About
Bits of Space is a strategic design studio giving shape to a better built environment. The studio crosses the traditional boundaries of physical and digital design, and instead takes the human experience and public values as starting points.
We help architects, developers and policy makers navigating towards a desirable near future. Through research and design, we create spaces, strategies and services aiming to engage people in meaningful ways with the places they work, live and recreate in.
We are based in the north of Amsterdam and are led by designer Tessa Steenkamp. We work with a vast network of architects, researchers, makers and coders. This allows us to work across all scales, from bit to building, and from cell phone to the city.
Urban Interaction Design
In every project, we take into account social, digital and spatial elements, designing for an integrated, human experience. We call this approach Urban Experience Design (UxD).
Services
Field research
Fieldwork brings unexpected insights and perspectives about places, technologies and the people who (will) use them. We decipher human motivation and needs, bringing clarity for the next phase in your project. Insights are documented in a way that works best for you. Think of a report for your team, or a video that is easily spread amongst everyone that needs to know.
Participation
Looking for a way to engage communities with complex, societal questions? We design for a desirable near future, defined by everyone that will be part of that future. Ask about our project on Neighbourhood Dashboards, where we guided participants through a step by step process to design their own smart city dashboard, measuring what they find important in the neighbourhood.
Future scenarios
We explore possible futures, and translate those into actionable scenarios. Future scenarios help prepare and innovate for upcoming changes. They help to uncover assumptions in current thinking, and show alternative paths that may not have been considered. Scenarios can be stories, visuals or videos – or to truly observe changing behaviours, they can also be spatial experiences.
Concept development
Contextual research brings us to bold and creative ideas. Through iteration and prototyping, ideas are turned into tested concepts and newly uncovered opportunities. Our concepts integrate spatial, digital and social elements, making up one joined experience. They can take the form of a strategy, service, space or product - always engaging relevant audiences through design.
Spatial innovations
Digital platforms have changed the way we live, love and work in the city. We develop spatial concepts that take into account digitally-driven behaviours, and explore the opportunities these new technologies bring. Take a look at our project Happy Hybrid, in which we explore how an office can facilitate informal encounters, using the digital tools that usually merely aim for efficiency.
New use cases
The online and offline world have long since ceased to be parallel, and often get into each other’s way. Technology-driven innovations often have a hard time landing in the physical city, running into spatial challenges or societal resistance. We develop new use cases, turning the invisible digital layer into a transparent and actionable one – aiming to improve everyday situations.