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THE NEXT SPACE ISSUE 154 WINTER 2023⁄2024

ALL TOGETHER NOW Welcome to the ‘co’ era. Are you in?

ONES TO WATCH

The latest releases from Bensen, Boffi, Luceplan and more

CONTENTS

MARKET

24 Space Available Artists meet environmentalists 32 Nmbello Studio Enlivening local manufacturing 40 Archio People-powered housing 46 Studio Ossidiana Interspecies intersections

THE CONVERSATION How can co-creation contribute to socially cohesive living environments? A discussion with Endeavour’s Jiska Gysels and Space&Matter’s Marthijn Pool

Courtesy of Poltrona Frau

Riccardo De Vecchi, courtesy of Studio Ossidiana

José Cuevas, courtesy of Space Available

Hedvig Jenning, courtesy of Simon Skinner

Courtesy of Atelier ANF

Yohann Fontaine, courtesy of 3.Paradis

Ju Yeon Lee, courtesy of Schemata Architects

64 LOOK BOOK From social retail to shared wellness 83 INSIGHTS 84

ow workspaces can (spatially) foster social wellbeing H beyond their employees 94 User-generated retail: Turning shoppers into stakeholders 102 Why architecture should better cater to the Deaf community

112 MOOD BOARD The cross-disciplinary concepts pushing the creative

industry – and its output – to become more inclusive

130 CASE STUDY A living prototype in rural China 142 TAKEAWAYS Key points on community-led, co-creative design

26.– 30. 1. 2024 FRANKFURT / MAIN

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FOR THE GREATER GOOD We’re all in this together. With this slogan, governments around the world tried to rally people behind their Covid measures. Vaccinate, stay one and a half metres away from each other, get tested and go into quarantine if infected: every citizen was expected to submit to a strict regime of dos and don’ts to ensure that the pandemic could be contained. And it worked, even though no one knew what they were getting themselves into. After all, there were no precedents, and both medical staff and government leaders had to learn by doing. This sense of ‘togetherness’ can also be found from cover to cover in this issue. Although the word Covid is not mentioned anywhere, more and more creatives and their clients are aware that collaboration is required to find solutions to today’s complex problems. From the climate crisis to waste issues, from the housing shortage to vacant offices, from inequality in the workplace to navigational problems for the Deaf community: there is only so much that spatial designers can do on their own. This will change if they join forces and open themselves up to collaboration with user communities and experts from other disciplines. Nigerian designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello sees empathy, community and humility as the cornerstones of good design. He tracks how communities leverage collaborative and open-source methods to develop contextually appropriate solutions to local challenges. One of his lessons is that urban designers should be much more malleable in their approach to creating spaces, as these are inevitably dictated by unpredictable real-life scenarios. Real change can’t just come from top-down directives, but requires the belief and support of entire communities. That’s why Bali-based outfit Space Available organizes free workshops, talks and seminars to inspire a more conscious approach to waste management. The studio believes in education, conversation and collaboration to address complex issues, bringing together people with different skills and backgrounds. London-based Archio strongly believes in the principles of co-design to solve problems. The team sees the role of the architect as that of facilitator, identifying opportunities and challenges with user communities to find a solution with broad support. Their approach leads not only to affordable homes, but also to a sense of ownership among residents and strong communities where there is room for shared facilities. But how do you ensure that this sense of ownership and community spirit continues long after the housing is completed? Can ownership be passed on to the next generation of residents, who were not involved in the construction? Can architecture keep up with societal changes such as the increase in working from home, single-person households and living-as-a-service? Marthijn Pool, cofounder of Space&Matter: ‘Architecture should not prohibit society from reinventing itself. Our buildings should be seen as open: strong frameworks that can adapt to changing times and absorb a multitude of programmes.’ This requires a certain diversity of typology, but also a strong community. The healthier the community is, the greater its ability to solve problems and make adjustments on its own. Welcome to a new age. One of inclusion, where the users of space – people – are at the heart of the design process. Architects and designers will have to develop a soft skill set to make this work. Robert Thiemann Editor in chief

