Interpretation
By designing objects and situations that are simple in shape and use you leave space for the users to interpret these things and make them their own, giving them a second purpose.
These concrete blocks separate a school’s playing area from a parking lot. They prevent cars from driving on and parking in the playground. But they have a lot more to offer. They create many possibilities, their use is open to interpretation because their shape is so simple. They become seats and stages to perform on, you can try to jump from one to another, they become coatracks, picnic tables. It’s where people meet and put their bike against, they become feeding stations for birds and useful spaces to look for something in your bag. They keep cars from entering, but they, above all, keep people together.
In this area, there are a lot of Muslim families. Because of their religion, they are not permitted to throw away bread (food), so they feed it to birds (pigeons). They give a use to the left open space around the tree to create a meeting area for birds and other animals.
When people take their groceries home in the shopping cart they produce a lot of annoying noise as the small wheels go over the sidewalk stones. So I should be happy that this Jumbo cart was returned, not to Jumbo (which is 10 minutes away) but to the Dirk van den Broek, which was probably closer for this rebel that dared to place a wrong cart in the row. And why does it matter anyway? A shopping cart is a shopping cart, or is it? Who will return it to Jumbo I wonder? Someone from the shop with the red cards or will they call the Jumbo and ask if they will come to pick it up? Will it be an annoyed customer? Or will everyone learn to accept this yellow cart and will it be taken in as one of their own?
A parking spot is a parking spot. It doesn’t say anywhere that you are only allowed to park cars in it. There will probably appear a sign that says just that in the near future. People only know what they want after someone does the thing they don’t want.
This pole was designed in a simple way so that it would fit in with any environment it was put in. This simplicity also creates a situation that is open for interpretation. It calls for misuse. Because the use is to guide people, to keep cars away. Even though it is still functional for this task it also serves as a device that (with the use of some tape) keeps these plants in place and it helps to make the area greener.