different scene takes place. Pedestrians winding and turning, creating their own paths. Messing up the strategy and doing what is best suited for their own intentions and desires. Michel de Certeau uses a metaphor to describe the way pedestrians move around the city writing that each person’s path creates intertwining and unrecognisable poems. That the writings composed tell a story that has no author nor spectator shaped by the alterations of spaces. 

This entire text is written about perspectives. In particular the perspective of seeing the city from above vs the perspective of seeing the city below how these two perspectives differ. This piece shows that you cannot truly understand another’s perspective without experiencing the situation yourself. You may be able to see what is going on but seeing and experiencing always result in different outlooks on the same situation.

When analysing this text from a design perspective it is clear to me that in order to create the perfect city plan, you will need to have experienced what the city is like from above and below. By doing this, the designer would be able to plan a space that actually works with the way people use it as well as create an aestheically pleasing space from above.

A section of the piece I found interesting was when de Certeau compares New York City with Rome. How the city can change from hour to hour, new buildings contrasting the buildings of yesterday, constantly reinventing themselves. I like the way that the author states that New York has never learned the art of growing old.

Space, Sex and Gender by Doreen B.Massey

Massey, D. (1994). Space, Place and Gender. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

Space, Place and Gender is only a small section of Doreen B. Massey book. The chapter covers ideas about the social structure of places and relates those concepts to issues of gender and feminism. She also refers to some of her own personal experiences throughout her life that relate to the topic.

When it comes to perspectives for this text Massey highlights the different perspectives of males and females towards designed places. How she sees some places as if they were designed for males and not females. The difference between male and female perspectives towards art and design is also explored. The text almost stereotypes the type of perspective each gender should hold.

I personally found this piece of writing hard to relate to. I think this may be because of my upbringing or due to where I have grown up as well as the fact that times have definitely changed since this piece was written. Massey writes a lot about how men and women perceive things differently and how different spaces and places create different feelings for each gender. Evidence from the text is when Massey writes about the art gallery. While being in the gallery Massey felt objectified. She was looking at multiple artworks of naked women painted by men, therefore the painting was capturing women, seen through the eyes of men. 

An example used by Massey from when she was younger was about how all the fields around her town had been divided into football and rugby pitches, and how even then at her young age she realized that the entire area had been given over to boys. I definitely think that this statement could be somewhat true, however, nowadays there is definitely more gender equality within those sports than there used to be. Where I grew up it was very normal to see girls playing rugby in the boy’s team throughout their childhood. Massey wrote that she felt like she didn’t belong on those fields, that it felt like “another world” to her. She also added that nowadays she no longer feels that way. I personally have never felt that a space that seemed to be designed for males uncomfortable or unwelcoming. Again, I definitely think this is because of the type of world we have been brought up in.

Through research I have found that design and city planning is constantly working towards making more public spaces for both male and females. This is more important when it comes to city planning due to the fact that their aim is to bring people to the space. People will not enjoy using places if they don’t feel comfortable in the environment created therefore, designers need to be aware of this.

Rain by Hone Tuwhare

Tuwhare, H. (2011). Small Holes in the Silence: Collected Works. Random House New Zealand

Rain, by Hone Tuwhare, is a short poem that expresses the poets love for rain through the use of sensory language. He writes that even if his senses were to disappear, rain would still be able to define him. The poem expresses the idea of rain being an intimate sensual experience and describes Tuwhares personal and spiritual response to the element of rain.

The spatial theme of perspectives is shown throughout this poem as the whole text is written about Tuwhares perspective of rain. This piece is less about allowing you to come up with your own ideas towards the subject and more about Tuwhare describing his personal perspectives and feelings towards rain.

The simple use of language throughout the poem makes the piece easy to understand. The poem quickly creates a strong feeling of the sensory experience of rain through the language used within the first five stanzas. I personally found the way the poem was written a way to make you think more about natural elements and how they should be respected.