EDITORIAL

COUCH IN AN ENVELOPE makes use of AI to reimagine the couch in a concept that is flat-packed, modular, flexible – and weighs only 10 kg. Space10 designed the speculative project in collaboration with PANTER&TOURRON to challenge the bulky inflexibility that traditionally defines couches. The compact design not only results in convenience for the user, but also in more sustainable production and transport. pantertourron.com

Foster + Partners and POLTRONA FRAU joined forces on the design of BAY SYSTEM, a flexible and modular seating solution that can be reconfigured to suit different spatial layouts such as airport lounges, train stations and offices. The range includes two main systems, Bay Gate and Bay Lounge (pictured), which share a common structure, but present different seating options. The former provides efficient high-density seating, while the latter offers varying levels of more intimate seating for small and larger groups. poltronafrau.com

MARKET ANTIBES, designed by Piero Lissoni for BOFFI, is a modular shelving system that can be used as an entertainment unit, a bookshelf, a desk, for storage – or any combination of these. The system is flexible and can be modified over time with new modules, thanks to the variety of shelves in different widths and heights. boffi.com

Named after the Japanese art of paper folding, ROYAL STRANGER’s ORIGAMI chair seeks to capture the essence of the craft through its hexagonal shape and cylindrical base. royalstranger.com

The MINIATURE collection of small decorative accessories is a celebration of the ancient art of Italian ceramics. MARCA CORONA’s series has been expanded to five pieces, each of which reflects precious materials like stained glass, stone and oxidized metals using ceramics. marcacorona.it

Developed in response to research into working from home in later life, designer Jon Marshall of PENTAGRAM teamed up with experts in architecture, design for ageing and computing from Northumbria University to design furniture that can support older individuals working from home. Two elements were designed, including LIGHT-BLOCK, a linear and mobile LED lamp that can be adjusted to provide precise lighting. pentagram.com

A collaboration between Studio Inma Bermúdez and ROCA, the series of NU faucets foster self-expression. Based on simple forms reduced to their essence, the collection offers different shapes and colours for customizing bathroom spaces. roca.com

Alessandro Zambelli has reinterpreted track lighting, typically associated with technical contexts, in a decorative way. The ALIBEL lighting system for LUCEPLAN provides two luminous modules on tracks that produce diffuse and accent lighting, with a wall version (pictured) also available. The white and black luminaires draw inspiration from an insect resting on the water’s surface. luceplan.com

MARKET

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Courtesy of Space Available

In this issue’s Ones to Watch, we highlight four peopleand planet-minded studios that are championing new co-design methods. Space Available reappraises waste collectively and circularly, Nmbello Studio underscores the socioeconomic benefits that come with a contextual design approach, Archio believes in the power of co-creation in neighbourhood regeneration, and Studio Ossidiana encourages encounters between people and planet. Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of Solid Nature

Robert Shiret, courtesy of Archio

Stephen Tayo, courtesy of NmBello

space

Bali-based design platform Space Available opts for a multimodal approach to involve communities in its pursuit of a more circular economy.

Sharon Angelia, courtesy of Space Available

available

Space Available teamed up with DJ and record producer Peggy Gou to create awareness of plastic pollution. The outcome is a chair composed of HDPE slabs from Indonesian circular furnishings firm Robries.

José Cuevas

SA’s modular, low-impact, easy-to-(dis)assemble and self-sufficient Living Structures are designed to support nomadic living. Conceived in collaboration with the architects of Sidarta and Sandjaja, the experimental structures are composed of recycled plastic and biobased materials. The idea is that each structure will be connected to a global platform where users can request relocation swaps with other people with structures around the world.

ONES TO WATCH

Approaching design from an ethnographic perspective, Nigeria-based creative Nifemi Marcus-Bello taps into local manufacturing hubs to produce socially sustainable and economically viable products.

nmbello studio

34 PREVIOUS SPREAD Nmbello Studio’s modular kiosk for Nigerian skateboarding brand Waf is constructed from bamboo, a material used in Beninese blinds called kosinlé. Opting for a material used by local craftsmen not only roots the design in its cultural context, but also secures the kiosk’s upkeep.

