How a Creative Europe project revived remote places
For the past four years, the Estonian Association of Designers has been a partner in the international Creative Europe project "SMOTIES: Creative works with small and remote places", in which universities, centres, agencies and associations from ten countries have been developing spatial solutions by designing creative innovations. How can design be used as a creative tool, adapt it to the context, and then work with locals to bring innovation to public spaces?
The exhibition will showcase such interesting examples of work from the last few years. Stories from different parts of Europe unfold: from the 9th-century Icelandic settlement of Borgarnes to the Natura 2000 area of Apano Meria on the Greek island of Syros. Also a Natura 2000 area is the Estonian remote place: the former industrial village of Joaveski in the heart of Lahemaa.
The project is part of the Human Cities platform for interdisciplinary exchange, examining and acting to improve the liveability of indoor and outdoor public spaces to incubate innovative processes for social cohesion through participatory design.
ESTONIA / JOAVESKI
Project
Joaveski is located in the heart of the Lahemaa National Park and became best known as an industrial village with a hydroelectric power station and a cardboard factory at the very end of the 19th century. The numerous factory buildings in particular reflect the last few centuries of cultural history, which is why they are included in the Estonian National Register of Cultural Monuments.
Team EAD landed in Joaveski in 2021, the first proper meetings began in 2022 and that same summer a small team started brainstorming and testing some changes in the area.
After making contact with the local people, the collaboration between Team EAD and the village residents resulted in the artistic and historical processing, improvement, and development of local hiking trails, a mini-podcast called “Sauna FM” and quite a number of events dedicated to art exhibitions, summer camps and exclusive Future Food cuisine.
Through working with locals, valuable stories and data have been studied and preserved. The work on the proposed Studio Joaveski has allowed two outbuildings of the former factory to be upgraded and used for various purposes (exhibitions, get-togethers, working stations, etc). Together with SMOTIES, the town would also like to implement an international exchange programme in the future.
Institution
The Estonian Association of Designers (EAD) is an excellent, non-profit organisation under public law. Its activities focus on raising social awareness and efficiency of design, as well as organising design industry events.
The EAD organises the annual Tallinn International Design Festival and has been awarding the Estonian Design Prize BRUNO since 2006.
With the founding of the Estonian Design House (2010), Estonian design has been exhibited internationally in more than 30 countries. EAD is an active member of international umbrella organisations.
PORTUGAL / ESTREITO DA CALHETA
ProjectOn the Portuguese island of Madeira, the SMOTIES team and the residents of Estreito da Calheta worked hand in hand. Through active listening, a good framework for communication was created and the desire to create a stronger sense of community and a local cultural programme was expressed in discussions. The aim is to create a physical space that brings people together and breathes new life into the village through cultural and artistic initiatives.
At a village meeting organised by the SMOTIES team, the community itself became active and visualised its ideas and wishes on paper. Inspired by this meeting, a documentary was produced about the residents of Estreito da Calheta with a look into the past and future and shown to them on 1 July 2023 together with the SMOTIES exhibition.
Institution
Founded in 1988, the public University of Madeira (UMa) endeavours to meet international standards through excellence in education, research, and regional service.
Specifically, the institute comprises engineering and technology, natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, as well as the School of Health and the School of Technology and Management. Knowledge transfer focuses on fundamental, applied scientific and cultural research.
THE UNITED KINGDOM / PENMACHNO
The small village of Penmachno, located within Eryri National Park in Wales, has undergone major changes over the past century. Once a vibrant community centred around slate quarrying, wool production, and agriculture, it has experienced the decline of its slate quarries and woollen mill, resulting in a loss of cultural and commercial heritage. Today, tourism is the primary industry, although agriculture remains an important part of the local economy.
Over the past four years, Clear Village has collaborated with the Penmachno community and the owners of Manchester House, which was once one of 30 shops in the village during the era of slate quarrying, to transform a derelict site in the village centre into a vibrant community space. Oriel Machno (Welsh for Machno Gallery) celebrates local craft talent, international art and design, and local knowledge exchange, honouring the heritage of the past while looking towards the future.
Institution
Clear Village is a London-based charity that uses creative regeneration approaches to help communities address their challenges, strengthen social cohesion, and build resilience from within.
GREECE / APANO MERIA
Project
Located in the northern side of the island of Syros, Apano Meria has a vast cultural heritage and an amazing landscape that is being protected and developed with the help of the SMOTIES team. Working together with residents promotes a collective awareness to identify and co-create sustainable practices and solutions. Social and ecological measures are intended to strengthen the community on the one hand and conserve and protect limited natural resources on the other.
A workshop has already been held in Ermoupolis at the University of the Aegean, which focused on the special features and cultural heritage of Apano Meria. Fundamental to this are social cohesion and justice, which form the basis for the preservation of culture and environmental protection.
Institution
The University of the Aegean (University of the Aegean) began teaching in 2000. The Department of Product and System Design specialises in integrative design. The Department of Design Engineering, based in Syros, is the only department in Greece.
In addition to state-of-the-art teaching methods and practices, students benefit from the high level of expertise. The reason for this is the international recognition of the research sector.
ICELAND / BORGARNES
Project
The small town of Borgarnes is located on the Borgarfjörður fjord and is home to 2,108 inhabitants. The first settlement was established as early as the 9th century and Borgarnes later evolved into a trading centre in the 19th century. The harbour as the hub of the town had a major influence on its architectural development.
