Moving Within Architecture

Standardised design practices depend highly on assumptions about the human body and its abilities – this leads to overly prescribed and planar spaces which fail to engage users with the richness of their spatial potential. This dissertation explores approaches to design which encourage movement, play and exploration with(in) the built environment. The work was developed by MSc Ciro Romer in parallel to contributions to the Woodland Cabin.

The research examines artistic practice, sports and non-standard ways of building, to discover potential opportunities for an approach to designing that is not based on standardised assumptions but instead focuses on providing potentials for movement beyond the ground plane. Based on the explorations in the context of Hooke Park, it becomes clear that elements of architecture often act as a rigid boundary and restrictive guideline for singular in their use, rather than a source of potential for interaction. Advocating for the design of spaces which embrace re-interpretability en non-prescriptive potentials for spatial exploration.

The dissertation concludes with a list of design guidelines, to serve as an alternative approach to architectural design.

Image Credit: Last slideshow image from Frederick John Kiesler