Corporeal

Work of students

Humanity has never changed as much as it has in the last 20 years, in social interactions, economical systems, our living environment in cities and neighbourhoods or in the on-going globalisation. We educate our students not only to creatively respond to a world of constant changes, but particularly to help shape possible future events into advantages for humanity through design by introducing interior architecture as a situated practice. We help them develop a strong understanding of appropriate research methodologies in art and design practice-led research, specifically relating to approaches as critical thinking, performance, grounded theory, creative writing and curatorship. Thus re-thinking what society needs now to face the challenges of the future.

Finals 2019 MA

Małgorzata Gniatkowska

Play

Urban public spaces need educational aspects that promote play and generate a sense of community. To encourage children and adults to go out on the street, the project aims to transform the city into an ageless playground .

Rosie van Beuningen

Balance

Students increasingly suffer with the pressure of performance. How can we create a school environment where they can find balance between stress and rest by introducing slow motion, responding changes and dancing through space?

Phuong Dáo

Architectural space

Starting from the Western and Japanese’s perception, I am developing another notion of architectural space, a place man can inhabit, but also a moment he experiences his presence in the relationship with the outside world.

Alana Jansen

Choreography

My goal is to make people aware of their communication with a spatial design, by using choreography as a design tool. Architects and choreographers are ultimately both space artists. The square as a theatre!

Cille van den Brink

Future supermarket

Our current supermarkets consist of a large range of (pre-)packaged foods. In the future, these products will be offered online so that the physical supermarket can be transformed into a food experience.

Xiaomin Deng

Spiritual space

Spiritual space is taking on the role of chapels in the context of globalization, to offer repose. My thesis tries to figure out how can space serve as a mediator between physical and mental being.

Fenne van den Heuvel

Literature and architecture

By examining known architecture and experimenting on a case study poem, I developed five methods (representation, movement, order, meaning, and feeling) that can be used to convert literature into architecture.

Mariska Boer

Privacy

We work at various locations, a "privacy workplace" in a "retail" environment seems impossible. By controlling, personalizing and indicating your workplace you create privacy. Is a workplace in a store possible now?

Qi Liu

Inside outside

Being part of a place means being in a dynamic relationship with it.  The place is inherently connected with all the activities in and around it.

Mandela Jap-A-Joe

Paramaribo

How can the gap between the past and the future of inner city life in Paramaribo be bridged appropriately? My design method combines what is left of a damaged traditional wooden house with modern technologies.

Finals 2018 MA

Data Skin

Maarten Mulder

We live in a digital age where people are more connected through digital devices. This changed the way we communicate. Physical presence isn’t needed to speak to someone, see someone and be in their environment. We can do this remotely and on demand, what affects our social structures and privacy. Our digital behavior is being tracked and stored; we all know. Although we know, we aren’t changing our behavior on social media for instance. This occurs because effects of digital behavior are not impacting our physical world immediately. In the domestic environment the façade’s function as privacy filter disappeared, data-streams are not blocked. In other words, the façade is digitally open when data is coming in and going out. With the data skin a new relation with privacy arises in this digital age, uses incoming and outgoing data to change its transparency, connecting the digital and physical world.

The Woven Wall

Cathérine Schoenmakers

How to make a soft spatial construction? Soft enough to lean on and solid enough to stand upright, not relying on the help of a hard and bumpy frame. Walls, floors, ceilings, every construction we make is hard. For most people, this kind of environment causes no problems, but some more vulnerable groups may function better in a softer environment.
In my research I looked at different kinds of techniques in textile manufacturing, this showed that a combination of constructive materials and soft yarns makes a perfect combination for building softer environments. Moreover, each can’t function optimally without the other: soft materials make the constructive material more stable and softer, while the constructive material makes the soft material more suitable for construction. With this theory in mind, I wove a three-layered wall. Using differences in length, the fabric creates spaces in between itself, making it stand on its own.

andersnieuw.nl

Spatial membership

Ashley Hoekerd

We are running out of resources. Houses are getting bigger and less people are living in them. We keep on buying stuff and filling the empty spots in our homes. At the same time we speak about a housing shortage in the Netherlands.

