The course of study in the architectural field, shared by all the members of the Storthø collective, influenced the common interest in the subject of obstacles. The reflection was born by observing how much people and the space in which they live condition each other, in a relationship that also includes obstacles of different nature. As a collective, we had the goal of creating a series of interactive installations, in which we brought together our interest in the concept of obstacle.
The desire to design interactive experiences is a methodological premise to induce reflection without giving a single authoral answer. The visitor becomes part of an open discourse and in turn becomes the protagonist interacting with the installation.
Considering that visitors, in interacting with the installation, bring with them multiple personal approaches that we cannot foresee, the need arose to propose abstraction exercises that were a stimulus for a personal interpretation of the concept of obstacle.
With this in mind, the public becomes an integral part of the installation that comes to life when the individual’s experience comes into play. Just as the interactive experience needs a subject, in the same way the latter, through the installation, is led to a new awareness of the nature of the obstacles that face each other in living space.
Therefore, starting from the definition of obstacle as an “element, physical or non-physical, which opposes and constitutes an impediment to an action, an activity, a movement”, we tried to understand under what guises it could manifest itself.
The nature of the obstacle can be found in different areas from domestic to urban, from sensorial to perceptual, from material to space. This made us reflect on the fact that the concept of obstacle implies an impediment: the performance of an action, the vision of something, listening to a sound, communication or contact with a person or simply moving in space. . The impediment can occur in different ways, in fact the presence or absence of an object, its morphology and size and its position in space can be an obstacle.
The series of installations was not intended to arrive at resolutions, but focused on the knowledge of the obstacle since “man discovers himself when he measures himself against the obstacle” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Terre des hommes. Just as the series was not set up on a process of presenting and solving a problem, the same approach is also found within the individual works.
Letting ourselves be inspired both by the geopolitical, social and cultural conditions in which we live, and by our imagination, among the different facets of the obstacle, we have chosen to summarize our reasoning in three events: Mind the Gap, MURO, OOPS! The incorrect house
Reflections and future opportunities
During our investigation, the strong involvement of visitors made us realize how the obstacle is a deeply felt topic as it is a common experience for anyone, starting from everyday life.
This confrontation with the public has given us back a range of possible insights, as the theme is so rich and varied. In fact, even though our series of temporary installations have ended, the obstacle theme remains open to future and possible interpretations, continuing to stimulate and provide us with many ideas.