Part 1 in the Series: ‘Can the Box Make the World a Better Place?’

The box is often used as a metaphor for negative things. When No Doubt wrote Trapped In a Box, the box represented mind control. In Malvina Reynolds song Little Boxes, it represented conformity. When feeling suffocated by a situation there’s the phrase ‘boxed in’. Being too conventional? ‘Think outside the box!’

This negativity is unsurprising . The box is a simple, predictable object, qualities we don’t value very highly. However, the box has brought a lot of positive things into our lives. Where would breakfast cereal be without it? How would we move house without boxes? What could replace that feeling of excitement when you get a parcel in the post?

On the surface it may seem simple and predictable, but the uses of the box are endless. Provided you have a box big enough, you can put anything in it. Better still, you can close the lid and access it only when you want to. However, the negative metaphors associated with the box must exist for a reason. Could there be alternatives that better serve our needs?

This series will explore the box and its prominence in our world, beginning with its simplest form; packaging. As the series progresses ‘the box’ will be expanded to explore its impact on the design of housing and cities.

So, can the box make the world a better place?