The overall is a loose-fitting single piece of clothing made from dark blue fabric. The back features a printed text in big white letters which reads “working on transformation”. Initially it only existed in the sizes M and L, which caused some students to create a size “S”. The overalls are to be worn over your own clothes, covering them completely.

Description

The primary purpose of these specific overalls is to perform or present an idea and engage with an environment through play and experimentation. The reference to work gear and the explicit motto “working on transformation”, allows one to temporarily leave one’s own personal identity and professional position behind and to slip into a role and become active.

There are different possible purposes for the overall. When used in collective sessions, it can indicate the group facilitators or mediators, clarifying their role to the rest of the group. When used in real life situations, for example in public space, the overall can help to clarify that one is in a designed or scripted situation, offering a sense of safety. When people address you, you can point at the overall and use it to clarify that you are performing an experiment or test, also indicating that you could take it off if people want you to temporarily stop the experiment to provide them with explanation and context. This shifting in and out of your role will give you more leeway to navigate and mitigate possible tensions.

In combination with other tools and props, overalls can help actors in an urban transformation process to perform various roles and portray a story as well as communicate information about the spatial, political and other aspects of a given context or environment. For example, when used in public space the overall starts to communicate the idea that a simple movement or gesture – like moving a potted plant or cleaning a wall – is part of a larger effort to transform that environment. People wearing the overall are both representing and enacting a certain change.

However, the overall – or the idea of the uniform – can also become a source of tension. For some people it might seem that you are “depersonalizing” yourself or that you are appropriating work wear. In such a situation one could refer to the notion of “working on transformation” and to the idea of performing an experiment and to shifting roles. Alternatively, one can also pose the question why someone dislikes the overall. The answer can provide valuable insights in the perception of people regarding their own position and that of the person wearing the uniform.

How to Use

Credits

The Overall

Body Statistics is a playful exercise where participants position themselves regarding to specific questions or themes and in relation to each other. These exercises relate to the concept of Sociometry by Jakob L. Moreno (1889-1974). Relating to the latin terms of, 

 meaning measure, Moreno defined sociometry as "the inquiry into the evolution and organization of groups and the position of individuals within them."

The only thing one needs for this is enough space, a couple of humans and someone instructing the group. Based on the questions asked, everyone positions along the respective axis in space. For example: “How old are you? Position yourself between 0 and 100.” Or: “What scale do you like to work on? Position yourself between a global scale and a door handle.” Or create a spatial reference point and exercise orientation. “If the center of the space it the building we are in, where did you grow up” Position yourself in the room, geographically relating to the celestial points (north-south-west-east from there) and to each other.” Focus on details in the way you ask questions: “How many semester did you study already?” or “How many semesters did you study architecture already” The questions vary according to the topic the group is engaged in.

Body Statistics help to analyze the individual position(s) and by that support self-awareness of the participants and their potential role within a group. The format supports a light way of exchange and helps to create an informal atmosphere, leading towards a collective and expanded understanding of the group composition. It may happen that every individual stands out from the group once, even if for completely different reasons. The Individual thus remains visible in the group and their differences become the complementary strength of the collective.

Purpose

We use Body Statistics a lot to lay the foundations for collaboration by getting to know each other better. Similarly, it can serve as an “active break” by moving through space collectively. It can help to form groups or to approach someone regarding a specific topic at the very beginning of a course. By repeatedly positioning oneself in physical proximity to others one mostly ends up next to someone new, growing social bonds beyond purely “professional” relations. The movement activates both body and brain and the simplicity of the task helps to overcome potential initial uncertainties. Body Statistics can  increase the  awareness regarding the size of the space and location one is in and general orientation competences in space.  

Context

[Studio Piraeus Team] Michiel van Iersel, Lukas Fink, Freek Persyn, Charlotte Schaeben

[LUS Lecture] Perspectives on Lanscape and Urban Transformation, Michiel van Iersel, Lukas Fink, Freek Persyn, Charlotte Schaeben

[Place] Design in Dialogue Lab & Fokushalle, ONA

Urban Practice

Tool

Changing a Culture

Collective Learning

Body Statistics

Collectivity

Play

Positioning

School

I am writing to tell you that last January I have been appointed as professor at ETH Zurich, to run a studio and develop research. It feels like a major challenge, as I will spend the next 20 years or so, until my retirement, in that capacity. It sounds like an incredible amount of time. Especially when you compare it to the 10 years some people say are left to change our impact on the environment we depend upon. We are forced to redefine how we understand comfort and growth. I find it hard to do: I somehow cannot imagine my life changing so drastically the next 10 years. Can you picture what would need to change?

When starting in Zurich, the first thing I did was to change the name of the professorship. Instead of Architecture & Urban Design, I called it Architecture & Urban Transformation. It is about looking closely at existing urban environments and imagining how they could play a different role, or how we ourselves could start using them differently. In light of the challenges mentioned above, it will be as much about changing spaces as it will be about changing practices and cultures of collaborating and communicating.

Being part of the practice 51N4E I have worked across Europe, from Belgium to Albania, and now I will land in Switzerland. I find it an intriguing place, that quietly and steadily works on changing itself, combining conservation and innovation. It feels appropriate to work here on architecture as a process that connects different points of views and transforms them, ideally to exceed the expectations of everyone involved, including yourself. Starting from this country in the middle of Europe, I want to rediscover this territory as a part of the world with a fertile future, through an open program called NEWROPE.

I will have to confront all of these ambitions with a half-time position, with one foot in the university and another in practice. Just like all other members of the NEWROPE team, who all come from different disciplines and cultures, we are forced to be bridge figures. As such, we are already the embodiment of what we want to teach, research and develop. I look forward to do this within a university that is known to be an ecosystem of both knowledge and action.

Yesterday night, we finished installing the Design in Dialogue Lab, our social studio space in the ONA building in Oerlikon, in the north of Zurich. It felt like a great moment, the energy of so many people coming together and getting things done. You should come and see it, as I think you will like it. We can show you what we will be working on and I am curious to hear and see your reaction. And whenever you visit us, I promise you will be warmly welcomed, with good coffee.

Primer

Resource

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