Settings is a collective space designed by the young Amsterdam based architecture office XML for arts center de Appel. The project is comprised of a collection of moveable white blocks placed in four distinct plans inscribed onto the floor. The dynamic installation occupies the main exhibition hall and will be programmed by the Sandberg Institute in collaboration with de Appel as the main area of a month long festival about arts and politics. The blocks can be reconfigured to accommodate a continuous choreography of activities such as lecture sand debates, temporary exhibition sand master classes.
In times of increasingindividualismanddecentralization, ‘Settings’ explores the power of architecturetoactivatecollectivity – the quality or state of beingcollective. The installationaimsto re-engage the public with the collective effort of sharinganddiscussingideasbyofferinganarchitecture of four parallel spaces. Whereaseach of these spaces has itsowndistinctcharacteristics, theyallevokeparticularways of exchangingideas.
The project consists of sixty-four individual white blocks with a 40 by 40 cm footprint; the blocks have five different heights, increasing in steps of 10 cm from 30 cm to 70 cm. Within the confines of the typical museal white box, these blocks can be organized into four distinct configurations that accommodate a specific program: lecture, master class, debate and exhibition. Similar to a sports court, each configuration is marked on the floor with a different color, allowing for an easy transformation of one space into another. Each space offers a unique quality, while the super imposed plans simultaneously echo past activities and open up future potentials. This way, the installation stimulates a continuous awareness of the consequences of each configuration, while at the same time offering alternative forms of organization.
The lecture space positions the blocks in an auditorium-like grid, where as for master classes the blocks are loosely spiraling in to an imperfect circle allowing for a more intimate and pivotal focus. For debates, the blocks form two rows of facing benches dividing the space in two opposing positions. For interaction with art, the exhibition setting groups the blocks into a set of different islands offering alternating proximities to the exhibited works.
Other than a finite form, Settings is a playful exploration at allows visitors and users to experiment with different configurations to discuss and exchange ideas, and through that, ultimately, to experiment with their own sense of collectivity.
