Chapter 3: Multiplicity of Other
The way people deal with ‘being different’ means that difference is almost unconsciously made invisible, especially when there is power inequality. From different perspectives, we examine how a critical and emancipation-focused paradigm for design, research, and policy can emerge from a ‘difference’ that generates energy, abundance, and success.
Afaina de Jong introduces Multiplicity of Other as a new design strategy challenging the dominant architectural paradigm. With Spaces of Other, she creates free spaces in which diverse and unheard voices are vocalised to create different futures. Azza Karam draws attention to the relationship between power and imagination, arguing that value- and religion-driven politics can lead to neo-colonial relationships and even barbarism. She calls for a return to humility, humanity, and respect for all life on Earth, as encouraged by religions. Mounir Samuel gives a touching, personal poem on life and survival on the borders of judgment in our time. The successful Amsterdam Healthy Weight Programme shows how a systematic approach to research into childhood obesity has made diversity its starting point. The collective Failed Architecture aims to develop new stories, focussing its critical approach on everything that happens after a building is completed. Finally, Halleh Ghorashi makes a passionate plea for an engaged science in which new methodologies can give voice to those who are structurally unheard.
Image credits
Header image: Banner Cahier 1
Icon image: Space of Other