Portable Observation Frames

The Portable Observation Frame functions as both a surveying tool and an experiential map. Its funnel or megaphone-like form is intentionally familiar, evoking associations with utilitarian objects, with the intention that the map reader would perform the desired actions of the Portable Observation Frames, without consciously thinking about it (for example looking and listening through them). Sennet describes this in his book Building and Dwelling, as Embodied knowledge, once a physical skill is performed and learned, the ‘behaviour enters the tacit realm as something a person knows how to do without self-consciously thinking about what he or she is doing’ (Sennett, 2018, p. 174). I homed in on this idea of one’s tacit knowledge, allowing the familiarity of the Portable Observation Frame to encourage playful interaction, as viewers instinctively peered inside or listened closely. Ingold discusses Gibson’s notions on perception as an ‘active and exploratory process’ stating ‘... Meaning is immanent in the relational contexts of people's practical engagement with their lived-in environments’. By inviting such engagement, the prototype helped viewers perceive their environment in novel ways, deepening their connection to and interpretation of place, place becoming meaningful as one interacts and engages with it.