Power by space is a collection of experiments done by Corpo-real students. Corpo-real is located in Zwolle, where students and tutors develop a research-driven spatial design practice geared towards an unknown future.

Personal space

Research question What effects does an extension of our body have on our perception of personal space? Experiment By building a cardboard box around the waist of the researcher, the bodily movements were interfered with and so the researcher had to move their body based on the space the cardboard

Power of the Audio Codes

To research the spreading of power through space, we decided to focus on power through sounds. The projects contain many different  methodologies, and findings. They have given us a broad understanding of sound and power. We invite you to take a look and see for yourself.  Mirthe Bolt // Niloufar Ghalandari

Awareness

With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, many people had to flee their homes. Spreading out among neighbouring countries, these people were desperately in need of help. To spread awareness within host countries we came up with a series of micro interventions, small in size – big in meaning.

Signs “one”

Research question What if we add important official signs in their peripheral sight on the doors that are used daily? Would one new red circle on the door bring power back in the space? Experiment Implementing official signs to the space people use every day, to see how aware they are

Binding

Research questionHow are people’s behaviours influenced by the distance or the space size?   Will obstacles in a place make the movement different? Does different amount of people will make the movement distinct? Experiment First iteration: through binding together the feet of the two researchers, the movement of the feet is

Record powerful places

Research question Is sound a factor in how we perceive powerful spaces?What are the characteristics of sound in powerful spaces? Experiment To fully understand our task of spreading power through space, we first had to explore the power dynamics of space. Some spaces are identified as inherently powerful. Still interested

Sound maze

Research questionHow can sound inform wayfinding in space?Can the sounds from powerful places be applied to other spaces and have a similar effect?   Experiment To answer this question we first had to understand what kinds of sounds we hear in everyday life that cause us to react in certain

The Habits of Zwolle

How well do we know the city we live in? We are looking for the power of interruptions, bodies or instructions on habits. How can we change the usual, the habit, and what does someone need to be willing to change their usual? And how does this work in city

Power of the unknown

The Power of the Unknown Mi Jang, Chai Yu Chiu, JessY-Lee EsseLink, Case- Power and SpaceCorpo-Real, Master of interior architecture, ArtEZ, Zwolle, 2023 Read More Introduction The unknown is everywhere, from small things like unfamiliar tastes to big tasks like traveling in a new cultural country. Even nobody knows what

Habitual Gestures

Areas of Research habits in conversation use of gestures and body language unexpectedness in conversation we conducted 3 sets of experiments under the topic of “interrupting habitual gestures” having ourselves as the interruptions in the experiments. Experiment 1: Interrupting Body Language https://powerbyspace.artez.nl/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/body-language.mp4 Asking 2 people sets of questions related to

Escapism through the senses

Introduction In this experiment, we aimed to investigate the impact of sensory deprivation and auditory stimulation on imagination and a feeling of escapism. Three participants were blindfolded and transported to an unfamiliar location. Once there, they were provided with headphones and instructed to explore the space using only their sense

Non-Verbal Communication 

Our non-verbal communication experiment marks the initial step towards understanding the efficacy and potential limitations of gestures as a medium for effective communication. We aimed to explore the extent to which non-verbal cues can bridge communication gaps across individuals with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Key questions include identifying the

Health

Can our body become a SPACE of our EXISTENCE?
How do we create a HEALTHY SPACE?

Weather and Emotions

Emotion-weather maps are a type of thematic map used to represent emotions. The maps represent spatial distributions of complex emotions from a large group of people. Most related work focuses on a simple sentiment and draws its distributions on a map. I feel unstable when I experience this structure. Every line

Experiment: Intimidate & Empower

  Part of our research started with an investigation of ourselves. What is the power that we have over other people and how do we express this? We spent some time interacting with each other in various ways and came to these conclusions:   • power can be expressed through

Installation: Position and Awkwardness

To combine our findings from the first semester on body language and awkwardness, we created an installation which could be used as a method to make the impact of our bodies’ position and the circumstances on our credibility visible. To do so, we put the speaker on a pedestal with

Experiment: Power Relations (Unfamiliar Setting)

We noticed that our results from the first power relations experiment may be not entirely representative, as our classmates knew what we were researching (if you have not seen it, click here). Therefore, we decided to conduct the same experiment again with strangers. We went to the conservatory and asked

Space and Psychology

What’s heterotopia?
The literal meaning of heterotopia is ‘spaces that are somehow other’. Michel Foucault juxtapositions Heterotopia’s with Utopias.

Signs “two”

Research questionCan we bring the power back to the signs, by implementing them in playful ways into the interior of the space itself? Experiment After the experiment “Signs one”, results showed that the classic design of the sign does not work on human any more, even if being placed in

Hidden Gems of Zwolle

“Our exploration of Zwolle’s city center revealed places that often escape the attention of both locals and visitors such as quiet corners, overlooked details, and unplanned beauty that lays in the everyday. We call them hidden gems, the spaces that invite to pause and reflect with a sense of curiosity.

Spatial symphony

Our experiment on inefficient listening examined the interplay between power and space. In a basement setting, we deconstructed the elements of Bohemian Rhapsody, dispersing individual instruments into separate spaces. To hear the entire song, participants had to navigate swiftly through the fragmented areas. This experiment highlighted the power dynamics inherent

In between space with footprint

Research question How does movements create the in between space of people? Experiment Personal space and in-between space. During the procedure, two participles base on the sounds of unpowerful space, making movements on the blank piece of paper. Besides, the participles applied the paint on foot in order to leave the

Sounds around the world

“Which Ones Have You Heard?” Wander with the melody and listen to the world in all its diversity. Every city, every country, has its own unique sound. whether it’s the bustling rhythm of daily life or a touch of romance in the air. Urban symphonies echo through every corner, day

Emotion body map

EMOTION BODY MAP First we came up with the idea to translate our expressions we were working with in semester one, how do you carry emotional weight? We wanted to work with symbols that came out of our interest in doing research through space. In space. In spaces, symbols are everywhere.