However something is changing; the end of owning is near. If we want music we open the Spotify app, if we want to see a movie we use Netflix, if we need a car we call Uber and if we need a place to sleep we book an Airbnb. These are all services in the form of a membership.

So when it comes to houses, let’s get a membership for space. In this way, we will only have the space we actually need. If we need more space, we upgrade and if we have too much space, we downgrade. When it comes to objects, let’s get a membership on that too.

Finals 2017 MA

THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF DAILY MOVEMENTS

Annika Beuving

A remarkable change has been taking place in recent years in the field of interior architecture. Though homes are still organised in the traditional way – bathroom, kitchen, living room, etc. – ongoing developments in digitisation have changed the ways in which these spaces are used. People are less and less physically active in their homes. In ‘The Choreography of Daily Movements’ I have been searching for a new approach to interior architecture from the perspective of dance. The dance theorist Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958), and particularly his vision of architecture and the design of everyday activities, was an important influence in this regard. I discovered that dancers consider a space from two different perspectives: the user space (the amount of space dancers use in their performance) and the emotional space (the amount of space a movement requires in order to convey a specific emotion). What would happen if these approaches were applied in a residential space? What would your own home look like, with your own everyday activities?

NATURE’S CHARACTER: A NEW ARCHITECTURE

Marit Reitsma

When I’m in nature I feel something moving all around me, when I’m indoors I feel lonesome. When I’m in nature I’m not required to do anything, when I’m indoors there’s always something that needs my attention. When I’m in nature I can see time happening, when I’m indoors I don’t understand how time works. When I’m in nature I can see colours exploding, when I’m indoors I can’t really experience them. When I’m in nature I see things others don’t see, when I’m indoors we all notice the same things. When I’m in nature I feel free, when I’m indoors I never really do. In order to experience the feeling of being in nature, we attempt to implement green in interior spaces, but what exactly is this need we’re trying to fulfil? Applying within design rules the experience of calm, fascination, freedom, inspiration, appreciation and immersion, makes it possible for us to live in homes that are no longer standardised. A space has been designed that better addresses human needs in today’s society. After all, nature has the ability to stimulate an open mind much more than an urban environment ever will.

www.maritreitsma.com

IMPLANT

Julia Meyerrose

We are all free to appreciate art in our own way, regardless of our educational background. And yet many exhibitions, particularly contemporary art exhibitions, may seem intimidating to potential visitors. Cultural institutions, with their elitist image, tend to cut themselves off from much of society. These barriers must be broken down, allowing museums and exhibitions of contemporary art to reach a wider audience by attracting people who might otherwise not feel any connection to art. In addition to the usual curatorial methods, we should also address the problem from another perspective: applying the methods of interior architecture to museums in order to facilitate transdisciplinary public access to art. A simple intervention – implanting elements that seduce, distract and inspire confidence – can play an important role in encouraging and supporting visitors in their appreciation of contemporary art.

www.meyerrose.nl

Finals 2016 MA

ADAPTABLE POP-VENUE OF DISCOMFORT (APoD)

Arco Hollander

Discomfort and inconvenience are often experienced positively in the context of old buildings. In new buildings also, discomfort and inconvenience can be used in order to influence and enhance the experience of users. However, new architecture is usually designed to be as practical as possible, resulting in boring, one-size-fits-all solutions. I discovered the qualities of discomfort and inconvenience during my research of old and new venues for popular music, and I decided to reintroduce these qualities in new architecture. This led to the development of the APoD, an adaptive pop music venue that provides additional quality through discomfort and inconvenience. A ‘space jockey’ can distort the space to suit the ambience of the music. Through variations in shape, height and size, the audience is guided into positions that provide added value to the musical experience.

