Isis Brook – författare

Written by a designer and two philosophers, this short, highly illustrated book explores the idea that responsive cohesion is the essence of good design.Responsive cohesion refers to a state in which things ‘hold together’ (or cohere) due to the mutual responsiveness of the features that constitute them. This contrasts with fixed cohesion (in which things hold – or are held – together in a more forced, constrained, or non-mutually responsive way) and discohesion (in which things don’t hold together well or at all). The authors argue that responsive cohesion is the best form of organisation in general and, thus, the best guide to creating those deliberate forms of organisation we refer to as ‘design’. Moreover, this claim applies not only to individual examples of design but also, and importantly, to how these items fit with their wider human-constructed, human social, and ecological contexts.The book shows how these ideas illuminate and can be applied to a wide range of design areas, ranging from gardens and domestic objects to architecture, urban design and cultural landscapes. Both accessible and rigorous, this book is essential reading for designers and a compelling introduction for those interested in design.

Written by a designer and two philosophers, this short, highly illustrated book explores the idea that responsive cohesion is the essence of good design.Responsive cohesion refers to a state in which things ‘hold together’ (or cohere) due to the mutual responsiveness of the features that constitute them. This contrasts with fixed cohesion (in which things hold – or are held – together in a more forced, constrained, or non-mutually responsive way) and discohesion (in which things don’t hold together well or at all). The authors argue that responsive cohesion is the best form of organisation in general and, thus, the best guide to creating those deliberate forms of organisation we refer to as ‘design’. Moreover, this claim applies not only to individual examples of design but also, and importantly, to how these items fit with their wider human-constructed, human social, and ecological contexts.The book shows how these ideas illuminate and can be applied to a wide range of design areas, ranging from gardens and domestic objects to architecture, urban design and cultural landscapes. Both accessible and rigorous, this book is essential reading for designers and a compelling introduction for those interested in design.

Within philosophy, a new interest in aesthetics beyond the arts has encouraged the rapid growth of environmental aesthetics. Within this literature, however, less attention has been given to the spaces and places that emerge from various nature-culture interactions. This has meant the relative neglect of types of environments to which the majority of people have access, and interact with, in a sustained manner. In this respect, these are the environments in which many of us understand and value nature. Through a greater understanding of how humans interact with these environments and the types of relationships that emerge through this interaction, we address seek to address this gap.Between Nature and Culture provides a systematic, philosophical account of the main issues and problems that pertain to the aesthetics of modified environments, as well as new insights concerning the generation and appreciation of landscapes and environments that fall between (non-human) nature and (human) culture, including gardens, agricultural and ecologically restored landscapes, and land and ecological art works.