A house is a machine for living in. ~ Le Corbusier

In 1927, Le Corbusier changed the way we designed modern life - and modern homes - with his architectural manifesto that celebrated the age of the machine. A century later we need a new vision for the way we live: one that celebrates the relational as much as the rational, and treats our shared home as a living body instead of a machine for living.

What if we treated our home as more than a machine for living?

From the enlightenment to the industrial and digital revolution - we have lived a rational, machine-driven existence. We objectify, mechanize and quantify almost every aspect of our daily lives and treat the natural world as inert and infinite. The rational system we built normalizes every exchange as transactional, even celebrates the ones that are harder-edged or expendable. While it has enriched many and fueled incredible progress, it has come at great cost: domination and disconnection.

Integrating Rational and Relational Creativity

As we lean into the era of artificial intelligence, how can we begin to seed a more relational system? We believe if we embrace the full breadth of human creativity - not only from our heads, but from our hands, our hearts and whole human bodies - we can create a different kind of world built on collaboration and connection. Creative States is a production studio offering a creative framework and curatorial content to help designers and decision-makers integrate the rational with a more relational creativity, one that re-engages the long-forgotten wisdom of our Felt Sense.

Re-Engaging Our Felt Sense

“Most of us see ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, but we are actually feeling creatures that think.” – Jill Bolte Taylor

Evolved as a means of survival millennia ago, our bodies constantly scan and process cues in our surroundings to alert the brain of danger, safety or symbiosis. We now know this process of neuroception, or our Felt Sense, is as important as conscious thought in our choices and experiences. We sense and feel through our nervous systems to create consciousness. In fact, we feel the world before we think about it. Yet, many of us have lost touch with the vitality of our Felt Sense.

Our Felt Sense grounds us in our:

Physical Senses - the tactility of our hands, and the viscera of touch, taste, sight, sound, smell

Emotional Senses - emotions that are expansive, such as wonder, curiosity, honesty, compassion, joy, play, sensuality

Intuitive Senses - instinctive knowing, energetic sensing, subconscious listening

When we sit in our Felt Sense, we pay attention differently. We listen more deeply to our surroundings, each other, and the living systems that envelop us. We remember that we do not have a body in a world of things, but are a body among a web of beings. We become participants rather than possessors of a world that is sentient, connected and alive.

Awakening Creative States

“All things change according to the state we are in.” – Robert Henri

By centering ourselves in our bodies, we shift our entire being into a different state. Our brains release neurochemicals known to foster generosity and generativity toward others and other bodied beings. This mind-body connection reawakens our Creative States, creativity that orients us away from distrust and disconnection toward collaboration across boundaries, perspectives, languages and species. When we invite others into this state, and meet each other in our Creative States, we begin to feed reciprocity and mutual respect. We flow toward flourishing.