Stephen Tayo

OPPOSITE The sheet-metal Selah lamp is a light, bookshelf and stool all in one.

It takes a village to raise a child. To Nifemi Marcus-Bello, this proverb, which originated in Africa, also applies to his work as a designer. Underscoring empathy, community and humility as the cornerstones of good design, the Lagos native works with respect for – and consideration of – all stakeholders in the creative process, including production. And it’s that process that has the most impact on the outcome. ‘I studied design in the West and picked up some good and bad habits, but one thing that I learned that was important in practising design in Lagos was the learning and unlearning of habits and approaches,’ he says. ‘The biggest of which is that on the [African] continent it’s easier to propose solutions or ideas than to dictate them.’ His namesake studio’s designs are based on existing manufacturing methods. The process starts by searching for interesting local manufacturing hubs and craftsmen in Lagos, and continues by getting a feel for, and tapping into, their methods. In other words: Nmbello Studio’s team looks at what’s available, both in terms of production skills and facilities, and works from there. Collaboratively. This contextual approach comes with a lot of benefits, if you ask Marcus-Bello, who sees value in the ethnographic materiality and economic viability of the outcomes, as well as in the knowledge exchange that takes place. One example is the LM Stool, a sheet-metal seat developed at, and with, a factory that produces metal casings for electrical power generators, which are a local necessity because of the lack of 24-hour electricity in homes. Ultimately, the stool started to attract international attention, making it an economically sound product for the factory to produce as well. Another project reflective of Nmbello Studio’s culturally sensitive approach to design is the modular kiosk conceived for skateboarding brand Waf, which Marcus-Bello explains is a company that was ‘birthed and morphed in Lagos’. ‘When designing the kiosk, we asked ourselves what the retail experience should look and feel like in contemporary Lagos,’ he says. ‘Ultimately, we gravitated towards bamboo and worked with local bamboo weavers.’ Opting for a material used by local craftsmen not only roots the design in its cultural context, but also secures the kiosk’s upkeep. ‘I think small or large brands need to understand that when they open shop, they are automatically part of the community with the spaces they occupy.’ But beyond these benefits, there are challenges that come with running a practice and working locally in Nigeria, too. ‘People are doing amazing things here. However, scaling those up has always been an issue,’ he says. But, he points out, ‘constraints are a great breeding ground for innovation.’ Research project Africa – A Designer’s Utopia, which documents and analyses the innovative autonomous design solutions conceived by urban communities in Lagos, Accra, Dakar and Abdijan, shows just that. ‘The attitude towards design in Africa is still one of privilege, but at a grassroots level design is usually practised unconsciously,’ explains Marcus-Bello. ‘You can find a lot of makeshift designs that solve daily problems on city streets. We started to track those innovative and self-directed design approaches, examining how communities are leveraging collaborative and open-source methods to develop contextually appropriate solutions for local challenges.’ This way, the project, beyond the products themselves, explores the ecosystems that surround them, going as far as looking at the impact urban planning has on how communities come together to design, create, build and distribute products. It has provided Marcus-Bello with valuable insights: ‘I’m learning that urban planners need to be a lot more malleable in their approach to creating spaces and solutions, because inevitably, spaces are dictated by real-life unpredictable scenarios such as informal settlements, internal migrations and integration.’ FK

Eric Mayes

ONES TO WATCH

Delivered by London Community Land Trust and designed by Archio (and co), Citizen House was built on surplus council-owned ground. To reach a community-centric and (socially) sustainable housing scheme, the architects ran co-design workshops with local people from a temporary office on site.

French+Tye

ONES TO WATCH

‘The process of being involved in co-design provides a sense of agency, and this is very powerful for individuals’

ian a d i s s o

Riccardo de Vecchi

o i d u st

Riccardo de Vecchi

For Art Pavilion M (also pictured on previous spread) – a floating museum in the Dutch city of Almere – Studio Ossidiana took an outward-looking approach to an ‘introverted question’ of how to display multimedia art, considering the neighbourhood that would be built around the structure. The outdoors became the main museum ‘room’, open to experiments and to the public, day and night. The interior’s all-encompassing curtain diffuses natural light, and the roof filters rainwater and provides a rest area for birds.

