(Archive) A Spatial Theatre for Dialogue

The Design

My design forms a space for dialogue. The space consists of six different objects that form a spatial theatre by interacting with each other, they all form a different character. The theatre tells a story through the hierarchy between the different objects and the associations they evoke. One object could be strong and confident, while another is doubting.

The Dialogue

The objects also function as places in the room that invite people to sit or stand on them. I call my design a theatre, because people can take on the character of the object. When i stand on a heavy metal block, i become a hero. If the object forces me to bend forward, i suddenly look insecure. I had conversation with others about topics like politics, religion and feminism. By placing myself and the other person somewhere in the room, i break through a certain hierarchy. I place someone with a strong opinion in an awkward position or I place the woman 3 meters above the man. Not because it should be like that, but because i want to people to tell their stories by putting them in an unusual relationship to each other. The space can bring about a completely new situation, a new view worldview. The use of the space by others results in moments that you can't predict to happen before. The space becomes, in its use, a conversation, a performance and a new story.

My vision as a designer

As a designer I use my body in an experimental and theatrical way. I use the mental power relations between characters in theatre in my designs as extreme and unexpected spaces. I take my inspiration from scenography, in which an actor and space tell a story. I believe that in architecture, the human and space also come together to write a story. The visitor gives meaning to a space by exploring it and then it becomes a story in the memory of it. As a designer I can offer a space to grow stories by designing unexpected and sometimes uncomfortable spaces. By doing that I can speak to a person's imagination and how this person lives in the space shapes the story. In case of this design, I even distort hierarchies by adding compelling elements. This shapes a new situation, which can open a dialogue.