We often come across interesting projects or topics around cities on daily basis, but they can easily be forgotten under my 'favorite' bookmarks. I can't write an article for every single one of them, so I've decided to archive this precious info on this website as well, so it's easier to trace it back when I need to. Here are the links to some of the projects, initiatives, topics that caught our eyes this month. we'll continue this series every month, so stay tuned if you're interested.
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The Urban Knowledge Collective is an international network of urban actors across cities in Europe and beyond. It is a non-profit association founded by students of urban research programs, and they want to open up and perpetuate the exchange of city-specific knowledge pools. It's somehow similar to my own initiative, for cities, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the project would evolve.
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I attended an online talk event initiated by Tokyo Photographic research, which is a project founded by the photographer Taisuke Koyama and the curator Junya Yamamine. The research involves a series of projects revolving around the theme of Tokyo led by artists who render each of their multifaceted studies on various relevant matters of today — including cultures engendered by the progress of contemporary technology and media environment — via photography and video will continue to be released on its website up to autumn 2020.
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I found such a beautiful space in the countryside of Japan! HÏSOM is a Japanese villa in a small village in rural Shimane, Japan, surrounded by the sea and the mountains. It is inspired by the Nordic-Finnish way of living, embracing the natural environment and spiritually fulfilling life. A lot of people wrongly assume that Japan is all urbanized and hyper-dense (which is a total myth!), and I'd love people to come and experience the beauty of rural Japan in a place like here.
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My good architect friend from Pakistan told me about Cluster Cairo. It was founded in 2011 in Downtown Cairo, as a platform for urban research, architecture, art, and design initiatives. CLUSTER engages critical discourse while being grounded in professional practice, with an emphasis on participatory design processes.
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Strolling Cities unveils the naked, materially seductive form of 9 Italian cities – Milan, Como, Bergamo, Venice, Genoa, Rome, Catania, Palermo – using millions of photos taken during the recent lockdowns (’20/’21) that show the urban space as an unfiltered landscape of walls, streets, and buildings. I love bringing a poetic approach into urbanism, and this project does that marvelously.
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I admire Helsinki Design System, an open-source design system for digital products and experiences with the City of Helsinki Design Language. The Helsinki Design System is focused on usability and accessibility and aims to improve the quality and consistency of the City of Helsinki digital services – making the user experience better for everyone. What a great idea.
