Lino Hellings , Yvonne Dröge Wendel
De coupé (The train compartment): From ‘felt workshop’ to travel experience

In 2006 De Bieslandhof and SKOR commissioned a joint project by Lino Hellings and Yvonne Dröge Wendel. They chose a research-based approach and the greatest challenge that this posed was to design something that genuinely works and could actually be used by the residents at this particular location.

As part of the research phase, the artists organized three ‘felt workshops’ for different groups of residents. The goal of these workshops was to observe the residents as closely as possible and to establish a rapport with them (specifically the psychogeriatric residents). During the workshops the artists remained in a residential unit for six hours in order to create all kinds of objects out of felt together with the residents, their family members and staff members of Bieslandhof. External scientists were also invited to produce an observation report based on their perceptions of the actual situation. Originally the artists believed that they would be able to uncover the ‘latent talents’ of the residents. These talents would subsequently form the starting point of a work that would encourage and stimulate the residents through the use of interesting materials, shapes, colors and memories etc.

In general the ‘felt workshops’ were a success. Indeed, working with felt is a simple and appealing technique and even less mobile residents were able to participate in the workshop and have fun. Nevertheless, after talking to the residents and observing the overall situation, it became clear that most residents just wanted to be left in peace. “We’ve worked all of our lives. We’ve earned the right to do nothing”. It also became apparent that many of the residents had ‘questions’ regarding every request, conversation and application of unfamiliar material. In fact, it seemed as if every ‘question’ was associated with a sense of bother, thus primarily resulting in agitation and stress, particularly among the demented residents. In response, the artists decided that the idea of ‘not wanting to do anything’ was totally justified. As such they decided to radically change the starting point of their project from focusing on a work that ‘stimulates’ to one that concentrates on researching pleasant forms of ‘doing nothing’. In other words, the idea would be to design something based on PASSIVITY as opposed to ACTIVITY.

In our society waiting and, in particular, doing nothing, are only acceptable when it’s connected to an important activity, such as those performed by the technical operator of a nuclear power plant. However, these ‘non-activities’ are also acceptable in the context of travel and it is along these lines that De coupé (the train compartment) was created. De coupé represents an area where residents and their visitors can withdraw and enjoy themselves without having to actually do anything. Indeed, the purpose of the area is obvious and doesn’t warrant any explanation yet, at the same time, it’s inspiring enough to encourage frequent visits. To specify, De coupé conjures up a journey and gives the residents the idea that they’ve taken a short trip from the confined space of their ward.

Long before De coupé was completed and officially unveiled, both residents and staff members acquainted themselves with this work by removing the packaging on the seats and untying the red and white-colored ribbons. Nowadays groups of residents can have a cup of tea or coffee in De coupé as well as receive a hot meal. Moreover, the work seems to have an added therapeutic value since the more restless residents who used to constantly stand in front of closed doors because they wanted to escape from the nursing home, are now calmly enjoying a few hours in De coupé instead.

The entire design process of this work is publicly available thanks to the fact that the artists extensively documented their work methods, thoughts, and progress reports on the website: www.bies.nu