ONES TO WATCH

Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of Solid Nature

Believing communities shouldn’t be limited to humans, Studio Ossidiana advocates an interspecies approach to design.

The conditions under which Giovanni Bellotti and Alessandra Covini studied and started their practice in 2015 significantly shaped their creative approach. A financial crisis combined with an ongoing environmental one urged the founders of Studio Ossidiana to ‘do work that would speak of desire, rather than necessity’, says Bellotti. ‘We thought then, as we do now, that desire is a more powerful and optimistic drive for change than guilt or fear.’ By combining research and fabrication – or in their words, ‘theory and action’ – Bellotti and Covini can partake in the global debate on architecture and translate their thinking to the built environment. Many Studio Ossidiana projects are designed with multiuse in mind, whether it be a museum opening up to the local community outside of operating hours or a festival installation turning into an open-air pavilion post-event. Operating at the intersection of architecture, design and landscape, the Rotterdam-based practice also considers non-human inhabitants. ‘We find it both scary and reassuring to think that no matter how much homo sapiens messes up the biosphere, it will not be the last living being left on Earth. Fungi, bacteria, plants and animals already live in our buildings, in our cities,’ says Covini. ‘In our work, it’s not a matter of “providing” a habitat for certain living beings, which in many cases would be perfectly fine without us. We want to frame the way we live together as a space for possibilities.’ Those possibilities include different ways of living, building relationships with surrounding life forms, and questioning the prejudices we apply to other species. By doing so, they think we can be happier and more fulfilled. ‘If we believe we’re not saviours or destroyers of the world but part of it, maybe we’ll be more reasonable about how we live in it.’ Bellotti and Covini believe that the way non-human species use resources, build habitats and co-exist efficiently could inform buildings and urban development, pointing out that the human species tends to keep reinventing things without cause. ‘We’ve had permanent “homes” since the Neolithic period, but we never really stopped changing them, even though our bodies haven’t significantly changed, whereas swallows, ants and bees have been building nests and hives for hundreds of thousands of years in pretty much the same way,’ says Bellotti. He offers the example of termite hives, »

ONES TO WATCH

which could inspire cooling systems or pedestrian circulation rules. Or, since the presence of people has impacted the entire Earth – whether through built artefacts, or altered climates, soil and water – Covini suggests we could learn from the art of adapting seen in other species, a trait we sometimes forget we also possess. ‘The ring-necked parakeets we see all over Europe came from India through the pet trade, then became accustomed to a new diet and climate to survive outside cages. Looking at them, I don’t think they’re less happy than their Indian relatives because of the change.’ The designers are also increasingly exploring the ideas of maintenance and gardening as design disciplines. ‘More and more, we’re drawn towards projects and practices that keep reassessing their role and transforming in relation to other people and species.’ FK

For the 2023 Concentrico Festival in Logroño, Spain, Studio Ossidiana conceived The Garden of Intersections, a series of outdoor chambers whose floors were covered in different soil types from the Rioja region. Guests were invited to play on, lie on or draw in the earth. Post-event, the installation was turned into an openair community classroom.

Josema Cutillas

‘FOSTERING MEANINGFUL IS DEVELOPING NEIGHBOURHO Gysels

Jiska

Marthijn

Pool

Kuitert

Lidian van Megen

Floor

DIALOGUE CRUCIAL FOR THRIVING OODS’

From social retail to shared wellness: in an increasing number of sectors, we’re witnessing the (re)positioning of physical spaces as communal ground. This issue’s Lookbook explores the diverse ways in which spatial design can contribute to cultivating a strong sense of community – whether that’s among consumers, neighbours or employees. Curation Anouk Haegens

