Uncovering the Infraordinary

In his book Species of Spaces and other Pieces, French writer Georges Perec coined the term infraordinary to describe the ordinary and habitual aspects of everyday life (Perec, 1997: 206).

Instead of the headline news of daily papers that recounted the sensational and the fantastic, he was fascinated with minute situations, gestures, moments and habits that we overlooked or missed. Thus the word infra- referring to what is underneath, or even inferior. Perec’s endeavor was to devise ways which the infraordinary could be revealed, and... See more

​Conclusion

The uncovering of these everyday infraordinary spatial engagements diverted the design process away from superficial form manipulation and the unnecessary burden of a concept driven beginning. By grounding the process of inquiry on the quotidian and the overlooked, familiarity is amplified, questioned, overturned, re-formulated and trans... See more

Sensed Territoriality

We mark out territories in different ways and of varying durations in our everyday life, such as a simple act of placing a bag on an empty chair to reserve a seat for a friend. Jennifer Lem, Gee Hae and Jelena Bulajic’s took up a spot in the foodcourt to observe the behaviors of users. Their work became an emotional battle of t... See more