VISKAĻI is a social innovation platform for creators of future. We co-design better quality of life and create tools for societal development, based on sustainability, inclusion, placemaking and non-formal education. Inspired by the Bauhaus movement, based on the New European Bauhaus values, VISKAĻI provides 15 000 sq.m. of space and holds nurturing framework for countless social innovation forms in the former faculty of Aeronautics, Riga, Latvia.
Local
Latvia
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Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): FREE RIGA Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Zane Last name of representative: Rugena Gender: Female Nationality: Latvia Function: Head of Sustainability and Development, the author of the concept of initiative Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Viskalu 36a Town: Riga Postal code: LV - 1006 Country: Latvia Direct Tel:+371 29 326 931 E-mail:zane@freeriga.lv Website:https://www.viskali.lv
The full title of the social incubator Viskaļi is "Institute of Design for Quality of Life'', giving introduction with core aim - to design solutions that improves the quality of life. This initiative, started in 2020 by renting former University's faculty building at Riga, is based on values of sustainability, inclusion, and placemaking as method, that symbolises responsibility to the place as the physical foundation and space as a process built on interaction within the community and driven by co-creation. By generating a community of residents who provide educational practices and join common workshops for placemaking and by opening the space for neighbourhoods and visitors for a variety of social initiatives, cultural events and learning experiences, non-formal education and learning-by-doing approach has been present in the Institute since the beginning. Now the Institute prepares the next phase of development - research based educational programs to discover new forms of social innovations. It is crucial to determine what is essential for individuals and society as a whole, while also tackling the importance of improving the quality of fundamental aspects of life. In this process, the most important target audiences are marginalised groups, because the level of quality of life for such groups reflects our ability as a society to integrate, care and create equal opportunities for all. The design process will begin with socio-anthropological research to identify topics for the foundation of non-formal education programs. These programs will offer both an independent opportunity to learn about individual and societal well-being and serve as an integral part of the further design process for social innovators. More so, these programs will bring together and promote discussion between people of different age, gender, occupation, education and range of interests, as with diverse social, economical, ethnical, physical and mental possibilities.
sustainability
placemaking
innovations
quality of life
inclusion
Sustainability is the core value of the Institute, framing every aspect of it - placemaking, education, well-being. The long-term plan is to renovate the faculty building by circular principles, offering the city a pilot project that demonstrates transformation of a Soviet building into a climate-neutral space and serves as a testing ground for energy-efficient solutions such as eco-materials and efficient rainwater use, integrated with social initiatives like an energy community. These topics create internship opportunities for students of architecture, urban planning, engineering, environmental sciences etc. Latvian Academy of Arts, RISEBA University of Applied Sciences etc, have already used the Institute for educational purposes. The Institute already provides a place for circular economy initiatives - "Free Shop" (Brīvbode), biological farmers support network “Direct buying groups” and together with the "Riga Energy Agency" - a repair material exchange point with open source methodology on how to develop such an initiative. We see principles of the circular economy, sharing and upcycling being used every day by the residents. Additionally, we aim to develop research and educational activities that call for preservation of nature as a value in the urban environment. Two protected insect species have already been identified in the premises, and nature research continues via the Latvian Nature Foundation and the aquatic animal sanctuary AkvaRiga (resident of the Institute). Considering climate, energy and socio-economic crises, the Institute's current priorities of sustainability are deepening the understanding of social and economical safety and environmental dimensions. Development plan of such scale also is a significant support for Riga sustainable development strategy, Riga Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan, and Positive Energy Districts initiative, that promotes introduction of renewable energy sources with the aim of higher citizen participation.
