Creating a home of consciousness practices against Impostor Syndrome.

Impostor Phenomenon is a psychological condition in which the subject feels like they are not deserving of their achievement and fear being discovered for what they think they are: a fraud. This project revolves around Maya a 32 year old woman from the Netherlands working as event director at the Amsterdam Opera House (De Nationale Opera) and struggling with impostor thoughts. The core of the project is the design of a house for Martha, as a space that can also help every other person experiencing the phenomenon overcoming it.

The inhabitant is reminded of her distorted perception of reality through the shape of the windows looking outside. The bull’s-eye glass, an imperfect by-product of traditional window manufacturing, becomes a symbol of the split between self-perception and the way one is perceived by others.

Through spatial design Maya is invited to avoid lingering in her own thoughts and interact and share her experience with the other inhabitants of the building on which the house is built, a former squat in Amsterdam, now social-cultural centre. The central space is the garden, which functions as both a meeting place and a transformative environment. Through gardening, Maya learns to cultivate imperfection and by working collectively with others she has space to share her experience, reducing the sense of isolation that fuels her anxiety. By participating in the social centre’s community life, she recognizes that her actions have meaning and can impact positively others, helping her overcome her distorted perception.