Q & A

One of the foundations of liberal humanism - the philosophical milieu of our age - is the Great Chain of Being which conveniently positions humans at the top of a “natural order” (directly below the divine) for humanity’s rational, moral, intellectual and artistic capabilities. Below humans in the chain are animals, which have senses, movement, and appetites, but lack human intellect, emotions or agency. Plants, positioned beneath animals, can grow and reproduce but lack awareness, movement or sensory organs. Minerals, at the base, are entirely inert, possessing solidity and strength but devoid of life or sensation. In this hierarchy that has long justified human exceptionalism and dominion, every level exists to serve the levels above. It assigns a subservient role to the nonhuman world as a resource for the fulfilment of human needs and desires.

Even though many of us no longer subscribe to Christian religious frameworks, the notion of a hierarchical chain of being still unconsciously informs our collective psyche, at least in the west. It shapes how we view the world by reinforcing a sense of human superiority and ownership over the nonhuman - what we called Nature. It informs our beliefs and values in relation to issues like progress, growth, human rights and entitlements, where the value and worth of nonhuman life is measured by their proximity to human qualities or their usefulness to human needs. The Great Chain of Being's legacy remains stubbornly embedded in modern humanist thinking, preventing us from truly confronting its ethical and ecological implications. Moving beyond anthropocentrism means conceptually reconfiguring our place on earth.

We have a moral imperative and collective responsibility to protect and support the remaining biological life on earth. In the face of political inaction to halt accelerating ecological degradation, we must turn to our creativity, imagination, skills and abilities to enact bottom-up change. Art must go beyond merely raising awareness or superficially engaging with the ecological crisis. We must take active roles in generating and implementing real solutions to real problems.

Bioregionalism, first articulated by Peter Bergin the 1970s, argues for an awareness of the interconnections between humans and other life forms within a specific region. It’s a concept which encourages us to move beyond thinking of ourselves solely as citizens of a nation-state and instead advocates for an identity rooted in the bioregion where we live. It's an approach that highlights the importance of understanding, engaging with and caring for one’s local ecosystem and the flora, fauna, and funga that inhabit it. Bioregionalist practices are a commitment towards ecological stewardship while also asking us to become part of the social, ethical, and environmental care of the local region.

A more-than-human ethics of care is rooted in a philosophy of radical care that emphasises the need to actively attend to the nonhuman world. This practice of care and attention informs ethical obligations by encouraging a deeper relationship with the living world that prioritises reciprocity and mutual flourishing. Radical care aims to be transformative and systemic by working towards a deeper, more holistic engagement with the more-than-human world. Radical care means acknowledging the complex, often invisible interdependencies that bind humans to other species and ecosystems.

Transdisciplinarity is critical for addressing the ecological, social, and technological crises, as finding solutions requires a wide diversity of perspectives from multiple academic and nonacademic domains. Transdisciplinarity isn’t just a strategy; it’s a necessary approach for navigating the complexities of the intersecting crises.

Play is our methodology and ethos. Play not just as an activity, but an attitude - one that embraces whimsy, experimentation, and the joy of creative experimentation. Such an approach allows us to challenge the status quo, rearrange ideas, and imagine alternative possibilities through a process of “What if?” Play is about the fluid reconfiguration of relationships, materials, and concepts. David Graeber, in his essay, What’s the Point If We Can’t Have Fun? (2014) invites us to envision a world where nonhuman beings play, not for any evolutionary benefit, but out of sheer joy. “Why do animals play? Well, why shouldn’t they? The real question is: Why does the existence of action carried out for the sheer pleasure of acting, the exertion of powers for the sheer pleasure of exerting them, strike us as mysterious? What does it tell us about ourselves that we instinctively assume that it is?” OIKOS is more-than-human play.

