Shields and Shelter, 2010

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:40:51 +0000

Shields and Shelter is a design for the grounds of the public bath – Flevoparkbad – in Amsterdam. For the Rietveld graduation exhibition 2010, I realized a 1:1 detail of my design on the lawn behind the Rietveld Academy.

In Shields and Shelter I applied step by step the guidelines that I have developed to achieve safe and comfortable zones using my own fear experiences. These guidelines involve architectural concepts like shielding and view, shadow and light, flexibility versus rigidity. The perfect safe zone to me is a flexible space which gives one freedom and privacy but which is not enclosed. As basis for the design drawings I used an aerial photo from Google Earth of Flevoparkbad. From each towel, I constructed lines of sight from 120° angle views. Through shading these 120° triangles a map emerges with different degrees of surveillance. The darker the area, the more views. At the darkest areas the view must be blocked. Therefore I developed shields, which can be slided along rails that follow the lines of sight. This allows the bathers to adjust their exposure to others according to their own wishes.

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Architectural Anxiety, 2010

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:40:58 +0000

'Architectural Anxiety' was my graduation thesis at Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2010.

Transport

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:59:57 +0000

All freedom of movement is blocked in modern means of transport: by speed, by sound and airtight windows and doors, by traffic, by surveillance. How to deal with this disorientation?

Flexible Space

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:39:38 +0000

Flexibility is freedom, insecurity, the unexpected. However, as a consequence of the security obsession in all layers of society, anything unexpected is avoided, which leads to a sterile, transparent and neutral environment, resulting in a rigid city. But rigidity in turn leads to fear. People do not want to be checked, pressed in fixed structures, they want to choose and design. What is their freedom? Can they use the city space as they want? The perfect space I think is a flexible space that provides privacy and freedom, but which is not enclosed.

Organization of Space

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:38:53 +0000

People are constantly in search for clarity and structure in their surroundings in order to feel comfortable. When I don’t understand a space in its divisions, don’t know where the borders and exits are and don’t understand how the interior is organized, I tend to feel uncomfortable and insecure. Upon entering a space, all its characteristic elements, such as size, important functions and exits should be clear. Well-chosen lines of sight provide the overview for this.

Memory

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:30:20 +0000

Memory often is blurred and contains errors. Thinking about a physical space, however, triggers the memory of names, objects and events that took place in that space. A plan or map drawn from memory instead of reality helps to bring out associations, stories and experiences that would otherwise be much less accessible. To me, it is an exercise to reconstruct the architectural unconscious.

Contact/ Curriculum Vitae

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:37:13 +0000

Contact

Kristin Maurer
Transvaalkade 73
1092 JS Amsterdam
0031-20-7747476
0031-643030661
kristin@kristinmaurer.com

Curriculum Vitae

Born November 28, 1970 in Stuttgart, Germany

Studies
2011 Master Interior Architecture, Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam
2007-2010 Architectural Design, Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam
2004-2006 Architecture, TU Delft
1999 Second state examination in Berlin
1995 -2000 Doctoral thesis / PhD
"Cross-border injunctions of consumer organisations"
Faculty of Law at the Humboldt University of Berlin
1995 First state examination in Berlin
1992-1995 Law studies, University of Hamburg, Germany
1990-1992 Law studies, Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Germany

Employment
2006-2007 Mediamatic, Amsterdam
Exhibition design, including design for "El Hema" and "Girlfriend Experience"
2002-2004 Mediamatic, Amsterdam
Legal advice, fundraising, workshop organization
2001-2002 Stephan communications, Kulturmanagement, Berlin
Marketing, Public Relations
1999-2000 Thümmel, Schütze & Partner, Law firm, Berlin
German and European Business Law
1998-1999 GlobaLex, Law firm Brussels
European law
1997-1998 Articled clerkship at the Court of Appeal Berlin
- Regional Court of Berlin (insurance law)
- Public Prosecutor’s Office, Berlin (youthgroup violence)
- Ministry of Finance, Berlin
1996-1997 Brinkmann & Partner, Law firm, Potsdam, Germany
Business law, insolvency law, labour law

Awards and Nominations
2010 Shields and Shelter: Nominated for the GRA Awards (Gerrit Rietveld Academy Awards),
Applied Arts
2007 El HEMA: Winner Dutch Design Awards in the category "Visual Identity"

Lectures
2010 Mediamatic Ignite # 1, 9 July 2010, Mediamatic Foundation Amsterdam
lecture on "Shields and Shelter"

