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PHILOSOPHY ︎︎︎
Envelope is threshold.  
In architecture, the envelope refers to the physical boundary that separates interior from exterior — the public from the private. Depending on its design, this envelope can range from an open, welcoming park pavilion to a rigid, impenetrable border wall. The connection between design and the experiences it fosters extends beyond the physical realm, as seen in the digital interfaces we engage with daily and the habits they shape. This echo’s Henk Oosterling’s poigniant axiom, “Dasein ist Design,” in which he suggests that in a world where everything is aesthetically considered, engineered, marketed, and consumed, existence itself is a form of design or art.

Envelope is mirror.
In metaphysics, the envelope can also be viewed as a wall of sort, one that defines the boundaries of intersecting ideas. These boundaries form what Peter Sloterdijk describes in his book Bubbles as ontological “immune systems.” These “bubbles” of existence—shaped and sustained by the atmospheric conditions of a particular time, place, and community—emerge through the proliferation of ideas and the exchanges that occur on both individual and global scales. Metaphysical envelopes that offer a topological lens through which we can reflect and understand the phenomenalogical forces driving what is commonly refered to as globalization.

Envelope is biome.
Bruno Latour, the anthropologist behind , adopted elements of Sloterdijk’s ideas to expand his own work, particularly in areas of political and ecological studies. For Latour, the envelope became a metaphor for the Biosphere — the thin layer of Earth where all life exists — and the political actors who shape decisions regarding the planet's health. Known for his critique of epistemological traditions, Latour came to adopt the power of art to communicate hybrid concepts and bridge gaps between nature and culture. At the core of his later work was his desire to raise concern for the Earth’s “critical zones” — the fragile areas essential for life. 

Envelope is community.
It’s at this intersection of the arts, nature, and politics, that our own conceptual envelope begins to take form. Through thoughtful exhibitions, publications, and programming, Envelope aims to create a space where new ideas can be developed and nurtured. It‘s a space where tactics for liberation can be explored through art actions and performance. A space where radical kindness and ancestral rage can coexist in the face of anachronistic tradition. A space where the natural world is regarded as family and social welfare is prioritized above all else. A space where, under the pressure of critical discourse, we can challenge the integrity of old paradigms—oxidizing the Occidental, eroding the monumental, and embracing the aberrant.

This is a space where, as a community of creative thinkers, we can synthesize the challenges that time presents us, and cultivate a permacultural approach to human growth and solidarity. We invite you to join us as we venture into the unknown.

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