We subscribe to an ongoing practice of self-reflective criticality; the act of continuously reflecting on one’s own assumptions, methods, and positionality within a given context. It involves recognising the limitations of one’s perspective and the biases that inform it. It pushes us to examine not just the systems we engage with but also our role in perpetuating or disrupting them. This practice helps avoid uncritical reproduction of dominant narratives or solutions that may, at best, be counterproductive, and at worst, be inadvertently reinforcing harmful practices. We must continuously ask ourselves, is what we’re making actually helping? Is it making a difference? And how could it be done better? By interrogating our own frameworks in light of new knowledge, perspectives, and realities, we encourage an adaptive, open-minded and open-ended approach that values humility and the possibility of change.

The concept of permeability subverts the conceptual boundaries humans create between spaces—whether physical, symbolic or relational. Walls, buildings and cities are symbols of our desire to impose separations between an inside and an outside, between the human and the nonhuman world. Permeability is about dissolving these binaries and opening spaces of shared possibility. OIKOS asks how might we reimagine spaces, materials and processes that allow for flow, exchange, and interaction between the human and nonhuman? Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s concept of contamination in The Mushroom at the End of the World refers to the inevitable and messy entanglements that occur when different species, ecologies, and social systems interact. Tsing challenges the ideal of purity—whether in nature, culture, or economic systems—by arguing how entanglement is a fundamental aspect of living in the world. Instead of trying to maintain impermeable, “pure” spaces, a focus on permeability acknowledges that life is always interconnected, dynamic and entangled.

The things we create are not neutral—everything comes embedded with values and consequences often overlooked by its creators. Our art, design and technologies affect not only human behaviour, thinking, society and culture, but also the planet in often unintended ways. Axiological design prioritises the ethical and value-driven aspects of creativity and innovation. It is rooted in the study of values and challenges us to reconsider how we create, and what are the consequences of those creations. It calls for research and long-term thinking that integrates principles such as impact, circularity, resilience, and mutualism into the creative process.

Before the agricultural revolution, humans cohabited with a wide diversity of nonhuman species in shared environments. With the advent of agriculture some 11,000 years ago, the situation began to change. Humans began cultivating land, domesticating select animals, and creating permanent settlements. This gave rise to the concept of private property and human dominance over space where the land and its resources were controlled, and nonhuman life, that life which did not serve our needs, was increasingly excluded.

The rise of cities and the expansion of human civilisation across the planet have reinforced this impermeable divide by creating exclusionary spaces where nonhuman species are either displaced or domesticated. The idea of wild animals not “belonging” in human spaces has become normalised. As human populations and industries grow, vast tracts of land are converted for agriculture, urbanisation, and resource extraction, leaving only small, fragmented patches of “wild” spaces where animals can exist. Today, these remaining wild areas continue to shrink while the majority of the planet is shaped and controlled by human activity, further pushing nonhuman life to the margins of existence.

We are now living through an unprecedented ecological crisis, the largest loss of life since the dinosaurs. Wild mammals have declined by 85% since the rise of humans. The rapid loss of biodiversity has accelerated what scientists call the sixth mass extinction. This mass loss of species is pushing ecosystems beyond their tipping points, and if this continues unabated, it will lead to cascading collapses of ecosystems crucial to the planet’s health and stability.

And while we cannot undo the damage that has already been done, we can imagine and create new ways to cohabit the planet. OIKOS seeks to develop creative, speculative approaches to fostering multispecies coexistence by rethinking how we design, live, and build in ways that sustain not just human life, but the nonhuman lives with which we share the earth.

The notion of cohabitation and coexistence is not an abstract theoretical concept. It simply means rethinking how we inhabit and shape the spaces we share with other species. It means designing and redesigning our human-dominated environments in ways that accommodate the needs of nonhuman life. By prioritising the flourishing of all species, we can create more resilient ecosystems that support the health of the planet, while also addressing the ethical responsibility we hold toward the nonhuman world.

• To conduct site-specific interventions in locations impacted by habitat and/or biodiversity loss. These interventions would be an opportunity to experiment and test out new designs, materials and processes.

