ABSTRACT

Set against the soaring skyscrapers of much canonical urban science fiction (sf), the single storey structures of Abbenay in Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed might be easily overlooked. But, as this paper argues, the sparse description of this city ‘as plain as spilt salt’ offers a rich and complex vision of architectural possibility. This paper dwells within this moment of description, drawing on personal association alongside architectural and literary theory to consider how this image of a city might cast strange new light on embedded aspects of architectural practice. It explores how the sustained consideration of the built spaces of feminist sf can provide designers with an empathetic appreciation of how the built environment reflects and informs social relations. Salt is modest, Salt is domestic, Salt is refined, Salt is anything but plain, To spill salt is to act.

摘要

以乌苏拉·勒金 (Ursula Le Guin) 的《被剥夺者》 ( The Dispossessed)中阿比奈 (Abbenay) 的单层建筑为背景，与许多经典都市科幻小说 (SF) 中高耸的摩天大楼相映成趣可能很容易被忽视。但是，正如本文所论证的，对这座城市“像撒盐一样简单”的稀疏描述提供了丰富而复杂的建筑可能性愿景。这篇论文就停留在描述的这个时刻，利用个人关联以及建筑和文学理论来考虑这种城市形象如何为建筑实践的嵌入式方面带来奇怪的新光。它探讨了对女权主义科幻建筑空间的持续考虑如何为设计师提供对建筑环境如何反映和影响社会关系的同理心欣赏。盐是谦虚的，盐是家的，盐是精制的，盐不是平淡的，撒盐就是行动。