Design’s role in creating a more substantial respect for all animals

Image Source: img.storyblok.com

With World Animal Day coming up (04/10), perhaps we should ask ourselves why the image of an abused dog or cat creates sadness and horror in us, while at the same time we may be viewing it while consuming meat? Let's not deny it. All of us have been, at least once in our lives, victims of speciesism, considering some animals more important or closer to us than others. Human beings are of course part of this comparison and are universally placed at the top of the pyramid as the highest and most important animal species. Is it time, albeit somewhat late, as we are in the 21st century, to revise this prejudiced attitude, freeing animals from the exploitation that exists everywhere, even in the field of design and architecture?

A long history of exploitation

Man has always been close to animals, using them mainly to fulfil his own needs. With the exception of the dog and the cat, which still hold a special place in man's life, the rest of the animals were either treated as enemies or as tools for the various agricultural operations or they were killed for food. The domestication of the most useful animals happened gradually in Middle East, when man settled permanently in a place, starting the construction of stable houses, developing agriculture, etc. However, with domestication and the ever-greater development of material culture, begins not only the signalling of a new era but also the more systematic and harsher exploitation of animals, which were used to cultivate the land or to build large buildings, where cattle, alongside captive slaves, were forced to work long hours, carrying or dragging tons of heavy objects.

This practice, apparently, has not disappeared, since nowadays similar exploitation is observed in popular tourist destinations, where donkeys are loaded with tourists and their luggage to transport them up to the island’s towns, far from the ports.

“Heaver”-Donkeys on the island of Santorini | Source: pillowfights.gr

Moving throughout History, we see that religions brutally approached the relationship between humans and other animal since a ceremony, for example the ancient Greek religious mysteries (funeral processions, offerings to the Gods, etc.), would always end with the slaughter of one or more mammals. A more typical example of these practices is the finding of the burned traces of more than ten horses, in the so-called tomb of Philip II as an offering for the journey of the deceased to the Underworld. Therefore, no matter how much a beloved animal and companion the horse was considered, it should, without any thought, be sacrificed for the deceased since it was nothing more than an extension of human existence.

Obviously, no religion - except perhaps some forms of Hinduism- treated animals differently and never made a reference to the need for equality among all living species on the planet. Religion always placed man at the centre of the world – we must not forget the theory of the papal church about the rotation of the Sun around the Earth, and therefore around man –, undermining or ignoring the rights of animals, which were always highly dependent on him and at the mercy of his decisions.

Scene of a sacrifice preparation (roman decorative relief) | Source: upload.wikimedia.org

In addition, in contrast to religious thought, scientific thought evolved but without showing any intention to change the position of animals, with Descartes sealing this unfavourable situation. Indeed, one of the leading philosophers proceeded to separate beings, characterising animals as "machines" without feelings or thought connected to the body, as inorganic systems that perform some functions, emotionally distancing humans more and more from almost all other animal species. This situation, unfortunately, does not stop at theoretical thinking since often animal products are used in the field of design and decoration.

Moreover, the use of various body parts of an animal for the purpose of making decorative furniture, jewellery and other items goes without mentioning. Ivory has been widely used for all kinds of design, with the objects in question being considered pieces of insurmountable value and beauty, while bringing about the extinction of a large part of elephants and other horned animals, such as deer, hippopotamuses, etc.

Ivory vessel | Image source: img.zcdn.com.au

But despite these popular - even today - opinions, a differentiation in thinking took place, which would lead to a partial change in people's attitude towards animals. Let us not forget: although this change is slight, almost invisible, it nevertheless does not cease to constitute a breakthrough towards a uniform way of dealing with all animal species.

The seeds of Anti-Speciesism

It may sound strange that, at its core, Darwinian thought treats human-animal equality with greater respect than that of contemporary philosophers, such as animal rights advocate Peter Singer. While the latter obviously falls into the trap of speciesism, arguing that man as a preeminently rational being has more value than any other living being -which is also replaceable-, Darwin in 1872 in his book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, attempts to see the two species as similar in the expression of their emotions, even accompanying the text with visual material of the emotional states experienced by both species. Darwin's aim was not only to simply refer to emotions, but to counter-attack the followers of creationism. Thus, we could say that he himself used the expression of emotions as the strongest example of the existence of a common origin of all species, since many times they share and manifest their mental state in a similar way.

