The End of Sitting is an art installation at the crossroads of visual art, architecture, philosophy and empirical science. In our society almost the entirety of our surroundings have been designed for sitting, while evidence from medical research suggests that too much sitting has adverse health effects. RAAAF [Rietveld Architecture-Art Affordances] and visual artist Barbara Visser have developed a concept wherein the chair and desk are no longer unquestionable starting points. Instead, the installation’s various affordances solicit visitors to explore different standing positions in an experimental work landscape. The End of Sitting marks the beginning of an experimental trial phase, exploring the possibilities of radical change for the working environment. This project is a spatial follow-up of the recently released mute animation 'Sitting Kills' by RAAAF | Barbara Visser, developed for the Chief Government Architect of the Netherlands.
The End of Sitting is a collaboration with Looiersgracht 60 (Soraya Notoadikusumo and Nadine Snijders), a new space for art and science in Amsterdam.
Psychologist Dr. Rob Withagen of the University of Groningen (Center for Human Movement Sciences / University Medical Center) has studied 1) how people use the landscape of standing affordances and how the amount of 2) movement and 3) productivity compare to working in a traditional open office setting. For now we can say that subjects have reported that the new landscape is a more pleasant place and better for their well-being (the participants gave grades for their well being as well, from 1-10). Moreover even though their legs were more tired the subjects reported that the felt more energetic than after working in a tradition open office setting. The experiment on the rock of standing affordances has been recorded with 4 camera’s. The subjects’ use of standing affordances and data on productivity are currently being analyzed by Dr. Withagen. They expect to publish the findings on affordance use and productivity next spring.