The design of the Institute's placemaking process reflects both, physical space and the space of interaction, with the attitude that the positive emotions and cultural benefits is the engine that drives the creation of design that is aesthetic, inclusive and meaningful. The building and interior feature Soviet stylistics, while the surrounding area is in a state of decline, with pure accessibility for all groups of society. So the main objective is to integrate an aesthetic and positive experience design, within the building and its surrounding area, that would be inspired and driven by users. Questions about such topics as well-being, belonging, aesthetics in personal housing context, as in public and cultural space, will be integrated in socio-anthropological research, also identifying whether and how Viskaļi could improve the quality of life for the residents of the neighbourhood, including people with special needs and families. This will be followed by educational and hands-on activities that are closely linked with topics of quality of life around topics of home, cultural and public space. Further outdoor and building's design and improvement plan will be developed within the inclusive workshops, that brings together architects, city planners, interior designers, residents, neighbourhood and representatives of different groups of people with disabilities, with the goal to identify needs of users and develop innovations and experiences within the design creation, as in the Institute building and theritory, as in the personal lives of those who engage. It is already known that the residents of the neighbourhood would like access to the shore of the lake, which is located near the building. This can be considered as the second key objective - to develop an educational and beautification activities-based program that not only invites people to clean up the coast, but also creates engagement in landscaping design that invites care for the environment of the lake.
Second value of the Institute, inclusive approach, passes through all levels of activities. We provide affordable space for social initiatives, creatives and social entrepreneurs, being the first and still the only organisation in Latvia, who works with such aim. Our projects in vacant building revitalisation is runned only by horizontal governance, inviting the residents into the process of decision making. Unfortunately, the main issue with old buildings is lack of accessibility because they are not designed for people with special needs. So the first key objective in Viskaļi is to acquire the necessary financial support or solve the problem of physical accessibility by doing-it-ourselves approach. The second - to become more than a platform for social organisations and their carried activities, but also to purposefully moderate inclusive and positive interaction in between, by beginning the educational programs, therefore raising awareness about needs and obstacles of diverse society and to drive inclusive innovation, that is designed for everyone. In the first phase of development of Viskaļi, we purposefully invited as stakeholders and users of the building the representatives of diverse spectrum of society - NGO working with people of special needs, LGBTQ community, economically marginalised groups etc. Now we are aiming to bring them together in the joint work for raising quality of life, by developing a common curriculum that would include manifest of inclusive practices in the Institute. The third key objective is linked with energy democracy and affordable living, where in future we want to launch the first affordable living community project in Latvia, which would purposefully offer living space to various target groups, seniors, families with children, representatives of various social target groups and ethnicities, with whom we would jointly address the challenges of the energy crisis, and encourage nature care in the area of the building.
“Placemaking” methodology involves co-creation and stakeholder engagement as a principle, involving cross-sectorial residents, the locals, representatives of various socially disadvantaged groups, and finally, the wider society in the development of the project. In the first years of the project, it was practised by diverse activities, deliberately opening the place without a purposeful structure in order to explore interested parties and the neighbours, and create the first draft of the Institute’s identity. For example: issuing a newspaper that introduces the project and involves cultural needs mapping to provide cultural program that the locals want and need; opening free co-working space for neighbourhood activists; public discussions about accessibility and the needs of neighbourhood; several circular economy initiatives; mapping the wildlife; “open doors” to visit residents and create friendly gatherings; bike donation action for Ukraine refugees and camouflage net making workshops; various cultural (concerts, festivals, exhibitions) and non-formal education activities. Those activities created the safe space and range of possitive experiences, as also atracted more users and visitors of the building. Starting the second stage of development, the involvement of the above-mentioned target audiences is planned sequentially, as a set of regular thematic events and is considered as the core of this projects development, therefore the institute team is working now for project applications to ensure funding for a) socio-anthropological study, educational programs and regular workshops b) workshop program with architects and city planners, and more "hands on" activities, to plan the transformation of degraded territory and soviet type building, by collecting the needs and ideas form the basic stakeholders of the building - residents, partners (NGO, representatives of the target groups etc) and neighbourhood inhabitants.
