Slow Space
How can retail spaces and experiences be designed so that they encourage people to slow down and connect, rather than overwhelming and alienating them?
A semester project by Anastasiia Mazur
6th semester, 2025
Supervised by Andreas Schindler, Max Studanski and Prof. Tsunemitsu Tanaka
Acceleration and Consumption
We live in a world characterised by acceleration, sensory overload and functional consumer behaviour. Despite apparent time savings resulting from increased efficiency, many people feel a lack of time, accompanied by exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed and inner restlessness.
Consumer behaviour has also changed in the wake of this development. Today, consumption no longer serves solely to satisfy needs, but increasingly fulfils symbolic, emotional and identity-related functions. This focus on experience creates a hunger for novelty, which, however, quickly turns into superficiality, disappointment and saturation.
This attitude is reflected in the catering industry. Consumption is fast, purpose-driven and focused on efficiency. As a result, the experience loses its significance, and with it the connection to the space, to other people and to oneself.
Resonance, deceleration and nature
The concept of resonance is seen as an alternative to the instrumental relationship with the world characteristic of our fast-paced society. It describes a form of relationship with the world in which the individual and the environment mutually influence and transform one another. The idea of deceleration gives concrete form to this approach: rather than further acceleration, it is about making conscious, qualitative choices regarding how we manage our time, attention and consumption. Deceleration does not mean withdrawal, but rather a reflective attitude towards the pace of everyday life.
For deceleration to be possible and for resonance to arise, an environment that conveys a sense of security and familiarity is required. Nature provides such an environment. Spending time in spaces close to nature not only promotes individual relaxation, but also facilitates moments of social resonance through shared attention, quiet presence or synchronised slowing down.
Idea
The aim of the project is to design a gastronomic space – such as a (Slow Food) restaurant – that facilitates a shared, mindful experience, full of meaning and connection. Such a space focuses on reducing sensory stimulation and deliberately creates conditions that encourage shared resonance and a slower pace of life. It is important that there is a unifying element: something familiar to all users that enables a shared experience.
To achieve this, an abstracted form of nature can be integrated into the dining environment. The focus is on principles such as gently stimulating stimuli, multisensory diversity, the interplay of light and shadow, harmonious colours, rhythmic movement without a fixed beat, and a sense of visual spaciousness.
This deliberate interruption of overwhelming stimuli creates a space that allows for conscious perception and a moment of inner reflection. The integration of natural principles creates a multisensory spatial experience that not only soothes but also fosters resonance, thereby laying the foundation for a more profound and meaningful consumer experience.
Enabling and highlighting collective deceleration
Slow Space is an interactive spatial installation that allows visitors to experience collective deceleration and social resonance in consumer environments. The space reacts subtly to the behaviour of its visitors, particularly to patterns of collective slowing down such as calm, synchronised movements, physical signals and longer periods spent in the space, and translates these into atmospheric sequences of light and sound.
The design is inspired by the principles of a forest: gentle stimuli, shifts in light and shadow, harmonious colours, slow changes and rhythmic dynamics without a fixed tempo. This creates a space that feels alive and invites inner presence. The more people engage with this atmosphere at the same time, the more intensely it can be experienced, as the projection becomes denser and more vibrant. Users feel influenced by their surroundings and, at the same time, influence the surroundings themselves through their behaviour. Resonance develops slowly through shared attention, non-verbal connection and collective stillness.
The installation invites visitors to pause, to observe and to connect with themselves, the space and others. An ordinary retail space is thus transformed into a space of resonance, characterised by meaning and connection.