Pim Top

amenity-forward living Amsterdam’s amenity-rich Domus Houthaven apartment building combines the conveniences of co-living and the positives of private residences. Designed by Shift Architecture Urbanism and conceptualized in collaboration with Synchroon Developers and creative agency …,Staat, the building features 235 units ranging from 43 to 60 m2 to meet the city’s growing demand for one- and two-person living spaces. The building’s interconnected blocks ensure each space has access to natural light and allow for the central placement of shared amenities, such as co-working and living rooms, a glass house cooking studio on a shared roof terrace and an independent guest room. Plans to attach public commercial spaces like a gym, day care and café to the co-working facilities will further connect residents with the community. KD

LOOK BOOK

One Green Mile, MVRDV’s transformation of a 200-m-long stretch of unused space under the Senapati Bapat Marg flyover in Mumbai, India, is an initiative to reclaim space from car-centric infrastructure for community use. The project is part of the larger effort to reimagine 1,800 m of streetscape along the stretch of motorway, a response to the lack of green space and public amenities in the area. The new space is divided into different ‘rooms’, each with a different function including a lounge space, gym, shaded seating area, performance space and reading room along with pedestrian walkways, bike lanes and crosswalks. Paved ‘hills’ create a topographically diverse setting. Plants appear throughout, with retaining walls and planters that promote biodiversity and soften noise pollution. They are irrigated through a rainwater storage system. A strategic network of lighting ensures that the space is well-lit for public safety. KD

Suleiman Merchant

reclaimed roadside

LOOK BOOK

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10 Anniversary

Courtesy of Stride Treglown

dissect democratic developments in design.

Courtesy of The Fabricant

Insights

Scott Norsworthy

Why offices are spatially supporting the greater public. How Web3 – an internet based on decentralization, blockchain technologies and token-based economics – is disrupting retail. What design can do for the Deaf community as spatial users and practitioners. This issue’s

how workplaces can foster

communal

Seth Nicolas

wellbeing

Community creation has been a major driver of the post-pandemic workplace. People want to interact with their colleagues and believe it’s a crucial aspect of productivity. But employers are also turning outwards, looking at how spatially supporting their surrounding communities can be beneficial to all. Words Kayla Dowling

Willem-Dirk du Toit

cultural connector ANZ Bank’s Docklands campus in Melbourne, Australia, has an in-office art gallery that’s open to the public, bringing together employees, clients, collaborators and the greater community. Foolscap Studio transformed an underutilized utility room on the tenth storey of the headquarters into the porous gallery, which features a rotating collection of Australian and international art. A concierge desk, made of travertine repurposed from the demolition of the former interior, doubles as a dry bar for events.

Courtesy of The Fabricant

how brands are rallying

co-creative retail communities

The hype surrounding cryptocurrency and the metaverse has waned, but the idea of empowering people to co-create, curate and influence brands remains powerful. Words Alexander Hawkins

The values and decentralized mechanics of Web3, often described as a new phase of the internet built on blockchain and token-based economics, continue to challenge traditional concepts of loyalty and membership in retail. This is deepening possibilities for design through collaborative dynamics. Altering how brands interact with consumers, the steady transition from hype to utility will involve embracing the tangible value of Web3 strategies. With community now an essential brand metric, the opportunity is clear. Up to 79 per cent of consumers have established relationships with brands through memberships, retail subscriptions or loyalty programmes, according to PYMNTS. In a broader shift, mass culture is also giving way to niche collectives, echoed by a Horizon Media study where 91 per cent of 18- to 25-year-olds agreed that ‘mainstream’ pop culture no longer exists. These forces, along with Web3 principles, are disrupting retail. Passive consumers are levelling up into engaged community participants, leading to a nascent style of decentralized commerce that invites users to co-design branded products and storefronts. But the impacts of this trend are not merely virtual; they extend to physical and spatial design, too.

‘In the same way that consumers are now co-creating products with brands, it’s exciting to consider how co-creation can extend to space as well, with consumers owning more digital and physical environments,’ explains YourStudio’s Allen. ‘Retail spaces can shift from static monoliths to reactive, localized, interactive and personalized ones.’ Forever21’s Shop City campaign allowed people to create personalized digital storefronts in Roblox. With this project, Forever21 experimented with dynamic, user-generated retail formats and virtual spaces. Users could build, stock and operate their own virtual franchises, including fully customizing their store design and curating what items they wanted to sell. Digital integration is also rising in stores, demonstrated by the increasing amount of space dedicated to interactive digital experiences and mobile online-to-offline modes. Expanding on this, gamified access, or the tiering of retail experiences, could result in token-activated zones on the shopfloor that are unlocked by certain levels of engagement.