Owned by Riga Technical University (RTU), the legal function of the building is an educational institution. Therefore, the concept of the Institute was developed by mapping links of shared vision and goals with RTU and their Student Union, creating synergy and understanding how they could benefit from the newly created platform of social innovations. Cooperation with Riga City Council by regular participation in working groups, common cultural mapping projects, circular economy, and policy-making has provided the Institute with knowledge about the needs of the city, while alliance with the Development Association of Čiekurkalns (local area) has provided knowledge about the needs of the neighbourhood, both of which ought to be addressed. Currently, guidance for sustainable house maintenance is provided by the Nature Education Foundation. While some of the methods of community management are adopted from international partners from The Social Temporary Use Network (STUN, co-founded by FREE RIGA in 2019), the governance system is a live, constantly transforming set of principles, shaped by the residents, their ideas, suggestions and active participation. In the second phase of development, the working group of stakeholders (anthropologist, NGO's (neighbourhood, socially vulnerable groups etc.), architects and city planners, Riga Technical University lecturers and students, residents of the building) will be engaged in the design of research and educational programs and in the delivery of it. In the future, the Institute is considering adopting practices of affordable living concepts, such as that of our partners - Community Land Trust Bruxelles, Belgium. Models of circular economy will be adopted by practices from our partners in Italy - Multifactory.
The Initial design of the concept has been influenced a lot by the backgrounds of initial project coordinators - social inclusion and environmental awareness, circular economy, nature preservation and upcycling coming from environmental activism background. Creativity, art, design from cultural centres; non-formal education from activist and youth worker training programs; temporary use, renovation and self-governing principles from the STUN network (Social Temporary Use Network). As per organisation, our team has previous experience with developing vacant, degraded territories into the most popular creative and recreational places of the capital city. Thus, we have expertise in building maintenance, renovation and upcycling, a very wide range of connections in the field of culture, arts, environmental and social activism, and methodology of community governance and cultural mapping. This various connections and experiences has helped us to attract a very colourful set of residents and others interested in the development of the Institute, who have been the main stakeholders for the first phase of the Institute, therefore sharing their perspectives and know-how, from various fields, during the regular activities of governance of the residents (meetings, lectures, workshops) and initiatives, provided by residents in the building. All these experiences have created the first phase of the concept. In the second phase of the development of concept, socio-anthropological research, design thinking methodology, non-formal education and environmental science, urban planning will be the main disciplines for design and implementation. To ensure this and also the representation of marginalised groups, the representatives of anthropological research, and several non governmental organisations are invited in the core group of developers. Planned that Riga Technical University will join the process, creating an advisory board, including lecturers from various faculties as well as
Imagine yourself, looking for the answer - how to make your life worth living? Or improve it. To gain a skill, a knowhow. Or take part in discussions, practices. To be who you are, to be accepted, to be heard. To learn, to create. To experience this together with a tango teacher, environmental activist with 15 year international experience, plumber, music producer, architect, creating a design mock-up for a utopian innovative city to be built in the desert of Emirates, scent researcher, women who just recovered from domestic abuse, aquatic animal sanctuary activist, well-known Mexican chef and the social entrepreneur - to name just a few out of 150 residents of Viskaļi. Although a diverse, creative audience that inhabits vacant spaces is not innovation, in the case of the Institute, each of the residents has come here with commitment to participate in improvement of social, welfare and environmental issues, their spaces and activities are open for experience sharing, workshops and different learning experiences. We do not seek to produce a creative quarter that self-servingly reproduces creativity and entertainment. In the contenary, in time of 20 years we want rooten the sense of belonging of ones who creates the space, developing a model of a sustainable placemaking and a model of a new, sustainable society, which combines community-created education, creativity, socioeconomic examples, and the first affordable housing in Latvia, under a common umbrella "quality of life". In this light, the "education" is not only separated educational initiatives, but continuous learning in practice, in the implementation of the concept, in the mutual exchange of ideas, and practices among cross-sectors and the ones who visit. Such practices on such a scale are not common in Latvia and the Baltic States. In this context, with already existing colourful, friendly environment and the vision, Viskaļi could be called many ways, but “mainstream” is not one of those.
