Dressing Surface Wounds

This paper suggests that the interior is a space that may become contorted, immolated, wounded, dissected, intestinally revealed and impaled through the course of its history. Through a discussion of a late-nineteenth century lunatic asylum constructed in Auckland and a series of instructional drawings for the aseptic treatment of wounds, the building’s surface is seen as a physical wound that sags, wrinkles, weeps and fails to support its own weight. Through an investigation of the wrapping principles of bandages, the exposure and covering of wounds, this paper explores attempts to cover, heal and support the 'wound' of an interior.