A sketch from the book (cat ready to pounce) | Image source: upload.wikimedia.org

Henry David Thoreau, one of the first environmentalists and vegans, expressed a similar stance against the segregation of animals. In his book Walden (1854), he recounts his two years living in a cabin in nature, away from growing industrialization. There, Thoreau seems to have come into closer contact with the environment and animals, avoiding the purchase of goods and the consumption of animals, in contrast to the conventional way of life that developed with the industrial revolution and culminated in the emergence of the capitalist model of life.

With Thoreau's positions in mind, could we consider his story as a paradigm for a new turn in design and architecture?

The two sides of Design

As human population increases and heavy industry expands, humans will interfere more and more with the natural environment and animal habitats. Rampant deforestation for the overexploitation of arable land and urbanization are the two most important factors that result in the expansion of cities on natural lands and together with climate change they have led to the extinction of many wild -for the most part- animals. Unfortunately, for decades architecture as a practise refused to aknowledge the problem it was creating for the fauna, depriving it of a place to live and a healthy environment. In addition, the chronic overconsumption of meat has pushed industrial design towards creating large areas (livestock units, zoos) where animals would be piled up many times under miserable living conditions since their life there would be temporary or an object of entertainment.

The shift to another aspect of design, less human-centered, could be achieved by studying the ideas of Timothy Morton. Being a member of Object-Oriented Ontology (or OOO), Morton suggests that we rethink our relationship with everything in the world, as everyone and everything is inextricably connected to each other since, as he states: "The other thing is that Nature is not just an idea. It’s something that is sort of hardwired into built space as well as philosophical, psychic and social space.” Therefore, we cannot separate the space of nature and everything in it from the city as everything coexists together, an act that is termed the symbiotic real.

In practice, a symbiosis initiative is found in Singapore, with the construction of the Eco-Link@BKE ecological bridge. The 75m long bridge connects two wildlife sanctuaries without interrupting or disturbing the local fauna, fully respecting the animals on site while allowing traffic to flow smoothly. 

Eco-Link@BKE bridge| Image source: fourthavenue.residences-com.sg

Also influenced by OOO's positions, Pierre Huyghe, in 2010-2011, presented Zoodram. In this particular project, he put several invertebrate beings to coexist in aquariums around which his dog wanders. In this way, Huyghe underlines the coexistence of “places” that are inaccessible to humans and which in order to encounter them one will have to take into account - and train oneself to observe - the multiple dimensions that exist.

Zoodram (Pierre Huyghe) | Image source: artandseek.org

Moreover, Christien Meindertsma's project, Pig 05049 (2007), reminds us how many products (such as ammunition, medicine, photographic paper, cigarettes, conditioner, etc.) we have unwittingly bought, many times without knowing that animals have been used as raw material for creating them, in this case the pig 05049. So, to find out what animal product we have inadvertently consumed, we can leaf through this particular, shockingly real scrapbook.

Pig 05049 (Christien Meindertsma) | Image source: joliat.net

Awareness is enough

Naturally, not everyone is going to turn to vegetarianism. This, after all, would not bring about the desired result in the respect of animals, since it does not change the situation of exploitation in other ways.

What we hope for as a society, is the awakening of everyone about the current situation and the often violent behaviour towards all animals, and awareness for the establishment of laws that will protect all animals equally from all forms of danger and exploitation. Maybe then we will stop worrying only about the stray cat or tied, abandoned dog and look at all "replaceable" animals with more empathy.

We hope that the fields of design and architecture will both move in this direction, setting a good example for a meaningful transformation. Clearly, some steps have slowly been taken, using sustainable materials that respect the planet as a whole. But the results of a more massive effort remain to be seen.

Further reading and Sources:

What is speciesism: animalscare.gr.

Architecture for Animals- Should we build better or not at all?. from: re-thinkingthefuture.com.

D. Kerr (2016). What Is Object-Oriented Ontology? A Quick-and-Dirty Guide to the Philosophical Movement Sweeping the Art World. from: artspace.com.

Descartes. from: pelegrinis.gr.

N. Reed (2019). The Effects of Industrialization on Animals. from: sciencing.com.

T. Gailliard (2021). What Causes the Extinction of Plants & Animals?. from: sciencing.com.

A. Blasdel (2017). 'A reckoning for our species': the philosopher prophet of the Anthropocene. from: theguardian.com.

Timothy Morton interview at: Timothy Morton: Ecology Without Nature. from: lab.cccb.org.

**More about Christien Meindertsma’s project at: christienmeindertsma.com