Naomi Hay 'Outside As Inside' By Naomi Hay

Outside as Inside – Naomi Hay

In contemporary Western culture there is in an increasing withdrawal into the mechanisation and artificializing of spaces, which causes difficulty with experiencing the natural environment. “Architects and designers of inhabited spaces construct barriers to the external environment that are both physical and psychological.” (Hay, pg. 1) In this paper titled ‘Outside as Inside’ Hay discusses the question of alternative modes of design thinking and it’s potential to opening up the supposed boundaries of the built environment to what exists beyond it. To do this she examines what has led humans in Western cultures to develop such enclosed dwellings, considers the effects of technology on how humans live and interact with their environment, and explains the potential of learning from simpler vernacular dwellings of other cultures.

From the beginning humans have strived to protect themselves from threats by dominating the natural environment around them. Since then Western culture has continued to develop new complex technological means of separating humans from the natural environment. “Within walls we protect ourselves from the elements and the enemy – achieving dominance over the external other, rendering proof of our own superiority.” (Hay, Pg. 1) However, as Hay suggests, this has created a culture of affluence where the external environment is becoming progressively distant, as humans are withdrawing inwards to their shells of advanced technologies and virtual environments.

“Contemporary Western societies … place [themselves] at risk of becoming prisoners in [their] own designed environments, evading the inevitable truth that humanity’s home extends far beyond the intimacy of the walls that prote...

... middle of paper ...

...thods of constriction suited to fluctuations in external conditions.” (Hay, pg. 5) The adaptable felt tents of central Asia to the natural ventilation of the North American tipi; there are many other examples of societies that have developed sustainable ways of living, all through minimal technology and the acceptance of their dependence on surrounding environments. Hay believes that there are many lessons to be learnt from nomadic dwellings and thinks that it is possible for Western architectures static nature to adopt the flexibility that the nomadic structures are capable of. This flexibility could open physically and psychologically the Western world to the possibility of the unknown. “Crucially, the redefined interior recognises the larger ecology of the planet as home, reflecting a movement towards a simpler, more sustainable mode of dwelling.” (Hay, pg. 5)