Mikolaj Dymowski

Deception is a project based on a series of experiments related to the perception of confined spaces. The project provides an innovative, seamless solution for people suffering from claustrophobia, in order to improve their experience.

As the populations of cities around the world increases, there is going to be unprecedented pressure on living, working and recreational spaces. However, with more of us living in such proximity in smaller and smaller spaces, this brings with it unanticipated physiological and psychological issues. Claustrophobia is one such growing concern, driven increasingly by the reliance on elevators as cities expand vertically. There is an opportunity to address this for those most vulnerable, while also creating a more delightful traveling experience for all.

My project is underpinned by Gestalt psychology - the theory that the human mind considers objects in their entirety before, or in parallel with, perception of their individual parts. In the context of claustrophobics I realised that there was an opportunity to manipulate physical and sensory parameters of space to engineer an overall positive sensation. Through research, interviews and experiments involving numerous sufferers of claustrophobia and psychologists, I discovered that by employing a combination of blowing air, and offering a sense of movement through image and sound, one might significantly reduce the perception of feeling trapped. My innovation builds on the philosophy of 'pair by association' - a psychological mechanism that creates association between a stimulus and an object.

I have translated my insights into a panel that decreases the level of anxiety through sensual stimulation when an individual is in a particular, and increasingly ubiquitous confined space in cities - lifts.