In the new Designing Cities For All: RE-generation series (Re)designing Connection, DCFA partnered up with Shibaura House, a community hub in Tokyo as its next fellow. In this fellowship, we delve into the multifaceted concept of connection on three different scales: humans & non-humans, communities and cities. Our modern urban existence led us to disconnect from ourselves, our communities, and the cities we inhabit. How can we reclaim and (re)design these connections through personal practices and grassroots initiatives? This series aims to explore practical strategies and innovative approaches for reviving the lost essence of connection on both individual and collective levels, fostering a more inclusive city for and with all.
In this 3rd episode of Designing Cities For All: Re-Generation series (Re)designing Connection with DCFA fellow Shibaura House we look into exploring the art of connection through tea, spanning cultures from Japan to Taiwan. This episode delves into how personal connections foster communal ties, against the backdrop of Tokyo’s shifting neighborhood dynamics due to urbanisation. We investigate the journey from individual connection to broader community engagement, examining the potential for tea to bridge urban disconnects and inspire a reimagined sense of neighborhood. Discover how we can extend these intimate connections to reinvigorate urban communities and encourage global unity.
About the DCFA Fellow
SHIBAURA HOUSE is a unique building with a completely glass exterior built in Shibaura, Minato-ku, an area in Tokyo, Japan undergoing redevelopment. It is a community space, but also the headquarters of a 70-year old company. The company’s business has changed enormously to keep in harmony with the changes in times and the social environment. Today, it simultaneously operates the original creative business, along with new cultural creative projects that are rooted in the local community.
About Designing Cities for All: RE generation
Over the first two years of Designing Cities for All (DCFA), we’ve learned about exclusion by design and the (re)design of inclusive cities. Along the journey, a certain question kept popping up: what exactly does ‘for all’ entail? After focusing mostly on the ‘who’ over the past two years, DCFA is rebooting as Designing Cities for All: RE-generation . This way around, the series is also incorporating the ‘what’ by looking through the fresh lens of regenerative design. This emerging field might very well be a promising answer to the challenges of our time, as it focuses on the design of products, services, systems, and processes that lead to both social and ecological recovery and that keep the systems healthy.
