Towards a More-than-human Architecture: Exploring the Notion of Inclusivity

The concept of inclusivity is prominent in architectural practices and discussions concerned with the promotion of social, societal, and spatial participation among the largest possible group of people. In this argumentative essay, I seek to ask fundamental questions regarding inclusivity in contemporary architecture and planning from the position of nonhuman lifeforms and phenomena. This endeavor aims at exploring the notion of the architectural user as this can be understood and defined in the Anthropocene, and in the wake of philosophical and research-based findings concerned with the significance of human and nonhuman entanglement in this era. Drawing on elements from both fiction, philosophy, and research, the essay reflects upon what inclusivity and inclusive architecture could mean when we engage with these notions and ideologies from a nonhuman and more-than-human point of departure. Leaning on concepts as the nonhuman turn and flat ontologies, the essay explores the need for developing a more-than-human architecture for the twenty-first century.