Claiming Outer Space

As part of the IDaste programme, the organisers hosted a workshop called Habitando el Espacio Exterior (Claiming Outer Space) over the course of 4 days to collectively design and build outdoor seating for the ID·Arte School of Art and Design in Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The workshop was proposed as the initial phase of a project to furnish and equip the school’s outdoor spaces, which are currently only used for parking.

The work began by mapping out local resources in order to determine what raw construction materials could be used. Research was also conducted on the space itself, gathering information to analyse and identify potential uses, to evaluate the school’s needs and to establish possible seating typologies for this space.

The raw materials used to build the seating units included wooden planks and metallic structures sourced from the school itself, as well as tripled-layered plywood boards donated by a local company.

Through different group dynamics, a consensus was finally reached on a joint proposal to make a system of outdoor seating units based on three distinct designs.

The units were designed with geometric shapes that allow them to be used in various ways by creating different compositions and adapting them to different user needs. Certain geometric shapes were prioritised in order to create units that can easily be joined together and arranged in different configurations with elements of varying heights. As a result, the equipment can act as benches, platforms, catwalks, steps or a combination of tables and seats.

In addition to brainstorming, designing and constructing the units, we also created documentation and how-to instructions. This documentation has been archived on a web site (http://espacioexterior.hotglue.me). It details the construction process for all three all three unit templates shared on the platform El-Recetario.net. These are available to anyone interested. .