STORES AS DIGITAL EXTENSIONS Brands are poised to reimagine their physical stores as extensions of their digital communities. Even the design DECENTRALIZED PRODUCT DESIGN of retail spaces may be influenced by community preferDesign and innovation have become more participaences, with members participating in decisions like store tory over time, notes Robbie Allen, a senior strategist layout and visual merchandising via voting systems. at experience design agency YourStudio. ‘We’re seeing DeStore –the first brick-and-mortar store more and more examples of creatives using technology owned and operated by a decentralized autonomous to imagine hyper-personalized versions of brand worlds organization (DAO) – is a prime example of this. It enviand products – and it’s now happening whether the sions a blockchain-backed future for physical retail. brand invites them to or not,’ he says. While some details about the project’s logistics remain Digital fashion house The Fabricant has been unclear, the general premise is that ownership is repreexperimenting with co-creation since 2019, when its sented through corresponding NFTs, which grant Free File Drops (FFDrops) garnered 40,000 downaccess to a Discord server where holders can vote on loads. For the Fabricant, this extends its reach through everything from product selection to store aesthetics. iterations of its base collection, and fosters collabo‘Tokenized benefits and models we’re seeing ration within its community. ‘We have a very active some retailers employ, such as decentralized autonocommunity of creators,’ says Nirmala Shome, head of mous organizations, are starting to unlock new forms marketing and growth at The Fabricant. ‘We believe of elevated membership, where consumers aren’t just it’s important to empower them to express their style rewarded for their participation but actually share in the through our co-created collections and through sharing success of the brand and retail space,’ says Katy Shand, our 3D files, along with running workshops and incentiv- a senior strategist and researcher at YourStudio. ized challenges.’ As this becomes more commonplace, the Similarly, in late 2022, Nike debuted its ‘Dot convergence of creativity and consumer engagement Swoosh’ platform to house Web3 projects, citing a will become a cornerstone of retail, foreshadowing a remarkable $185 million in revenue from virtual goods. future in which stores better reflect the collective idenIt has been conceived as a place for people to buy and tity of the community they serve.• trade phygital products, unlock access to events and co-create collections. USER-GENERATED RETAIL SPACES Beyond products, individuals are redesigning retail environments for themselves, often bridging the gap between shopping and gaming. This is primarily happening online as the value of user-generated content accelerates popular game-creation platforms like Roblox, which achieved $2.2 billion in revenue in 2022.

INSIGHTS

Courtesy of The Fabricant

digital marketplace Last year, The Fabricant launched The Fabricant Marketplace (also pictured on previous spread), a digital fashion platform on which NFT garments co-created in The Fabricant Studio can be traded, bought and sold. Built on the Flow blockchain, the marketplace uses Flow tokens as its currency. Creators retain complete authority over their items and earn royalties when these items are sold.

co-creative retail

Courtesy of Deaf Architecture Front

After experiencing a lack of standardized British Sign Language for architecture terms, Christopher Laing and Adolfs Kristapsons developed Signstrokes. During the process, the pair ran workshops with other Deaf practitioners and sought advice from Dr Kate Rowley from the UCL Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre. The sign for ‘architecture’ is pictured.

how education interiors

can support the

deaf community

The World Health Organization estimates nearly 20 per cent of people worldwide live with hearing loss, yet the way we use space is heavily geared towards the hearing population. Taking schools as a starting point, we look at what design can do for the Deaf community – and what needs to change to make it happen. Words Tracey Ingram

COMING SOON

ENCOUNTERS BY DESIGN Strategies for Spatial Stories by Atelier Markgraph Discover the strategies behind the visionary new practice of designing spatial encounters: whether it be a museum exhibition, brand experience or urban installation, space has become the unexpected medium through which to tell stories and craft identities. This comprehensive investigation delves into Frankfurt-based spatial design agency Atelier Markgraph’s portfolio through the lens of encounters. €59

