Fourth Spaces
Description
Mieke Renders:
"If we want to create a new future in rural areas, there is a huge chance of creating new hybrid forms of creative centres. I am afraid the new word has not been born yet, but the notion of the Fourth Space is coming up: “The fourth place blurs the frontier, within the same space, of the first (home), second (work), and third place making the space, a place in itself. The function of the fourth place is to foster networking, to promote mingling, and to favour collaboration, face-to-face interactions, and the exchange of tacit knowledge.”11 In this definition, the Fourth Space finds itself as the inner circle of the three first spaces (the inner diagram). I would like to challenge this definition and its drawing and would like the fourth circle stand on itself, interfering with the others. To me, the Fourth Space is the circle of “meaning” or “belonging” (and would take the place that the church or other religious gathering places have had in our lives), maybe a new, contemporary form of “Cloisters/Monasteries”. The Fourth Space is the space in which coworking, co-living and co-mingling come together, as well as finding meaning and self; a place where people can discover themselves out of their usual surroundings. There is an uprise in grassroots collectives taking initiative and also in joint projects with more sustainable and self-sufficient way of living, in people combining their work as artists / creatives with gardening, etcetera. Many places seem to have embraced a more holistic way of being and include arts and culture practices, connected with spirituality and in tune with nature along with activities that are also inspired in nature topics."