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w(h)om(e)b zones

a manifesto for domestic comfort

OUR FIRST SPATIAL ENCOUNTER

> THE WOMB

As living human beings, our very first spatial experience is the one of the womb.

It is where we first become aware of ourselves, it is where we first become aware of our surroundings.

It is where we first experience the sensation of comfort.

It is soft, it is safe, it is warm.

It is our very first home.

The word womb may to some be primarily associated with ones own mother, who technically and bodily have been the host of this first spatial experience and play a key role in ones mere existence. In life after and outside of the womb, it is however not a certainty that ones biological mom (ones womb host) plays an active roll in ones life for many different reasons. Whether you have a ”mother” or not, you and I (presuming that you were not born prematurely) share the experience of beginning our lives and exploring our senses within a womb.

For the sake of this manifesto, I want to invite you to imagine the womb as separate from motherhood in relation to a person. Instead I want you to imagine the womb as a spatial product by nature.

In this way we all share one mother - our beloved

mother nature.

SPATIAL ANTI WOMB = THE ARCHITECTURAL CORNER

As you enter the world outside of the womb, you will discover that not everything is soft, warm and safe. Along with with these discoveries, you will experience the sensation of discomfort.

In the womb, there are no straight, hard or cold surfaces, there are no corners. These synthetic architectural phenomenons are not necessarily connected with discomfort, but they are spatially very far from the qualities of the womb,

You are unlikely to remember your experience in womb, but that doesn’t mean that your time in there and what you spatially experienced doesn’t affect what you associate with feelings of comfort versus discomfort.

Let's say it does affect us. If spatially womb-like qualities trigger comfort, does that mean that spatially opposite qualities trigger discomfort?

HOME SWEET HOME

The overall concept of the word home, is in many ways universal. It is the place where one lives and where one keeps their belongings. Although this is not always the case, a common strive for the home, is for it to feel safe and comfortable.

The interior corner is a common architectural feature within many homes (and buildings) around the world. It is a completely logical result of the way we design and construct buildings and its geometry. However, if corners make out the spatial opposite of a womb, thus generating the sensation of discomfort, they will contradict our domestic strive and hinder us from feeling fully at home at home.

How do we deal with these corners then?

WOMBIFY YOUR HOME WITH WOMB ZONES

womb

experience

sensation

comfort

warm

soft

safe

associate

mother

nature

home

Womb zones are self- and handmade textile creations emerging from a architectural interior corners. The key point of womb zones is to subconsciously remind you of your experience within the womb, to trigger the sensations of safety and comfort and ultimately making you feel more home at home.

GROWING WITH YOU AND FOLLOWING YOU THROUGH LIFE

Womb zones are meant for life. As you leave your very first home - the womb (of your biological mother), you will move into a new home and the world around it. Your very first womb zone should be present in this new home as you arrive, to offer you a gentle welcome into this new environment.

The core of your first womb zone will proposedly be created by your parent / caretaker. It should be placed in a zone of your home where you are likely to spend a lot of time, perhaps near your crib.

As you grow older and bigger, so will your womb zone. Your loved ones will add to it and once you're big enough they will be able to teach you the teqnique. You can now develop your own womb zone and create new ones.

You may spend time away from your home, in the purpose of travelling or for a sleepover. In these moments you are able to detach a piece of your womb zone and bring it with you, to comfort you and prevent home sickness.

The day you move out of your parental home, your womb zone will move along with you. The womb zone is not meant to represent your parents / caretakers or your emotional bond to them, Your womb zone should represent YOUR essence of home.

WOMB ZONE FOR EVERY ZONE

(of your home)

Womb zones are meant for every zone of your home where you tend to spend a lot of time. Make yourself feel at home in your zone of socializing, cooking, resting, meditating etc.

WOMB ZONE AESTHETICS

Womb zones are meant to evoke pleasant sensations such as those experienced in the womb, Hence it makes sense for the aesthetics of the womb zone to follow the organically formed language of the biological womb that has been specifically designed and developed by mother nature to ensure comfort and safety for new lives to grow.

As fully grown human beings we are not able to spatially experience the incredible micro formations that make out the smallest building blocks of our bodies and that once were the entirety of our existence,

Womb zones invite you to imagine life at different scales.

Womb zones encourage you to celebrate and honour the creational power of mother nature.