In Roccavaldina, a small Sicilian village, a circular innovation initiative has acted as a transformative trigger, activating a systemic territorial metamorphosis. From agricultural waste to bioplastics, the process generates inclusive jobs, new enterprises and community-led development, reconnecting inner areas to sustainable futures.
In Estonia, Estonian and Russian speakers live side by side but read different news. Expats miss most local information. Communities sharing the same streets lack shared understanding of what happens around them. shortl.ee gives every community equal access to local news in the language they speak. Free, open to all, no registration. Already helping people in 10+ countries understand their neighbours. We started this experiment in Estonia and want to bring it to communities across Europe.
KosovArt is a bilingual (Albanian–English) cultural publication and digital platform developed in Kosovo, designed as a comprehensive guide to the country’s cultural heritage, archaeology, gastronomy, and contemporary creative scene. The project was created to make Kosovo’s rich cultural identity more accessible to both local and international audiences. By combining print and digital formats, KosovArt serves as a bridge between tradition and modern storytelling, offering a curated and visually
"The Present- The chance of the future" NGO revitalizes rural Moldova through Poarta Neamului project, where heritage becomes a living, sustainable experience. Visitors can see how the 104 years old house is kept, explore marked eco-trails to Moldova’s highest hill and engage with local gastronomy, crafts, and traditions. Blending innovation with authenticity, the project supports communities, protects landscapes, and reconnects people with nature and culture.
Sensora protects Luxembourg communities through real-time flood warning, water leak detection, energy monitoring, and smart building automation — all in one platform. In May 2024, Sensora's sensors triggered the only flood alert at 2am at Hesperange bridge, giving authorities critical response time. Deployed across 20+ municipalities via affordable LoRaWAN networks, Sensora delivers sustainable, inclusive smart city infrastructure for communities of every size.
An immersive Christmas installation designed to transform a commercial urban space into a sensorial and affective environment. Through scenography, lighting, and spatial storytelling, the project creates a shared experience that encourages presence, interaction, and emotional connection. By reconfiguring everyday space, it promotes cultural engagement and temporarily redefines how people relate to the city.
Giant Micro Plastic transforms microplastics collected on Chiba’s shore into large-scale sculptures. 3D-scanned, photographed in macro, and rebuilt in papercraft, these nearly invisible fragments appear both artificial and mineral-like. By turning microplastic pollution into monumental forms, the project makes visible hidden traces of everyday life. The project also included workshops in which children collected microplastics, observed them under magnification, and created kaleidoscopes.
What if discarded food became architecture? World Food Waste Teahouse transforms regional food waste into structural building materials, creating tea ceremony spaces that travel the globe. Pasta in Venice, tea in Dubai, green tea in Tokyo—each teahouse adapts its form to local latitude and materials to local consumption. Born from Japanese craft and circular thinking, this resin-free, re-assemblable system offers a promising alternative for the future of building.
Vacant houses are not a problem. They are an unused resource. Re:public's TRANS methodology transforms how communities value what they already have — and proved it in Yunomoto, a hot spring town in Kagoshima, southern Japan. The renovation was deliberately incomplete: what the house lacks, the town provides. Guests walk to hot springs, eat with local pottery, explore farms. The town is the infrastructure. TRANS has since been applied to three further companies across different contexts.
Created in 2004 in Rio, this campaign uses communication design to replace aggressive signs with an "aesthetics of care." Through the iconic "Yellow Dog" and playful rhymes, it inspires pet owners to spontaneously keep streets clean. After 20 years, the community self-funded its 2023 rescue, proving that human-centered design can become affective heritage. It’s a low-cost, scalable model that unites residents and authorities to build kinder, resilient urban spaces.