• Offer hands-on workshops and educational programs for the public to explore techniques, methods, and philosophies around multispecies cohabitation and bioregionalism.

• Organise and curate exhibitions that showcase work from the collective. In particular, demonstrating new, experimental approaches to multispecies cohabitation. Such exhibitions would serve as space to engage the public, spark conversation and highlight OIKOS projects.

• Host symposiums that bring together thinkers, practitioners, and experts across disciplines to discuss and explore the challenges and opportunities in ecological design and cohabitation.

• Produce and publish essays and research papers in digital and (possibly) print formats. These publications could provide a platform for critical analysis, theoretical reflections, and practical case studies on ecological design and multispecies collaboration.

• Initiate long term projects with local communities, cities, councils, organisations, and institutions to implement real-world, site-specific solutions. This could involve designing and testing experimental habitats or public spaces that integrate human and nonhuman needs.

Our objectives for an online platform:

• A showcase of past and ongoing work, research and experiments of its members.

• A directory for discovering fellow practitioners working on and around the themes of multispecies cohabitation and coexistence. 

• An open repository of knowledge and resources. 

• Announcements for upcoming events, workshops and exhibitions. 

• A space for publishing essays, articles, films or other media.

Future aspirations for OIKOS primarily include establishing a dedicated physical site. The site would ideally function as both a transdisciplinary residency and a living laboratory where experimental projects, material innovations, and design processes can be developed and tested in real-world contexts. It would also serve as a venue for public engagement - hosting exhibitions, lectures, and symposiums around multispecies cohabitation. Do you have a suitable site to offer? Get in touch!

• Be part of a transdisciplinary collective pushing boundaries in the study and practice of multispecies cohabitation.

• Participate in exhibitions, group shows and public space interventions.

• Participate and represent OIKOS at symposiums and conferences.

• Contribute to academic and nonacademic publications.

• Access future funding opportunities for projects aligned with OIKOS’s vision.

• Connect with a transdisciplinary network of artists, designers, architects, scientists, ecologists, researchers, as well as other collectives.

• Consult and work on projects for a range of public and private stakeholders.

We welcome a wide range of practices that prioritise experimentation, speculation and play, together with real-world applications and interventions to push the research into new uncharted territories. Beyond the examples below, our focus lies in pushing the boundaries of creative and practical responses to multispecies cohabitation. We are also interested in those bringing non-Western and Indigenous perspectives on traditional and vernacular building practices that foster multispecies coexistence. Whether through innovative design, ecological and cultural research, we encourage projects that challenge conventional approaches and offer new ways of thinking and acting in support of multispecies life on earth.

• Existing networks, collectives, organisations, companies, institutions and graduate students working on the topic of multispecies cohabitation.

• Artists working on themes of nonhuman communication, intelligence, collaboration and cocreation.

• Architects and planners designing spaces and infrastructure that integrate human and nonhuman habitats and living.

• Landscape architects developing spaces that support wildlife, plant diversity, and ecological balance within human-dominated landscapes.

• Biodesigners and bioengineers experimenting with biomaterials and living systems to create new forms of multispecies materials, substances and processes.

• Ecologists and environmental scientists studying and proposing solutions for the preservation and restoration of ecosystems.

• Citizen scientists.

• Anthropologists studying traditional and indigenous knowledge practices and systems between humans and other species.

• Philosophers and theorists engaging in critical inquiry into ecological ethics, multispecies relationships, and the Anthropocene.

• Those experimenting with new technologies or new applications for existing technologies, such as AI.

• Designers, artists and craftspeople experimenting with new materials, forms, structures and designs for multispecies interaction, adaptation, and cohabitation.

• Activists, organisers and policymakers advocating for policies and actions that prioritise multispecies justice, the protection, restoration and development of multispecies ecosystems.

• Researchers studying traditional and vernacular building practices in non-Western contexts.

Currently, OIKOS exists entirely online with the future ambition of a physical site. Do you have tips or an offering of a site? Get in touch!

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