Corpo-real and its' students are particularly focused on the connection between theoretical thinking, reflecting and the practical research. The fruitful meeting between these research methods in recent Finals projects shows that it leads to new findings and perspectives for the professional field.
Irem Biter
Space of in-betweenness
Space of in-betweenness is the name of my research that originate from my background in Architecture, overlapped with an interest in spaces, subcultures, identities and communities that are normally not physically represented in formal architecture. Space of in-betweenness is a conceptual space that exists between different identities, cultures and belongings where individuals may find themselves positioned. As a Turkish immigrant woman living in the Netherlands, I have been experienced a sense of not fully belonging to either the Turkish or Dutch communities. The space of in-betweenness where I inhabit is a threshold represents an intermediate zone where individuals are in a state of transition, situated between two different states or domains. This threshold which represents non-present moment that exist through the evocation of memory and imagination reproduces interactions, relations, temporality to not feeling alienated in space. 'The in-between in architectural space is not a literal perceptual or audible sensation, but an affective somatic response that is felt by the body in space. This feeling is not one arising from fact, but rather from the virtual possibility of architectural space.' (Peter Eisenman)
Olivier van Dam
The Embodiment of the Hearth within the Contemporary Home
Fire, central to the body of the home was once indispensable. As we gathered around we were able to find safety, cook, warm up and be amused. The human ability to keep fire not only meant the beginning of society but also of architecture. Today the thought of fire as starting point of architecture has been lost. What started with the fireplace moving off-center towards the wall was followed by the many devices that took over its practical functions. With the evolution of the hearth the central place of focus has been lost, resulting in a more secluded social structure within the contemporary home. In order to bring back a form of collectiveness, the extant hearth could still be a necessary asset in the way we will live together. Fire in the form of combustion, in a time of climate crisis and increasing population density, is however not the answer. By following a more sustainable trend caused by the energy crisis, a new place of focus can nonetheless be established through the means of thermal energy.
Jenny Do
A Space you Carry
According to Vietnamese, 'gánh' means 'to carry'. And the word 'gánh' is used either to describe a form of vendor with the baskets on their shoulder or to define an action of carrying items on the shoulder.
'Gánh' is caught on the sidewalks due to its significance, characteristic, and occupation. In this research, I mainly focus on the possibility that we may, at some point, be affected by natural disasters is unpredictable. Although I was privileged enough to not live in a disaster-prone area, in the central part of my homeland country, things are not always so easy. From the story of "gánh" and the story of the vendors, I come to realize the connection between carrying your spaces during evacuation.
Chila Ibrahim
The Future of the fashion runway
Architecture has a great role not only in designing retails and stores of high-brand fashions but also in developing their fashion shows. Designing the set of the fashion show is the combination of art, science and engineering, and they are typically hosted in a space; architects have been trained on the principles and elements of proportion and beauty to design a high-quality built environment and develop novel ideas that break the rules of conventionally made fashion shows. Solving current environmental problems is one of the tasks that has been focused in this research and has become a serious issue in many runways today; since fashion industry in general is also responsible for climate change with all the product that has been produced yearly in addition to all the fashion shows that held during the year, which let people to travel all over the world in order to see the fashion runway that increase environmental impact rapidly. While all luxury brands have stores throughout the globe, my question is why do people have to fly to a specific place in order to see the latest fashion trends? Climate change is a risk that cannot be disregarded because it relates to human life and is more important than clothes, fashion, and many other aspects in our life. My aim is to change the paradigm of the fashion runway in parallel with reducing the impact of the environmental issue.
Nazgol Mostafavinasab
In between regional and global
Trying to preserve the identity of the region and gain from what globalization can offer is what I am trying to do. I am researching ways of creating a space in-between regional and global using the traditional Iranian patterns from the art of mirror mosaic in the architecture parallel to working on the parameters.
Femke Rinsma
The importance of moving differently in the new way of working
During the corona crisis, it turned out that hybrid working is very important, after all, we can work anywhere. This flexibility offers freedom and autonomy to the employees. There are fewer permanent workplaces and the office spaces are used less or differently. Offices will become more meeting places for colleagues, you go to the office if you want to brainstorm, for creative processes and collaboration.
However with this new way of working, we have not only started working harder, but also become less productive. People are social beings and thrive best in a social environment, thereby we have become more sensitive to illnesses and burn outs. So to make the new way of working successful it is important to find a balance between working and relaxing.
Play can help with that, it activates the imagination, whereby autonomy, creativity, empathy, and motor skills are encouraged. With playing you can control your emotions, which is important to prevent to become overwhelmed and stressed out.
To integrate play into the new way of working, I made a piece of furniture that combines movement with work in a playful way.
Olgica Stavrova
Domestic Bliss
Being forced to stay at home during the pandemic made us rethink how we use our homes, making us more aware of our needs and how they relate to the space. To assure belonging and fulfillment, the domestic space should have the ability to adapt to the momentarily needs we experience every day and shape itself accordingly.
Inspired by my need of belonging in my own home during quarantine, I began reimagining the home as a space that is not defined by the elements in it, but by the inhabitant’s movements and actions within. Through this the home gains new configurations shaped by the users themselves, creating a more comfortable and accepting living environment.
Inez van der Steen
Visual sensitivity in response to everyday experiences
Perhaps you recognize this situation: having the same daily routine of activities; experiencing the same daily rhythms of sensation, day after day. You get up, get dressed, have breakfast, go to work or school, come home, eat and go to bed. The next day, the same scenario repeats itself. After a while, this routine can get boring. Take for example the route to your home, this route has become increasingly ingrained in your regular routine, automatically taking you to your destination. And that is strange, we humans, on the contrary, have a great desire for seeking excitement and having new experiences.
How can we make sure that we fully experience our daily surroundings? Is there perhaps a solution in our visual perception? In this research I try to find a way to ‘see’ the space again, by using different aspects of the sense of sight such as, light, depth, color, framing and illusion. Can I cause people to let go of their own expectations of space and take a whole new interpretation? I am inspired by the words of architect Eduardo Souto de Moura; “It is one thing to see with the eyes, another to see with the head”. Look further than you see at first.
Hennieke Velvis
Through the in-between, a transition between the private and shared place in collective living
I researched two concepts in collective living, one is the ‘canal lock’, which is a space with four walls and two doors that you transition through when you want to move from the private to the shared place. This gives you a designated place and path to adjust to the new situation you are going to enter. The second concept is the Dutch ‘stoep’ (EN; stoop), this is a transition where you move from the private to the shared through a threshold. I am looking for a way to implement the idea of a place for preparing and adjusting for the new situation without taking up as much space as a ‘lock’ does.
By research by making and doing I found out that the key lays in bringing two worlds together in the way Aldo van Eyck describes the in-between place by the story of the sailor. The sailor who longs for shore when they are at sea and longs for the ocean when they are at shore, but on the thin slice of land where sea and shore collide is where they feel at home. To bring this concept of the in-between to life I work with a door that is the start of a series of movements, movements that little by little reveal the shared place and bring the private and the shared places together so you can adjust and prepare accordingly.
Jing Wang
Invisible touch — Replace my dog by space
When I arrived in a new environment, the days of living with my dog became a memory. I started questioning how I can bring back the feeling of being with my dog into my new living space. I experimented with simulating scenes of my interactions with my dog that included pushing, pulling, hugging, touching, etc. I tried to recreate these activities and feelings by using different materials and exploring how they can be fulfilled without my dog’s presence.