https://vimeo.com/170845120

LOCALITY

Suzanne Overbeek

The pervasive availability of the internet makes it possible to find inspiration everywhere. Designers are always copying each other, whether consciously or unconsciously, resulting in environments that look increasingly alike. As a consequence of globalisation, however, people increasingly feel a need for local experiences. This need manifests itself first of all in physical objects and structures. Locality can also be found in narratives which connect objects and structures to a specific place. I developed a research method for improving control of locality and its possibilities for designers. This methodology consists of a number of dimensions that collectively define the concept of locality. These dimensions are brought together in a cart that allows a designer to conduct research of locality at any imaginable place. Applying this method at a specific location makes it possible to gain new insights that are necessary for the designer in arriving at a localised design. Thus the design and its narratives will reflect the specific locality.

https://vimeo.com/170846239

THE FRAGMENTED HOME

Aaltsje Venema

The huge amount of digital information we receive every day influences our lifestyle as well as our way of thinking. Research has shown that our brains are capable of adapting to new ways of processing information. We ‘like’ what our friends post on Facebook, we ‘follow’ images on Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube. All of these are channels in which we can see fragments of information from our real, physical life. I call this the ‘digital view’: viewing in fragments. This is what we are constantly doing with digital information: constructing collages, whether consciously or unconsciously, out of the wide variety of information we collect. But how would it be to physically experience this digital view? What would the space around you, or your own home, then look like? A home that is a reflection of the fragments which you have collected together in your thoughts?

www.aaltsjevenema.nl

CHANGEABLE HOME

José Koers

Contemporary society keeps changing at an ever-increasing speed. These changes in turn influence our sense of space. My research is a spatial research of freedom for changes in the residential interior. The main question I ask is: what would be the characteristics of a residence that adapts and connects to my everyday activities? Based on an analysis of a typical day in my life, I compiled an overview of my own everyday activities. Each activity causes a new change in lighting, spatial proportions, bodily posture and materiality. The changes compiled within this analysis provided the starting point for my spatial research. The context for this research is a space measuring 3x3x3 metres: a frame, my laboratory, in which different life-size activities take place within a compact space. Each activity in my laboratory triggers a spatial change. Since my movements cause changes, my body becomes an architectural element. Thus I become the conductor in my home. The objects within the space are not disordered

https://vimeo.com/174472889

THE NONE OBJECT

Roos Limbeek

These days we seem to always be busy doing something or going somewhere, while the boundaries between work and private life are becoming increasingly blurred. More and more people are looking for ways to escape this everyday routine and stress. My own interest, from the perspective of interior architecture, is in finding out why people do the things they do, and how spatial factors can influence them in this regard. Up until now such knowledge has been applied mainly for commercial purposes, but my own interest is rather in finding out how it can be used to influence people in a positive way. The concept of manipulation almost always has negative connotations, but can also be applied positively. During my graduation I investigated possibilities for escape, by giving people the feeling that they were briefly somewhere else. All of this comes together in The None Object. By researching a feeling everyone is searching for, I hope to influence people in a positive way.

CRAFTSMANSHIP

Sam Eerdman

The starting point for my research is the increasing independence of private citizens. It is becoming easier and easier to gain knowledge, and non-professionals are provided with more and more free online resources that allow them to easily design, download and produce their own home, interior or products. YouTube is filled with tutorials in which complex skills are explained step by step, while TV programmes and magazines keep people informed of the latest trends and possibilities. All of these contemporary developments are in fact seriously undermining the profession of interior architecture. Consumers increasingly have the possibility of doing everything themselves, completely bypassing the knowledge and craftsmanship of the professional interior architect. I find this particularly troublesome as a future interior architect, and so I have decided that this is an issue I must address. Using an online method, suitable to contemporary lifestyles, I am able to operate from a distance while also making it possible for private citizens to experience the value of an interior architect.

www.sameerdman25.wixsite.com

Finals 2015 MA

BOUNDLESS

Debbie van Dijk

Technological developments, population growth and increasing urbanisation all affect our living environment. Our personal space is shrinking and must therefore continuously adapt to the changing circumstances. This requires a different approach to the use of space within our homes. How can we create the optimal habitat in a minimal surface area and with limited resources? Rather than adapt to the space, why not make the space adapt to you? This space feels like a second skin and changes according to the life phases and the needs of the resident. A research which features a transformable background and makes visible the movement of everyday life. A spatial background, which is not massive, but rather becomes lighter. Which can be rolled up, pushed aside, folded, and put on as a second skin. An anonymous beginning, a space which becomes personal through the activities one performs within it.

