Context is Everything

Especially for Spazio Cura's "single-use" objects

When you hear the expression *single-use*, you might automatically associate it with the poorly made pair of plastic flip flops from your last pedicure appointment – you wore them for as long as it took to dry your nails before tossing them in the trash on your way out. For Spazio Cura, single-use means *nothing is wasted* — like a filter designated with the important task of carrying water to a murder of crows, a hand-crafted steel and aluminum trash picker designed to de-litter a city, or a cookie tower specifically reserved for grandma’s treasured vanillekipferl.

I spoke with Berlin-based Thorben Gröbel, the founder of SC, to learn more about the series of “scenarios” that created the context and motivation for these gestural objects. As someone who started in architecture, their practice now bridges furniture and object design, fashion, interiors, exteriors, publics and site-specific performance. We talked about ritual, care, waste, and the role of ego in design.

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Tell me: what is Spazio Cura and how did it start?

Spazio Cura started in 2018 out of the motivation to combine various interests of mine. I have always been into architecture, but also object design, fashion and performance. I was wondering what channel could foster all of these interests and allow them to flow together into one practice.

At that time, I was exposed to architecture practices that were very much based on a specific persona, but I have always shied away from putting myself in the foreground like that. I wanted to create something where my persona wouldn’t have to play a major role in the appearance of it. Instead, I wanted to create a practice where I could operate from a position of anonymity and invite others to contribute to it.

SC primarily manifests through what you call scenarios and you’ve done six so far, right? What is a scenario?

A scenario defines a specific moment in time where SC enters a site and makes changes to it through gestures, traces and objects. One scenario might last for five minutes and another one, maybe for a couple of days, but they all share an ephemeral character and never change the space or context, permanently or in a physical way.

You’ve produced many objects and garments specifically for use in these gestures. What is their role?

Until recently, I was shying away from designing a lot of objects. I felt like it’d be stupid to make a chair since there are so many great chairs already. And I mean, now I'm also doing chairs, but whatever.

When I started SC, I thought there were objects that could use some consideration and care in terms of design, like a trash picker for example. They’re essential for our cities and environment and I thought it would be nice to create my own version of it. 

In general, I try to make objects that I can feel comfortable about bringing into existence without feeling the guilt of contributing more unnecessary material to the world. Because of that, it’s nice to work with a unique context as it requires particular objects. The objects also need to be used by people and so it is always a nice challenge for me to design a functional object for performing certain tasks. 

And what are the objects’ expected life after the performance is done?

I had this naive idea in the beginning that if I designed an object that people would see it and want it, and then they’d buy it. I tried to run SC like how you’d operate a brand. It didn't go as planned, but funny enough, people saw the objects and I guess also saw some sort of quality in them, and so through these scenarios, I’ve gotten commissions for other projects. In a way, the logic worked out, just not in the way I expected.

I found your work through one of those commissions actually: the cookie railing that you designed. I love how niche and specific it is. It made me laugh imagining who it was made for, presumably someone who really loves cookies and needs one on their way down the stairs and out the door every morning. Can you talk to me more about that project?

It was for an Australian artist, Ivan Chang, who's based in Amsterdam. He’s a performer himself, among many other things. He reached out to me and wanted a cookie box for one of his exhibitions about a book he had written.

The cookie rail is something you're supposed to lean on, and that supports and positions you while reading the book, but then you can just slide it open and take out a cookie for a little snack – I love it.

I guess it worked out well with the first cookie box because I got commissioned to do a second one, which then became the cookie tower. The goal was to create a very exclusive high rise for cookies, where each one gets their own little apartment – or tray, really – in this tower. The story goes on because you could rent a tray for the duration of the exhibition. People from Paris, and from all over Europe, rented one and filled it with their favorite cookie.

How do you describe your personal practice and in what ways do you see it as separate from SC?

SC is still developing and I see the scenarios as a nice foundation, but it’s getting into the next phase where the scale of the projects are getting bigger. The goal has always been to develop it into its own kind of architectural practice.

I approach my personal practice very similar to SC, but the outcomes are more approachable in a way, or the typologies are more classic. At some point there was a split. I never wanted to have this split, but it finally made sense because of the Trussardi project. I was approached by them to design a performative interior for their flagship store. And I actually designed a scenario for the store, but because of operational reasons, it broke down and I was asked to do more classical furniture. Instead of becoming too dogmatic and strict about it, I decided it might make more sense to just do it under my own name and give the project the possibility to develop in its own way.

What's nice about the split is that at the end it enabled me to expand my practice. I found a method for making furniture in a way that I'm comfortable with and it also allows me to work on other projects that would not fit into the SC framework. It also developed a kind of feedback dynamic, and there’s now parts from both worlds in the first public space I’m designing under Spazio Cura, which is going to open in July this year.

How did you come in contact with ErtlundZull? You’ve collaborated on a few things, including the Trussardi furniture and the Pipe Pieces series. Is there anything else in the works?

I was put in contact with the guys from EZ and when we had a meeting, it felt like we spoke the same language – we just got along super well. The first thing that they produced for me was a torch carrier for one of the scenarios and I was super happy with the result. Before that, I did pretty much everything by myself and it became a little too much to handle.

Later they produced the furniture for the Trussardi store based on a technique that I imagined. Now, I'm working on some more pieces with them like it. They're a bit more basic, or more approachable. There's going to be a simple stool and a chair, for example.

You’ve already alluded to some of it, but what else do you have planned for 2024?

At the moment, I'm focused on the public space project. It brings up a lot of new challenges, like dealing with local politicians, policymakers, etc., and I'm really excited for that. At the end of the day, what I am most eager about is to work on projects that are publicly accessible. The idea that there is a public space that can be visited by everybody and that anyone can hang out there and do their thing, excites me a lot. I hope it's not going to be the last one.

There's also a small, private spa opening soon that I designed. I would love to design a public spa and everything that comes with it.