Session V

Henri Lefebvre's approach to 'social space', a term we continually abuse, deserves repeated reading. Where with Goethe's Faust, we see the transcendental nature of man, the powers he can employ and abuse, as central to a 'tragedy of development' here Lefebvre attempts a more materialist analysis of compromise and ambiguity, starting with a discussion of the difference between a work and a product. When you read this piece, it might be a good idea to watch Gardeners World or Autumn Watch, followed by Grand Designs, since while you note they appear to employ the same language, that of things being 'beautiful' it should be clear to you that a 'beautiful' petunia is not the same as a 'beautiful' kitchen. Lefebvre would undoubtedly be startled by contemporary kitchen design, with it's inherent division of labour, it's obsession with hygiene and invisibility, of the relationship between the 'natural' food stuff and and the artificially satisfying 'clunk' of a drawer, the exacerbation of the perfection in the machine.