Space for Birth & Senses

Space for Birth and Senses

Light, smell, color, temperature, material, and the texture of surfaces play an important role in our perception. The "Space for Birth and Senses" is a walk-in clay structure that allows visitors to experience the influence of space and environment on birth and health. It is located on the meadow near the Frauenmuseum Hittisau and can be visited during the museum's opening hours.

© Frauenmuseum Hittisau / Laurenz Feinig

The prototype for a birthing room is based on a conceptual idea by Anka Dür. The young architect and aspiring midwife designed a contemporary birthing center near a hospital. In a team with Anna Heringer, Martin Rauch, and Sabrina Summer, this evolved into the prototype for an innovative birthing room.

Anka Dür

She is an architect and has been a midwife in training since 2017. She is also a founding member of IG Geburtskultur a-z and, as such, is largely responsible for its content. She studied at TU Innsbruck, ETH Zurich, and TU Berlin and designed a birthing center with clay birthing rooms for her architecture diploma thesis at TU Innsbruck.

Anna Heringer

For her environmentally friendly construction and consideration of traditional building forms, the architect, who works in Africa and Asia among other places, was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Her project, developed together with Martin Rauch, was presented in the main pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2018.

Martin Rauch

He is an artist, architect, and pioneer in clay construction, internationally renowned and awarded numerous prizes. For the new herb center of Ricola in Laufen, he compacted 3000 tons of clay, demonstrating that the natural material meets all hygienic requirements when coated with wax.

Sabrina Summer

She is a designer and interior architect and lives and works in London, where she has worked on various projects at Zaha Hadid Architects and Ab Rogers Design, a multidisciplinary design studio. For two years, she has been working on the realization of the Maggie’s Centre in Sutton, a cancer support center with an open character.

© Frauenmuseum Hittisau / Angela Lamprecht From left to right: Martin Rauch, Anna Heringer, Sabrina Summer, Anka Dür

A birthing center is a place where women can give birth to their children self-determinedly in warmth and safety. It is not a competitor to the clinic, but an alternative.

Marita Metz-Becker

• 1953, Cultural scientist, folklorist and educator

© Frauenmuseum Hittisau / Angela Lamprecht

The "Space for Birth and Senses" is an art project and part of a larger vision. It aims to pave the way for a new, holistic consciousness in which spaces and materials support physiological and regenerative processes. The object encourages a greater focus on the senses. Various birthing positions can be adopted. An active birthing person works with gravity. Upright standing, walking, sitting, kneeling, hanging, and moving support the birthing process.

© Frauenmuseum Hittisau / Angela Lamprecht

The "Space for Birth and Senses" would not be possible without the active support of numerous individuals, companies, and sponsors. The clay bricks found 500 patrons who co-financed the project through a crowdfunding campaign. With their help and thanks to regional companies, the realization of a vision became possible. Thank you!

The "Space for Birth and Senses" was created as an external part of the exhibition “geburtskultur. vom gebären und geboren werden” (birth culture: on giving birth and being born) in spring 2020 on behalf of the Frauenmuseum Hittisau and can be visited during our museum opening hours (Tuesday to Sunday 10 am – 5 pm).

Curators: Stefania Pitscheider Soraperra (Frauenmuseum Hittisau) Anka Dür and Brigitta Soraperra (IG Geburtskultur a-z)