New alliances with sites

On Tuesday 24th June the program focused on TRANS-disciplinary projects and organized two short notes with two commentators followed by a panel discussion with Xenia Kokoula, GruppeF Berlin, Andrea Kahn, designCONTENT New York, Carolin Mees, Parsons School of Design und Pratt Institute New York, Nina Vogel, SLU Urban Futures Malmö, moderated by Lisa Diedrich and Anna Neuhaus of ÉLAN, TU Berlin.

Nina Vogel shared first results of the project and prototype ‘From Basement to Kitchen’ that illustrated how unused basement premises in Sweden’s high-rise housing areas can become thriving sites for meeting your neighbors, developing skills for growing food and shaping your own living environments of the future. Thus, contribute to a planning approach developing existing built environments and at the same time contribute to self-sufficiency and (social) preparedness in local societies.

Carolin Mees offered with ‘Urban Space+’ insights on how communal open spaces are anchor points in cities and a possible response to the consequences of urbanisation and climate change, as well as to social and cultural differences. She invested different add-ons in urban open spaces: specific components for the production of food, water, energy and materials, as well as economic and social resources. A panorama of add-ons on micro and macro levels can realize a resilient and collaborative infrastructure for multi-coded urban spaces.

The panel discussion brought attention to the importance of practice-driven research that informs theory. What happens when studies become disciplines? Both projects presented and commented highlighted the value of ‘active places’ / sites that allow for feedback loops, opening up the ‘area of influence’ that contribute to a democratic practice and wellbeing of people being able to co-create and shape resilient living environments.

The value to engage in futuring as a design practice that offers the productive and critical take to readdressing structures and power relations and state the timely questions, address the blind spot of current generations to cope with societal questions and ways forward. The project From Basement to Kitchen stimulated thoughts on  readdressing sites of production and re-production, widening the idea of home from the single flat to the neighbourhood, strengthening the understanding of site as situational, relational, negotiated and narrated.

Learn more about the symposium

Learn more about the project From Basement to Kitchen