Publications
2010 "Extensive review Ignite Amsterdam # 1", www.mediamatic.net
2010 "Architectural Anxiety", thesis, published by lulu.com
2009 Trouw, January 6, 2009 "De Zeezender," Volkskrant, January 6, 2009, Interview (following
the opening of the project "De Zee naar Harderwijk")
2001 "Cross-border injunctions of consumer organisations"/ "Unterlassungsklagen von
Verbraucherschutzverbaenden bei grenzueberschreitenden Rechtsstreitigkeiten"
published by Lit-Verlag

Train Experiment No.2, 2010

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:41:46 +0000

During a train ride I have drawn the lines of sight of my fellow passengers towards my own seat with red tape on the floor. Then I shaded the area wherein all lines of sight overlap. The red shaded area marks the fragile zone. This experiment shows the lack of privacy and the degree of surveillance in the train.

Seven guidelines to achieve fearless architecture

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:20:58 +0000

1. Organize the space so that its nature is clear, offer overview. Upon entering, the borders of the space
and its divisions must be visible.
2. Don’t produce areas with too many lines of sight.
3. Provide enough shielding through (non-) constructional elements.
4. Create a balance between light (bright space) and shadows (dark space).
5. Offer enough possibilities for escape.
6. Design niches or dead ends.
7. The interior should be flexible. Rigidity and immobility lead to fear.

Read more about the guidelines in "Architectural Anxiety".

Etchings, 2010

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:16:46 +0000

The series of etchings are intuitive maps of my fear spaces from the past 10 years. There are two types of etchings. Some of the etchings are drawn on the spot, at the fear space itself, others are drawn from memory, sometimes based on notes.

Performing Interior, 2009

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:55:46 +0000

Performing Interior is an interior design for STEIM (Center for research & development of instruments & tools for performers in the electronic performance arts in Amsterdam), in collaboration with Luna Maurer, media-designer/ artist.

The Steim building is full of objects, furniture and architecture from the past 27 years. We did not wanted to replace this stuff with new furniture, but organize and emphasize the variety of all objects with their own story. We put the objects and architecture “on stage” by painting their own - artificial - shadows. If furniture is moved or replaced after a certain time, geometric shapes remain on the walls. This way, the objects leave their traces. We painted shadows on three floors and in the concert hall. The images show a small selection of the whole variety.

De Zee naar Harderwijk, 2009

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:03:13 +0000

De Zee naar Harderwijk was a camera and sound installation at the Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland (Dutch coast) for St Jansdal hospital in Harderwijk, The Netherlands, commissioned by SKOR (Stichting Kunst en Openbare Ruimte / Foundation Art and Public Space), in collaboration with Luna Maurer, media-designer/ artist.

The sea was filmed for patients of the St Jansdal hospital, who could watch the sea with their waves, tides, surf, and sounds 24 hours per day live on their televisions from their beds. Every 5 minutes - i.e. 288 times a day - a film still was shot and saved on an ever-growing online archive. In addition to live images of the sea on their televisions, the hospital’s patients also received a weekly post card featuring sea images that were shot during the previous week.

On the roof of the central operating building of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management in Zeeland (Ir. J.W. Topshuis), we positioned a camera in a special outdoor housing, which recorded the sea and sounds for a period of a year (2009). This gave the patients a "window" to the sea. Like the (diseased) human body, the sea is an example of a strong cycle that we cannot control, a self-regulatory cycle.

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Train Experiment No.1, 2009

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 20:13:29 +0000

During a train ride, I installed a foldable box from cardboard around me to lock the view of my fellow passengers in order to have enough private space. With this project I wanted to investigate how much privacy is possible in the train.

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Spaceship Curtain, 2008

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:50:54 +0000

Curtain made of old cloth.
The design is based on drawing no.3 of the Raumschiff series by Peter Wassink

Hidden Observatory, 2008

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:34:27 +0000

Hidden Observatory was an intervention in the elevator of the former Post CS building in Amsterdam. I built an unremarkable double wall in the elevator and hit behind this fake wall. I observed the elevator passengers with a camera through a small hole from my hiding place and played with the factor that I was hidden by speaking out.

The purpose of this intervention was to create a safe zone within a fear space (elevator) and reverse the fear situation: Instead of being locked up in the cage of the elevator, being exposed to the gaze of the passengers and losing control, I was the observer myself, I could play with my hiding (one moment I was perfectly hidden, another moment my voice was recognized) which enabled me to regain control over the situation.

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