What is Spatial Agency?
Spatial is a broad term for the ‘space’ we occupy. Our ‘environments’. Our built environments, our natural environments, our personal environments, and our digital environments.
Agency is associated with power or the ability to affect change. To produce an effect.
Having Spatial Agency means you have the ability to affect change over those environments.
It means it in a literal way: I am capable of designing and building and curating the world I live in, from the community I live in, to the coffee table in my living room, to the clothes that I wear.
It means it in an indirect way: I am capable of effecting political, infrastructural, and systemic change. I have a voice.
It means it in a personal way: I can shape my path. I’m in control of my future. I have talents and I should pursue and enrich them.
When we build Spatial Agency we build confidence in others. We let everyone discover that they are capable of effecting change in their environment. If I can make my immediate surrounding I can make an impact in my world.
“If I can make my immediate surrounding I can make an impact in my world.”
We at Grey & Ivy believe that the process of designing and building is the tool that facilitates Spatial Agency. Spatial Agency can be applied in many ways such as connecting back to the land, embracing technologies, celebrating culture, and empowering youth.
Explore where you fit into Spatial Agency using our interactive quiz!
5 Elements of Spatial Agency
At Grey & Ivy, we have identified 5 key elements through our research and development that expand and define our unique understanding of Spatial Agency. Each element plays a critical role in our journey towards a brighter and more balanced future for our younger generations. We acknowledge that each element is wholly unique and contains a plethora of amazing skills and knowledge. We like to view them as little worlds… that when brought together, create something truly powerful and beautiful!
Knowledge Sharing
This is where it all comes together and Spatial Agency blossoms. Knowledge Sharing sets the tone for everything we do at Grey & Ivy. Not defined by a single space or approach, Knowledge Sharing is the active and ongoing dialogue between ourselves and the environment around us. Whether it’s engaging with communities through our Design+Build workshops or a simple conversation, we’re always using Knowledge Sharing as a tool to bring us closer together and spark innovation.
Technology
As we continue to explore different ways to communicate and spark innovation, Technology must always be at the forefront of the conversation. We are constantly seeking ways to develop and make leading-edge Technology more widely accessible. Together, we can utilize Technology as an extension of ourselves and nature, which allows us to experience our world in a completely new and powerful way without removing ourselves from the moment… unless we want to escape for a little while… The future is not something we enter, it’s what we create!
Architecture
We believe that awareness of Architecture, design, and making wields the power to improve our quality of living, inspire awe, and provide comfort and healing. Through the understanding of this process, we democratize the skills and knowledge of architects and designers to unlock ways for communities to influence and engage with the built environment. Together with Grounded Architecture (www.groundedarch.ca), we invest in building relationships through actions grounded in reciprocity with the goal to put architecture at the center of authentic and meaningful global reform.
Storytelling
We are constantly exploring different ways to interact, listen and engage with our communities. Storytelling is fundamental to our identity here at Grey & Ivy. It is the foundation upon which all our values are built upon. We acknowledge that we all possess the gift of storytelling because we all come from various backgrounds with unique lived experiences. Our goal is to not only celebrate but share the unique experiences and gifts that we all possess within us through honest conversation… whether over a zoom call or across a warm fire!
Sustainability
As our world evolves, we must continue to learn how to listen and adapt together to achieve a Sustainable future for all. At Grey & Ivy, we understand that this knowledge is gained from being on the land and through experiencing the interconnected physical, digital, and spiritual worlds. The more we listen, the more we honour the relationship between our world and the role we play. Sustainability is not achieved through data and promises, it’s about getting our hands dirty, developing callus, and failing, failing again, and perseverance through self-empowerment.