RAAAF + barbara visser reject seating in the workplace with faceted installation

RAAAF + barbara visser reject seating in the workplace with faceted installation
photo by jan kempenaers
all images courtesy of RAAAF

as an example for an environment which rejects seated positioning in the contemporary workplace, design studio RAAAF [rietveld architecture-art affordances] and visual artist barbara visser have fabricated a faceted mass within the looiersgracht 60 gallery in amsterdam. titled ‘the end of sitting’, the non-euclidean surfaces negate the typical desk and chair elements, and provide undetermined functionality for off-angle engagement with one’s space.

photo by jan kempenaers

‘in our society almost the entirety of our surroundings have been designed for sitting, while evidence from medical research suggests that too much sitting has adverse health effects,’ the design team states. in clarifying the project’s aims, the continue, ‘the installation’s various affordances solicit visitors to explore different standing positions in an experimental work landscape. 

‘the end of sitting’ follows up on an earlier mute animation titled ‘sitting kills’, by RAAAF and barbara visser. for this envisioned scheme, see designboom’s previous article here.

photo by jan kempenaers

photo by jan kempenaers

photo by jan kempenaers

photo by jan kempenaers

photo by ricky rijkenberg

photo by ricky rijkenberg

photo by ricky rijkenberg

project credits:

client: RAAAF i.c.w. looiersgracht 60
installation: ronald rietveld, erik rietveld, arna mackic
construction: landstra & de vries ondersteund door schaart adventures
funded by: mondriaan fonds, stichting DOEN, amsterdams fonds voor de kunst, looiersgracht 60
photography: jan kempenaers (kleur), frederica rijkenberg (zwart-wit)
status: realized 2014
client vision sitting kills: atelier rijksbouwmeester
visie sitting kills + the end of sitting: RAAAF | barbara visser
animation: olivier campagne, artefactorylab