Throughout the poem, the relationship between rain and Hone Tuwhare is explored. It is interesting that no matter how Tuwhare is feeling, the rain is able to constantly have the same effect on him, defining him. This made me think that the relationship explored in the text is more of a one-way relationship. The rain will always just do the same thing, it doesn’t change for Tuwhare or fall when he needs. Tuwhare has no effect on it. Rain, on the other hand, seems to always affect Tuwhare no matter how he is feeling. Rain is able to change Tuwhare. This shows that the poem is about a relationship between Tuwhare and the rain rather than an interaction between the two.

The spiritual appreciation for rain was demonstrated by the poet through addressing the rain personally, for example, when Tuwhare wrote “I can hear you” he was speaking the rain as if it were a person that could respond. He feels that the rain responds to him, however, not through speaking, through the engagement of his senses such as smell and touch.

The final two stanzas were the ones I found the most interesting. Hone writes that even if he were to lose all his senses that rain would still define him and wash over him. After thinking about the poem for a while I realised these stanzas were the representation of the death of Tuwhare.

Perfect Coffee by Kate Tempest

Tempest, K. (2017, May 1). Perfect Coffee [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ckrdsokd8Sw

Perfect Coffee by Kate Tempest is about someone who had to move out of the home they were renting due to the home being renovated/upgraded . Along with the renovation of the home, the entire city gets redesigned, no longer feeling like home. 

Overall the song addresses the process of gentrification and how it affects different people. This text was based on a character named Zoe who lived in a run-down flat. The first paragraph quickly reveals the storyline, letting the reader know she is moving and that the house will finally be fixed and put back on sale for three times the rent. From this paragraph it’s easy to gather that Zoe is unhappy about the move. The text could be written in a number of different ways, each focusings on the different perspectives of people within the community. There would be many people, like Zoe, forced to leave as costs become to high. There would be people that are just able to pay for it as they stay in their home or business and watch the neighbourhood change around them. The third perspective that could be explored is the one of someone who has just moved to the area, unaware of what it used to be like. Each perspective would be very different as each person would have different thoughts and feelings towards the process.

Part of the lyrics that I found particularly interesting was both verse one and two. During these verses, she returns to the city to find everything has changed to suit the ideal space for middle-class taste. These verses describe the feeling that many people would get when returning to where they used to live. Nowadays cities and districts are constantly being renovated as style is changing much quicker than it used to. Deteriorated urban neighborhoods are being specifically targeted for renovation as new places mean an influx of new residents to the area. Through research, I have discovered that gentrification is a common and controversial topic in politics and urban planning. This is due to the fact that there are two sides to the process. On one side, neighborhoods get renovated bringing new businesses and people to the area, improving the material quality of the neighborhood. On the other hand, current residents and businesses are often forced to relocate seeking lower cost housing and stores. Leaving their districts that no longer feel like home.

The final line of the song is very powerful, “The kids are alright, but the kids will get older”. To me this line is stating that the kids are doing fine, they don’t understand what is going on. When these kids grow up and realise what has happended they will understand the unfairness of it all. 

I definitely think designers need to work smartly when it comes to the process of gentrification. When planning both sides of the process need to be strongly thought about. The aim should involve giving the neighborhood a new fresh look while still creating an affordable environment for current residents as well as those looking to join the district. This text has definitely taught me to be aware of all types of people and situations when it comes to designing a place that will affect peoples lives.

Environments by Helene Frichot

Frichot, H. (2018). Creative Ecologies: Theorizing the Practice of Architecture. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Helen Frichot’s, Environments is a short piece of writing where she questions, what an environment is? She writes about the many different environments, whether it be your own desk to virtual environments or even looking at the environment of the world from outer space. She questions what environments do and why it is that when designing and building new environments we often only think about ourselves and not other forms of life. 

This piece of work by Frichot is very interesting due to the fact that each question raised throughout the text made you think about all types of environments at a deeper level. The piece makes you think about more than just the natural environments. Yes, natural is the word we often associate with the environment but there are so many more environments out there and this piece highlights that idea. 

