Transgression: Body and Space

ABSTRACT

The theme of transgression has been the subject of much twentieth-century thought, touching on a range of ideas including, for example, identity, society, the nature of architecture and the social role of the carnival. Here, Rachel Sara and David Littlefield set out how the notion of transgression can be applied to the relationships between body and space, and the methods through which contributors to this special issue of Architecture and Culture have investigated the theme. Through this critical essay the authors argue that notions of transgression open up new possibilities which significantly redefine our understanding of how our bodies, and the spaces which frame and define them, can be reconsidered and redefined.

Keywords:

• architecture
• transgression
• body
• space
• liminality
• subjectivity
• ambiguity

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel Sara

Dr Rachel Sara is program leader for the Master of Architecture program at the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol. She is a director of the Design Research Group at UWE, is a Ph.D. and master's supervisor, and teaches Design Research and Design Studio. Her research particularly explores “other” forms of architecture, specifically examining architecture without architects through investigations of the performed architecture of the carnival, a collaboration with a dance artist to explore a practice somewhere between architecture and dance, and a look at the transient architecture of the campsite. She was cocurator of the Transgression: Architecture Without Architects exhibition at the Bristol Architecture Centre in 2012, and coauthored the associated book Architecture + Transgression. She coedited The Architecture of Transgression AD (2013) and co-organized the tenth international conference of the AHRA on the subject of Transgression, Bristol, in 2013.

David Littlefield

David Littlefield is a senior lecturer in the Department of Architecture and the Built Environment, University of the West of England, Bristol. He has authored or edited a number of books on architecture, cities and design, including “London (Re)generation,” an edition of Architectural Design (Wiley, 2012). David is a member of the steering committee of the Architectural Humanities Research Association, a member of the network Mapping Spectral Traces and a cofounder of the Estranged Space network. David co-organized the tenth international conference of the AHRA on the subject of Transgression, Bristol, 2013. David's other research interests include notions of heritage and authenticity, and the role of the site-responsive installation in generating readings of place.