PLAYFUL PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE OFFICE

Daphne van Rosmalen

Recent scientific research has shown that sitting down for extended periods of time is extremely unhealthy. Our bodies are made for moving. Up until now, however, office work has always meant that people spend most of their time sitting down. Chairs are designed to be more comfortable than ever before, making it possible for us to sit longer without experiencing immediate physical discomfort. Technological developments have also decreased the need for physical movement: you can email a question to a co-worker, or have a Skype meeting. Since we go on living longer, while the retirement age is expected to go on increasing, it is important for working people to remain healthy. This way, we will be able to continue working longer while also addressing the problem of increasing healthcare costs. Therefore it is crucial to consider the interior design of the office. In my research through design, I searched for a form in which working people are challenged to assume a variety of physical working postures, and to remain playfully physically active throughout the day.

COULD THERE BE A SHOPPING DISTRICT WITHOUT SHOPS?

Marleen Garstenveld

We’re all familiar with the experience of a busy shopping street on a Saturday afternoon. All kinds of people from different social backgrounds come together, all with their own goals: some of them are actively searching for a specific product, while others are just out for a day of fun shopping. Still they all have one thing in common: they all find themselves in the same place, where they are briefly disconnected from their everyday habits. Nowadays, however, one cannot help but notice many empty buildings in these shopping districts. Brick-and-mortar shops are slowly disappearing due to the increasing market share of online shopping, which is hard to beat in terms of convenience. You can now find and order the perfect product without ever having to go outside, with just a few mouse clicks. The next day already it can be delivered to your home. What else could you ask for? People thus need a new motivation to come to shopping districts. And so I asked myself: could there be a shopping district without shops? To answer this question, I studied the Eiland shopping district in the centre of the city of Zwolle. Here I conducted research and discovered how this shopping district could function without shops in the future.

www.marleengarstenveld.nl

AGEING

Stephanie Klein Holkenborg

‘Tomorrow’s senior citizens will be more like today’s youth than like today’s seniors.’ From the Dutch government report ‘Dynamiek in de derde leeftijd’ (a study of ongoing lifestyle changes among seniors).

We will soon be encountering a new generation of senior citizens. As described in the report quoted above, these new seniors will be different from those we see today. Research has indicated that they will have different requirements for living spaces, will wish to remain fully involved in society, and above all will not want to be seen as old. The ageing process is an important factor in our lives. Can we influence this ageing process in a positive way, or perhaps slow it down, so that these people can remain fully involved in society and continue to live independently? Research of the ageing process, of the new generation of seniors, and of their changing requirements for living spaces, has shown that it is indeed possible to slow down the ageing process. The apartments of these new seniors can contribute in a positive way to changing or slowing down this process.

https://vimeo.com/219362927

RESPECTFUL COMMUNICATION

Jip Zewald

To me it is extremely important how we as people treat each other. This has increasingly led me to the realisation that people, all too often, deal with each other very badly. We often seem to have very different ideas about desirable norms and values for respectful communication. For this project, I searched for an environment in which interpersonal communication is far from optimal, though everyone is still equal in the eyes of the law. The social welfare office is a very good example of such an environment. The relationship between clients and staff members is in fact far from equal. During the past five months I researched elements which I, as an interior architect, could apply in order to improve interpersonal communication. During this research I made use of spatial models, film and actors. The behaviour of angry people has been transposed to spatial elements that focus on influencing this behaviour in a positive way. The result is a piece of furniture in which I have implemented all of the answers from my research. This object shows how interior architecture can be used to promote positive interpersonal communication.