Sensing to slow down
This project is very dear and near to my heart. I got the priviledge to put all my big interests in one project: sensory art, mindfulness, space & mental wellbeing. Throughout my life I have always been interested in knowing everything with this eagere to ask many questions and be curious.
By following the master’s Interior Architecture from CorpoReal & ArtEZ, I experienced the freedom of experimenting with my interests, finding new methods, and (un)learning how to do research.
My graduation project shows how to engage with the space and experience all of the fundamentals within one space. The project itself has taught me a lot more than I expected, learning not only about the concepts and experiences but also a great deal about myself and how I work as an architect. It has shown me that I am not only an architect but also fulfil the role of an artist.
My research started with my interest in mindfulness and how my generation is having problems with stress, burnout, mental health, and coping with modern society. Wondering whether this concept can be integrated into our everyday surroundings is the main drive of my research. I invented the key term Ambiosati to make a clear definition of what this ‘feeling’ is.
“The surroundings (ambio) are creating and fostering the experience of mindfulness (sati), which normally a person would need to practise from within, but with Ambiosati, the influence of the surroundings is stimulating mindfulness in itself”
Merel Fentener van Vlissingen (2024)
The goal of my research was to slow down time and its stressful impact, so the first question that arose is “How can time be manipulated?”. I used new methods and started trusting more in my expertise on the topic and the art of sculpting. The question was answered with three fundamental abstracts:
1. Detachment
2. Time realisation
3. Pressure points
After all, mindfulness and architecture are strongly connected, as mentioned by Y. Kawai.
“Our mind is an integral part of our body, and our body is a part of the physical environment” – Yoko Kawai (2018)
Using the idea that our minds are in the environment, it becomes logical to use architecture as a medium to help reduce stress levels. With my project, I aim to create a tool that is applicable to all and any spaces for people to integrate and use. In this, I hope to create a solution to the downsides of modern society in which people have the freedom to experience a destressing state.