The SMOTIES team has been working on site since 2021. In 2022, they conducted an interdisciplinary study to identify potential public spaces. This included humanities, planning, and architecture, as well as discussions with community members. The project aims to redesign the streetscape of selected public spaces together with the residents in citizen-centred and participatory design. In the summer of 2023, the focus was on the implementation of a co-designed prototype using extended reality for citizen-friendly public spaces.
Institution
Alternance is an architectural and urban planning office based in Reykjavik. Since its creation in 1999 it encompasses a broad field of creative practice and applied research. Through their development of MAPS – multidisciplinary assessment of a public space, a methodology for improving the quality of public space and providing recommendations to authorities – Alternance joined the SMOTIES / Human Cities team.
FRANCE / DORLAY TAL & SAINTE-CROIX-EN-JAREZ
Project
Since the 18th century, the Dorlay Valley has accumulated a wealth of knowledge in the textile industry, combining traditional skills with a rich heritage of industrial buildings and infrastructure. In several villages in the valley, efforts are being made to valorise the remnants of the craft traditions. Sainte-Croix- en-Jarez, on the other hand, is known for its Carthusian monastery. This is protected and promoted by the inhabitants for its tangible and intangible heritage, especially for future generations, but also for tourism in the region.
Since 2022, the Cité du Design has organised several workshops based on the SMOTIES toolbox guidelines to stimulate social exchange among residents and provide space for future projects.
Intergenerational measures, such as the creation of a community card game in Sainte-Croix-en-Jarez and the promotion of environmentally friendly mobility are at the centre of the initiatives in the Dorlay Valley.
Institution
Cité du Design is a platform for higher education and promotion of art and design. Since 2010, it has formed a joint institution with the Saint-Étienne School of Art and Design. Every two years since 1998, the platform has organised the Biennale Internationale Design Saint-Étienne, in which designers from all over the world take part.
SLOVENIA / TOPOL PRI MEDVODAH, ZLEBE & BELO
Project
In Polhograjski dolomiti Landscape Park, public places and cultural facilities are being remodelled as part of the SMOTIES project, which combines tradition and modernity. The residents of the area are actively involved in this process, which strengthens the community identity of the area. Although it is a popular one-day recreational destination for residents of nearby settlements and the capital city of Ljubljana, this area lacks a public transport network and has few public facilities.
Together with the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (UIRS), projects were implemented to strengthen the local community, such as the reuse of meadows and forests as public spaces, combining contemporary artistic and traditional rural life activities.
The SMOTIES approaches have also enabled new guidelines for a participatory transformation of public spaces in other small places of Slovenia as part of the National Spatial Order policy.
Institution
The Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (UIRS) is a leading national research institution dedicated to advancing urban and spatial development in Slovenia. Its interdisciplinary teams conduct in-depth research on various aspects of urban planning, encompassing residential areas, landscapes, and the overall development of urban spaces.
Through collaboration with domestic and international partners, UIRS strives to achieve excellence in research and translate those findings into practical applications.
AUSTRIA / OBERZEIRING
Project
Oberzeiring, a town in Upper Styria with around 830 inhabitants, has a rich history of silver mining. Today it is known for its show mine and healing gallery. Oberzeiring also lives from tourism. However, the local community suffers from a lack of quality of life due to poor public transport connections, high traffic volumes, vacancies and a lack of places to meet.
Regular discussions on improving communication in public spaces are held in collaboration with FH JOANNEUM Graz. The most important square in the town, the market square, is currently used as a parking and bus turning area. Hence, in addition to projects such as a ride-sharing bench and vacant spaces, temporary furniture was developed for the square. This responded to the wishes and needs of the population for seating and play areas as well as greenery.
The furniture also features specially designed flags and information cubes to improve the presence of the Oberzeiring clubs, so strengthening communication between them. These were used for the first time during the “Frischer Wind” summer festival in spring 2023.
Institution
At the Institute of Design & Communication we train designers with the ability to think critically. They learn to consider the economic, social, cultural and technological backgrounds in order to design effectively for society.
Design expertise and skills, user-centred methods and field research are all important components of our degree programmes. By working together in interdisciplinary groups, students become practised in cooperating with business, design agencies and cultural institutions.
POLAND / BOBREK
Project
Cieszyn is a small town in Poland with around 32,000 inhabitants, located on the border with the Czech Republic. Bobrek is now part of the town, but used to be an independent neighbouring village. Bobrek was intended to house 18,000 people, for which a large building complex was designed. This idea of new housing options was ultimately implemented in the form of two small settlements. These settlements are not linked to any social infrastructure and are therefore not connected to any cultural centres, schools, or public transport. Living in Bobrek therefore offers few prospects for people who want to lead a communal and networked life.
The aim of the activities with the residents is to design and programme areas between the two settlements for joint activities.
Institution
Zamek, in Polish “castle”, has been the design centre in Cieszyn on the Polish-Czech border since 2007. Zamek cooperates with companies, NGOs, and public institutions—wherever innovative thinking is in demand.
ITALY / BASSO MONFERRATO
Project
The final strategy brings together eight places that enable their use by citizens and tell visitors the stories, rituals, and practices incorporated therein. All have been equipped with ‚Totems‘: narrative elements of the history and stories of the village and its inhabitants that create a path through the historic centre, together with historical pictures and accessibility information. Moreover, thanks to a tactical urban design intervention, a part of the square has been pedestrianised, returning this space to everyday gatherings between citizens.
Institution
Founded in 1863, the Politecnico di Milano is a world leader in its schools of education and research. Engineering, architecture and design and is among the top 10 in the QS ranking in the field of art and design. The university’s active Human Cities team is based in the Polimi DESIS Labs and focuses on design for services and design activism