OUT NOW

CRAFTING CHARACTER The Architectural Practice of CHYBIK + KRISTOF Crafting Character echoes the ‘red thread’ connecting all of the diverse projects of Chybik + Kristof Architects, be it adaptive reuse, a new meticulously designed public building as an icon or a large-scale development. Fourteen cinematic vignettes highlight projects as personified characters that have their own histories, dreams, secrets and stories to tell. €49

frameweb.com/books

Arnau Rovir

ABOVE In an effort to recover urban space for citizens and simultaneously fight air and acoustic pollution, design studio Arauna developed a fast and low-cost method to redefine street functions. Designed to be stencil-painted on pavement surfaces, its graphic signage system called Tactical Urbanism, which was envisioned as an open-source toolbox, helps assign new (social) functions to asphalted urban areas. OPPOSITE Designed without a particular form in mind, Alien Fashion, a collection by Jonna Hansen ‘for any kind of body’, confronts viewers with their attitude towards the foreign and unfamiliar.

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MOOD BOARD

Courtesy of Jonna Hansen

Courtesy of Refik Anadol

MOOD BOARD OPPOSITE New-media artist Refik Anadol joined forced with the Yawanawá community – indigenous to the Brazilian Amazon – to conceive a data sculpture triptych and a limited 1,000-piece Genesis NFT collection, whose proceeds will fund Yawanawá natural and cultural heritage protection. Commissioned by impact investment initiative Impact One and inaugurating digital art platform Scorpios. Collect, the work of art incorporates a combination of data from Yawanawá songs, visual art by the community members and natural data to demonstrate the connection that the community fosters with its surrounding natural environment.

David Morrow

RIGHT Striving for a fashion industry that is both ethically responsible and size-inclusive, Glasgow-based artist and fit consultant Lydia Morrow, who describes herself as a ‘disabled queer doofus’ on her social media, designs bold one-off knitwear pieces that prioritize body positivity and comfort.

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Hu Yihao

Encouraging children and adults alike to immerse themselves in the joy of outdoor play, Xisui Design’s Red Dunes Playtopia in Guangzhou offers a whimsical and dynamic public space to explore in a residential area.

Bang & Olufsen

Courtesy of Nike

ABOVE Promoting inclusion, on – and off – the soccer field, the Nike x Martine Rose Collection erases the distinctions between male and female football attire by introducing gender-neutral tailored player suits. OPPOSITE Championing self-expression and identity, Bang & Olufsen’s brand campaign See Yourself in Sound breathes life into listeners’ musical preferences through sharable avatars that are entirely personalized to each individual’s taste. ‘In a world that is centred on digital interaction, creativity and exploring, it was essential to me that Bang & Olufsen makes a space where our community can visualize their passion for music, alongside the process of curating, listening and enjoying it,’ says chief marketing officer Kamel Ouadi.

MOOD BOARD

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Courtesy of Alsar Atelier

MOOD BOARD OPPOSITE Built using affordable and easy-to-assemble materials, a fog catcher in Bogotá, Colombia, harvests water from fog. The result of a collaborative effort of Alsar Atelier, Oscar Zamora, Caesar Salomon, the Colombian Society of Architects and local community members, the structure doubles as a greenhouse, and thus – besides serving as an example of ‘resilience and ingenuity in the self-built environment’ – promotes urban agriculture.

Hedvig Jenning

BELOW With Syntax, a collection of limited-edition handcrafted afro combs, Swedish artist and industrial designer Simon Skinner ‘explores beauty rituals as an act of power and liberation through elevating historically charged objects connected to hair and beauty’.

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David Morrow, courtesy of Lydia Morrow

Courtesy of Nmbello Studio

take aways 1 hear vulnerable voices

Although co-creation – making the end users and affected parties part of the design process, ideally from an early stage – may be important for every community project, it’s critical for designing spaces for underrepresented communities. Public co-creation processes should avoid top-down approaches, and fully accommodate and prioritze those voices that are often lost or neglected.

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