As a 40 year old, I had to work with 10 year olds to help them visualise what their (and my) home town would look like in 30 years time. Encounterism is a joyous immersion into the everyday pleasure and shared humanity we stand to lose in an increasingly digital world.

Encounterism is not a book about architecture, it is a book is about everyday joy; which for me acutely manifests itself in the everyday joy of being an architect. We collaborate with authors across all adult fiction genres, and also handle children’s books, young adult and cross-over fiction. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Andy Field guides us through a series of perfectly ordinary situations (going to the cinema, dancing in a club, walking in a park) and invites us to reflect on the hidden wonders of each moment shared with friends, family and even strangers.It is therefore no surprise that the author, Andy Field, is performance artist that specialises in human interaction. Because of years of experience in those groups and sometimes leading them, I was very disappointed in the overall content and depth of the essays.

Field’s book takes you on a journey through his own everyday ‘encounters’ which have shaped his life. Why auditoriums, theatres, cinemas (and the act of being-in-person) goes beyond the spatial and visual; and can even be chemical – ‘literally breathing each other in’. Haughty nightclubs, community parks, backs of car seats and movie theaters give us physical space to relate differently, and be different. We must not lose sight of working with people we love working with… Therefore, meet in person, share those experiences, get hungry together, get hot/cold together, share in each other’s pains, radiate, share in joy, confidence, awkwardness, nervousness, and everything else that defines what it is to exist on this planet – together. My thoughts and feelings about getting a haircut are entirely different from his, but I felt that he was stretching out his writing.Each essay is carefully crafted, and full of questions that lead the reader onto further contemplation. Encounterism is a joyous immersion into the everyday pleasure and shared humanity we stand to lose in an increasingly digital world.

The RA is a unique institution, an independent charity with a mission to be a clear, strong voice for art and artists, where art is made, exhibited and debated. To be clear, Field is not writing as some man-child, he is however an adult who hasn’t been worn down by the repetition and responsibilities of adulthood.The book is littered with chunks of information and psychology which feel more like anecdotes at a dinner party, as opposed to academic prose. It always bothers me afterward, and I do my best to apologize where possible, but this book really reminded me how much deeper it can go when we don't treat people well and/or don't appreciate everyone we come into contact with. To me, the word "encounter" brings back the groups in that I participated back in the 1970s, we spent a couple of hours each time sitting on bean bags in a circle.

Encounterism" is a quirky but accurate way to describe the regular moments of friction that permeates our lived experience. The chapter also showcases his strong attention to detail such as the Steve James "City so Real" documentary. The light touch of a hairdresser's hands on one's scalp, the euphoric energy of a nightclub, huddling with strangers under a shelter in the rain, a spontaneous snowball fight in the street, a daily interaction with a homeless man--such mundane connections, when we closely inhabit the same space, and touch or are touched by others, were nearly lost to "social distancing. The light touch of a hairdresser’s hands on one’s scalp, the euphoric energy of a nightclub, huddling with strangers under a shelter in the rain, a spontaneous snowball fight in the street, a daily interaction with a homeless man―such mundane connections, when we closely inhabit the same space, and touch or are touched by others, were nearly lost to “social distancing.You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. What understanding of the world, and of each other, are we depriving ourselves of as we spend less and less time in proximity to all these strangers and their lives that are so very different from our own? Urban life really does require human interaction, Field explores this with child-like passion, and helps remind us that remote-desktoping your life is not life at all. A rousing reminder that our cities, our residential and work places, must still allow for the possibility of spontaneity and shared, in-person joy. At home with our screens, we have yet to bounce back from that disruption, yet to readopt old habits like commuting to the office or watching movies at the multiplex.