The Social Elements (SOEs) are integral components of the Open Space Museum (OSM). They complement the Case Study Elements by addressing the human, social, and bodily dimensions of the museum experience.
Rather than presenting cultural content directly, the Social Elements create places for rest, conversation, observation, and informal exchange. They help transform the OSM from a sequence of exhibition elements into an inhabitable social environment where visitors can pause, spend time, and engage with one another.
Their integration supports physical comfort, longer dwell times, accessibility, and a non-linear, self-paced visitor experience. Social Elements also create pauses between more perceptually or cognitively intensive cultural experiences, allowing visitors to move through the OSM according to their own rhythms and needs.
Together, the Social Elements establish the social rhythm of the Open Space Museum and reinforce its principles of care, accessibility, participation, and human-centered design.
Hammock
Activity
Visitors use the Hammock to rest, lie down or sit, observe their surroundings, and remain within the museum environment for extended periods. It supports both individual relaxation and informal conversation with nearby visitors.
Description
The Hammock provides a bodily counterpoint to the predominantly standing and moving experience of an exhibition. It deliberately encourages visitors to slow down, linger, observe, and inhabit the Open Space Museum rather than simply move through it.
Lounge Chair
Activity
The Lounge Chair is intended for sitting, resting, and taking short or extended pauses between exhibition experiences. Due to construction issues, its use by the public could not be observed during the Basel presentation.
Description
The Lounge Chair was conceived as a Social Element supporting physical comfort, observation, and informal social exchange. The original design proved unsuitable for construction and requires redesign before implementation in a future Open Space Museum installation.
Bike Seat Table
Activity
Visitors use the Bike Seat Table for short stays, leaning or sitting briefly, placing personal items, and engaging in informal conversation. Its use is typically more transient than that of the Hammock or other resting elements.
Description
The Bike Seat Table is a hybrid Social Element combining seating with a shared surface. It provides an informal stopping point within the exhibition and supports spontaneous interaction without requiring visitors to withdraw from the surrounding activity.
Adaptable Social Infrastructure
The existing Social Elements are examples of a broader approach rather than a fixed collection of furniture. Their function, number, arrangement, and design can be adapted to the spatial conditions, audience, and program of each Open Space Museum presentation.
New Social Elements can also be developed for particular locations and visitor groups. Depending on the context, these may support sitting, reclining, conversation, shared activities, observation, eating and drinking, or other forms of informal public use.
This adaptability allows the social environment to be developed alongside the cultural content rather than added to an exhibition afterwards. Case Study Elements provide the principal cultural and interpretive experiences, Engagement Applications provide the digital layer, and Social Elements create the conditions for visitors to spend time with both the exhibition and one another.