The concept was developed with the intention to be multiplied in any place or be targeted by any community, since, in the essence, the quality of life is something every person is ought to aim for. Since socio-anthropological research has not been developed yet, we might just guess the content and approaches used there, however already now we may ensure that its structure and methods will be beneficial for those who are interested in reaching out and understanding the different social groups in a wide thematic spectrum. The approach: research-learning-innovation is useful because it doesn't pretend to be "we know what you need" but "we want to know what you need and maybe we can create a solution together?", which is a much healthier way to offer cooperation especially relevant when addressing the residents of the neighbourhood, for those who are not local. Such a position also strengthens the education component, because in fact its content needs have been created by the research participants themselves, not by external forces who "know better". Also, learning by doing, popular and informal education methods are universal and already widely used in communities and urban planning projects and for training groups. Beyond a set of different methods, the creators of the Institute also aim to create simple materials, for example, imagination cards, with various abstract drawings created by the residents of the building. These associative cards would be based on questions about the quality of life and allow to start a simple conversation about such a complicated and often abstract topic. Or the Rubik's Cube, on the different sides of which the institute's values, themes and activities are indicated, to invite us to think about different, unexpected combinations that can be created in a socially innovative environment. Also, these simple ideas can create conversation, transfer of knowledge in any environment where communication on complex topics is relevant.
The approach: research-learning-innovation (RLI), is cyclical (therefore, limited in time and repeatable) and based on the priority topics of each cycle, for example, in the first phase, issues of environmental, social and economic security (including housing, energy issues) are the ones with biggest emphasis. RLI itself is based on a design thinking matrix, which frames a single operational cycle in periods of implementation and breaks it down into a few more steps: empathise (research) - define (non formal, popular education) - ideate (co-create) - prototype (learning-by doing) - test (research, play) - implement (celebrate) - research (iterate the results, before next cycle). Implementing this design thinking matrix - that is, developing a single study, an educational program based on its results and stimulating an innovation that is then piloted - research methods, non-formal and popular education methods, and community engagement methods are used.
Inspired by the first Bauhaus movement, based on the New European Bauhaus values, Institute is one of the drivers of implementing the European Green Deal. Designing the concept of the Institute, we used the United Nations sustainable development goals: no poverty; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; peace, justice and strong institutions. Currently, we see increasing numbers of people searching for affordable housing and finding the Institute as a refuge during the current energy-crisis. While the utility bills we, FREE RIGA, pay are as high as elsewhere, we provide the opportunity to our residents to take part in the community management, renovation or other skills-specific activities as a form of circular economy for decreased lease agreements. Although people might initially come for more affordable housing or studio space, experience shows our residents stay because of the sense of belonging, essential for human mental health and self-actualisation, the Institute’s environment create via the natural connections of coworking and co-living, our in-house activities with residents and guests, and our public events for the locals. We have also intentionally campaigned to support other NGOs by offering office spaces for free - prioritising the ones who are in need the most. Additionally, we tackle nature’s preservation in an urban setting, which is especially important for the locals and the traditional Latvian culture. Located in a degraded, militarised, industrial, urban area next to the one of the largest in-city lakes of Latvia, surrounded by wild forest areas, rich villas and Ukrainian refugee shelter a short walk apart, the Institute is in between various lived experiences.
The project began late summer of 2020 by signing a 25 year lease contract with Riga Technical University (owner and previous user of the territory) to develop a pilot project that would symbolise sustainability, social inclusion and non-formal education. Within the initial framework of the Institute’s concept, the first two years were spent integrating the method of temporary use. By attracting various users of the space (approx. 150 residents as of January, 2023) and creating a community within the Institute’s premises, we have created a lively and service-rich hub with a wide range of recreational and educational possibilities. Meanwhile, we have actively built relationships with the inhabitants and representatives of the neighbourhood via different engaging activities, such as property renovation, providing space for the neighbourhood association, hosting initiatives that support Ukrainian refugees, public events etc. We have done culture mapping by surveying the locals about their cultural needs and habits. Due to COVID-19 pandemics, the development of the first phase was diverted, so only now are we transitioning to the second phase. Currently, the main focus is the conceptual development of the project: a) conducting a socio-anthropological research on, first, understanding and meaning of the term “quality of life” and, second, environmental, social and economic safety needs of various target groups of the Institute; b) based on the research outcomes, create non-formal educational programs in partnership with cross-sectoral professionals - to define what skills and knowledge is needed for our direct beneficiaries, people in most need to increase their quality of life, and indirect beneficiaries, the ones who will further develop sustainable solutions of the concept (co-create and prototype).
Insitute is directly contributing within the sever dimentions, including educational programme, by embodying sustainability values, embracing complexity in sustainability, envisioning sustainable futures, and promoting acting for sustainability.
