Space and Place

Abstract

The idea that spaces convey meaning has been explored in sociological and historical work over the last six decades. Scholarship, largely based in psychiatric contexts, increasingly suggests that the form and function of physical space is inextricably intertwined with person and place. My project uses a multidisciplinary approach to address the social meanings conveyed by the spaces of twentieth-century tuberculosis sanatoria. Considered to be part of the technology of treatment, many sanatoria used novel architectural design and therapeutic landscapes as adjuncts to pioneering open-air and work regimes. The spatial organisation of these isolation institutions, legitimised by growing medical expertise, was highly specific to each sanatorium. I investigate how variations in the sanatorium model can be traced beyond medical justifications to represent the social perceptions and objectives of their designers. The complex interplays of space and social place are explored through interpretation of two case studies: the Brompton Sanatorium, Frimley and the Papworth Village Settlement, Cambridgeshire. Using sociological elements of Lefebvre, Foucault and Goffman as well as historical evidence presented by Bashford, Bryder and Gilbert, I argue that the complex and multi-faceted physical construction of the sanatorium represents the societal dialogues of class, control and medical authority that defined the period. I conclude by suggesting that while the reflexive and cyclical interactions of space and place cannot be explained in their entirety, they can reveal a wealth of information about conflicting social perspectives at a point in time, a notion with substantial implications for modern medical design.

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