Architecture In The Exam Room: An Exhibition Exploring Design And Medicine

Imperfect Health explores the collision of fear, health, and urbanism in the 20th century. Doctors often talk about disease in terms of cities: Cancer cells are rogue factories, while parasites are invaders. Likewise, urban planners and architects have long talked about design in relationship to medicine and disease. The two professions share uncanny similarities, and their relationship is the basis for Imperfect Health, a fascinating exhibition curated by the Canadian Center for Architecture and on view at Carnegie Mellon University’s Miller Gallery this winter. Throughout history, the city was seen as a major hazard to human health. In fact, that belief (often correct!) is what gave rise to some of the very first modern architecture, designed to be safer and more hygienic. Yet as the curators of Imperfect Health are quick to note, architects are not doctors. “On the c...