These are my Hours: Care and Self-Determined Birth Spaces of labour

The documentary “These Are My Hours” by Scott Kirschbaum follows Emily Graham during the birth of her fourth child in her own house in South Carolina. During the birth, the house becomes the delivery room, and the furniture replaces the birthing bed in versatile ways. The movement of the body in space is an active factor during the birthing process.

Hospital births, constituting 97% of all births in Switzerland, often involve medical staff and restricted movement. Despite their prevalence, hospital births are linked to obstetric violence, encompassing non-consensual procedures and abuse. Over a quarter of Swiss mothers report experiencing pressure or mistreatment during childbirth. Alternatives like home births are less known and suffer from limited visibility in urban settings.

This project addresses the absence of support infrastructure for self-determined birth through social and architectural guidelines. Social guidelines emphasise care networks and education for pregnant individuals, while architectural guidelines propose a new birth-centric typology. A hub at Schwamendingerplatz offers accessible support, especially for vulnerable populations facing obstetric violence, providing information and resources for home births. Public events and multilingual pregnancy courses raise awareness about birthing options and obstetric violence.

A birthing space and a maternity bed provide space for people who are not able or do not want to deliver at home. Fabric influences lighting and atmosphere, and works as a non-descriptive, flexible aid to give birth, without limiting movement. Throughout the building, the spatial relationship between care work and the people giving birth is kept non-hierarchical, highlighting the importance of both parties. Always linked to the nearest gynaecologist office, these spaces can be reproduced all over Zürich and Switzerland, decentralising birth and the care work needed for it. The multiplication of these new institutions can create a network for self-determined birth.

Project by: Florian Rüegg, Sophia Humpeler, Ya Kun Peng

Teaching team: Anna Puigjaner, Jo Baan, Lisa Maillard, Luis Úrculo, Pol Esteve Castelló, He Shen

Design Studio: Automn 2023