Every day new environments are being created, for example, new homes, new towns or parks. But as this is happening other environments are being destroyed. Frichot addresses this idea towards the end of the piece where she writes that design and architecture nowadays seem to only be built to facilitate human life, often disregarding the other forms of life within the environments. This is happening not only where new buildings are being built but also where and how the materials are being sourced in order to create the designs.

The text questions what an environment is and what someone would consider their own environment. This is where peoples different perspectives of space come into the text. Frichot is unsure of where her environment would be. She mentions places that could be her environment such as her desk or where she happens to be at the time. The main theme that I picked up on from this text is that environments are everywhere. Each person considers different spaces their own environment, whether it be small spaces such as their own home or larger spaces such as their city or country. Some people see the entire world as their environment.

Throughout this text, I was thinking about my current project in spatial fabrication. The project involves creating a space for two strangers. For the project, we have to think about the type of environment we want to create for the two strangers to interact within. I am currently working around the idea of what I would like the environment to feel like if I was one of the strangers placed within the area. It would be uncomfortable at first, but personally, I would not want to keep it that way. I would want to get to know the person creating a more comfortable environment for the stranger and myself. This shows that different environments can be created not just by new places but also by the type of people that inhabit the space.

Beyond Space and Time by David Harvey

Harvey, D. (2012). Nature. Marylebone, London. Whitechapel Gallery; MIT Press.

Beyond Space and Time by David Harvey is about the steps it takes to be able to just walk into a shop and purchase commodities. How we really have no idea where our last meal came from. We cannot possibly trace each item back to where they were produced. How hours of social labour in thousands of different places under very different social relations and conditions of production results in reaching the requirements of commodity production today.

The spatial theme I am exploring throughout each of my readings is perspective. How every person will see every design, situation and space differently. Throughout this text, I realised that some people are more aware of where products come from than others. Some people are careful about what they buy, for example, making sure they buy free range eggs. Others wouldn’t even stop to think about where the products came from. Another way perspectives can be analysed from this text is if you were to think about each person’s perspective throughout the process of commodity production. It’s almost scary to think about how some people may be treated or what type of conditions people are working under along the way. Every single person will have a different view on the situation but after reading this text I definitely think that everyone should become more aware of where products and commodities came from.

So much happens within space and time in order for us to have almost everything we need right at our fingertips. Because of this we often forget to acknowledge where and how these commodities have gotten there. “Fetishism” is a word that is repeated throughout the text and it’s used mostly when talking about the “fetishism of commodities” by Karl Marx. Every day the desire to have more is growing throughout the world. Everyone is wanting more, becoming obsessed with the newest products. Often we are just looking at the end result. We don’t see everything that has gone on in space and time that lead up to the release of a new product.

 A theme that I picked up on from this text is that we are not discovering the full process behind the system of commodity production enough. In many ways, we are strongly against harsh conditions of production and social relations and some people show this, yet we are still purchasing products that could be coming from these types of places somewhere along the production journey. Harvey addresses this theme in the text, that we are aware, yet little change is being made. He states that we humans always want the nicest products, foods, and homes but we cannot possibly have these things without polluting the air somewhere else.

When thinking about this text from a design perspective the materials used to create the designs comes into question. Where did the materials come from? Who packaged them? How did they get to where they are now? When specific materials are requested for larger projects what type of productions system do they go through compared to smaller projects? Overall many of the questions raised throughout the text do not have easy answers. Each product around the entire world would have a different story to tell.

Before reading this text I had thought about this topic before. Due to where I grow up I have spent many years of my life knowing where a lot of my food comes from. I have grown up on a farm, therefore we usually produce our own meats, eggs, fruit, vegetables and when I was younger milk. The area I live in has a lot of market gardens where things such as potatoes and onions grow. When in the supermarket I would often look at the meats, fruits, and vegetables and wonder if they’d come from local farms or been imported. It’s hard to believe that some people are completely unaware of where some products come from.