Elisa Bakhuis

Uncertainty plays a significant role in how I relate to my surroundings. In daily life, I often notice that I adapt myself to avoid standing out. Behavior, attitude, and choices are influenced by the place I find myself in and the expectations that come with it. The environment seems fixed, while the user must constantly adapt. This raises the question within my research: what happens when an environment adapts to humans instead of the other way around? Where are the moments in which there are no expectations and where someone can determine for themselves how they want to be present? 

My design approach stems from uncertainty as a method. Not knowing is not a shortcoming, but a starting point to remain open within the process. By starting without a fixed end image, space is created for experimentation, doubt, and change. Uncertainty makes it possible to ask questions without immediately seeking solutions. This way of working ensures that the design does not emerge from control, but from experience during creation and response. The result thus becomes more personal and directly connected to the process itself. 
 

Within my research, the idea of the 'in-between' plays an important role. I investigate situations that lie between active and passive use, between presence and absence, between function and freedom. A place where there are no obligations, like a park. Contrast is often seen as two extremes, but it is precisely the area in between that offers room for interpretation. The absence of a clear function can evoke a sense of uncertainty, but this uncertainty does not have to be negative. It can actually create an open state in which a user gives their own meaning to a place. 
By omitting a fixed goal, space is created for personal interpretation and individual needs. 

A recognizable example of this is something I experience during car rides. While I drive, I am physically present but mentally absent. The route is traveled automatically without conscious attention. These are moments when time seems to be open, but are rarely consciously utilized. My project investigates how such automatic moments can be made visible and how someone can be encouraged to step out of this flow for a moment. By briefly pausing in the moment, a place without obligation is created, where nothing is required and personal attention is central. 

From this idea, I design 'parasites': additions to existing public furniture such as a building. These parasitic elements attach themselves to existing structures and introduce new ways of use without completely replacing the original function. The parasites consist of movable and stretchable components, such as foldable hard surfaces that can be written or drawn on, and stretchable supporting elements that allow for rest or physical relaxation. They function as temporary personal spaces within the public environment. 

Because each user has different needs, the applications remain open and variable. The parasites do not offer a fixed function, but an invitation to pause, be present, and give your own meaning to a moment in public space. 

elisabakhuis09@outlook.com 
Telephone: +31 616546562