Slow Space Part I

“Life is about exploring the world, and our reactions to it, at our own speed." - Carl Honore*

In an era of information super-highway, where notions of speed and productivity dominates how we value the way we live and work, we have forgotten the pivotal role of our home as a refuge for us to rest and slow down.

Rapid expansion of Global Capitalism and technological advancements over decades has forced us to accelerate almost every aspect of our lives.
Satellites, Cell phones, computers, internet, microwaves, electronic gadgets, automobiles, television, etc - all have convinced us to work faster, talk faster, eat faster, travel faster, shop faster, and play faster. Our hurry lifestyle consequently has a detrimental effect on the traditional role of our home. Home has lost its value as a place that could offer tranquility; instead it has utterly become an extension of our workplace adapting to our hurried lifestyle.

Technology were initially invented to provide convenience and free ourselves from work, but ironically, two centuries after the first Industrial Revolution began, we now work longer hours than ever before just to catch up with ever-rising expectations of our modern society. Even at home, we standby 24/7 answering business calls, checking emails and fax sent from clients overseas, net meeting with colleagues over the internet, and making tasteless microwave food just to spare more time for work after meal. Even if we do receive empty time, we rather spend it on watching televisions, chatting on msn with friends, and browsing through friend’s YouTube or Facebook profiles, than spending quality time to slow ourselves down. Our ‘wired’ homes could no longer provide ourselves the opportunities to feel ‘unplugged’.

Polarizing