Experiment in public pace

Last Friday we had a shared lunch in the central station of Arnhem. We wanted to experiment with the feeling of personal space within public space. So, we brought our lunch, a blanket, some cushions and a small table. When we entered the building, we had the tendency to place ourselves in a corner next to a glass wall. We almost settled but changed our mind and decided to encourage ourselves to go out of our comfort zone and place ourselves in the middle of the station.

Sitting down felt uncomfortable and you could feel the piercing eyes around you. You really had to focus on the eight of us, so that you wouldn’t get to uncomfortable. What would lead to giving you the last option: run away as soon as possible. It took one and a half minute before the NS enforcement came to us and told us that we were not allowed to picnic there. There reasons where that the station was the property of the NS and that we were not allowed to have a picnic. According to them we could not compare it with the same rights of a public park. If we wanted to eat something we had to use the places that are especially designed for that purpose, instead of bringing our own and using the floor with a big group. We moved back the corner of the building and found our new place on the stairs with wooden plans that created sort benches on steps. We had a nice comfortable lunch together at the end.

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After a few moments a group of men where bringing they whole living room in front of us. They turned out to be a band who were going to perform in the afternoon. There manager had arranged a permit for them.

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Conclusion Siting in the middle of a public space feels uncomfortable. Bringing your own things does not make a modification. It has the opposite effect. Because it feels super weird to have a picnic at the NS station with a blanket and some cushions of your own. Whether it is judicial allowed ore not allowed, we had the feeling from the start that it was something that you shouldn’t do.

Remained questions How will it feel if you are with two/three people ore if you are on your own? - Will people react differently? - Would you be allowed to stay seated? What kind of things can you do in the middle of the station without people noticing it? Could you meditate in a public space?