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Stiliyana Minkovska
Architect | Artist | Designer | Maker | Researcher
Ultima Thule - an alternative childbirth environment
Ultima Thule is a project that interrogates the design landscape of childbirth within a hospital setting. The term Ultima Thule is derived from a Latin phrase meaning ‘a distant unknown region’ or ‘beyond the known world’. It also refers to a trans- Neptunian object compiled from data by NASA’s New Horizons team, composed of two planetesimals, nicknamed ‘Ultima’ and ‘Thule’ – they are joined together along their major axes.
My own voyage into motherhood came into focus during childbirth, when physical sensations gave way to an interstellar experience. As my body lay supine on the delivery table, my mind became fluid, and I found respite through exploring the farthest imaginable place: Ultima Thule. This work captures my position as a designer and architect, but also as a mother who felt like a medical object during the birth in January 2016 of my daughter, Stelena. These designs largely address the issues that I personally experienced at that time. Through the project, I recognise that birth is not a universal or monolithic experience, hence the flexible nature of the three design objects that I am proposing.
Ultima Thule presents an alternative to the hospital birthing environment – a space that I feel has been designed to allow for certain harmful procedures and techniques. My research reimagines the technological and institutional elements of the birth setting, and instead proposes a sanctuary-like environment for both mother and child. In this space, the mother has greater control over of their delivery and reproductive health. Here, they can embody multiple roles, including that of parent, but also partner.
The triptych was donated to St Thomas’ hospital in London on 6th of July 2020, where it is currently used by midwives, obstetricians and mothers for training and educational purposes.