Play is older than culture. Play theorist Johan Huizinga in his book Homo Ludens (1955) defined play as "a free activity standing quite consciously outside ‘ordinary’ life as being ‘not serious,’ but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained from it. It proceeds within its proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner." While exploring Tirana in Albania I searched for signs and acts of playfulness in the built environment. A lot of play spots can be found in the city centre in parks, where people play chess and domino, especially the elderly. They bring their own games, organise and spend time with friends outdoors. Play is in the city incorporated as a design (chairs as domino blocks), and use of public space (covered areas) in parks. As a result of my research, I choose to make a short film in which the play is addressed as a sign of inclusiveness which gives the feeling of belonging and identity.

In a "Space Between", Sophia talks about her personal experiences at the "Kalvebod Waves" in Copenhagen. Between tall buildings and noisy streets, the artist makes her way to the harbour where she spent a lot of time during her Erasmus: "The harbour of Copenhagen is like the Central Park for me". Sophia originally comes from a suburb near New York. In this public space she feels a safety in numbers as a queer person. She likes to spend time alone, but also with her best friend Isa. Leah Meinhof directed, filmed and edited the short documentary. Sophia Livecchi tells her personal story.

The other path that Shin presents us with in Acrobat (2021) is one that draws us in from outside the stage. This is not the sort of route we find on a navigation device, which guides us toward our destination based on measurements and calculations. This route is a long way away from recorded data volumes and efficiency. It guides us into a place where years of dust drift, a place that exudes the characteristic damp odors we find underground. In Acrobat, Shin proposes ways of interpreting space through the senses. Both videos are set around intake stations, which were used in the past to store water but are no longer employed today. Dried up and (seemingly) fated to remain unvisited by anyone, they call to mind enormous time capsules that remain sealed past their scheduled opening date, their whereabouts unclear. They also resemble stones that were raised to commemorate something in the past that no one visits anymore. Inside this discontinued intake station is a person – a person who feels, measures, and seeks. There is no defined route. Yet he moves nimbly and constantly, keenly sensing the floors, the walls, and the structure. In the world in which he perceives, the once-solid order of the “named” takes on a flexible quality. In a sense, the staircase is not a staircase to him. Named things are reinterpreted like, length of stride, body width, and grip strength: a tread-board for the feet, and a railing to stop the body from falling. These experiments suggest that with his physically based explorations, Shin Jungkyun sought to open up new structures and paths as he diluted the meaning of each individual element. The Acrobat suggests a more roundabout path to those of us who firmly believe that we are already predicting the path toward tomorrow, or who balance between anxiety and helplessness as we wonder how valid the paths we have established will remain. It also poses a question for us: what should we be latching on to as we proceed toward the future? The bright light of a lamp that whites out whatever clue we’ve managed to find? Or a finger capable of sensing all the roughness and quivering of a surface? Sometimes, the things that we view as the most obviously reliable are the ones that lead us to ambiguous places. It is in this context that Shin Jungkyun reactivates the expired time capsule, entreating us to move along its length, width, and depth – setting today in motion in the process. Most of all, he asks us to be awake in this place where no path to the future can be found.

Every day, for three hours, street musicians take over parts of Skanderbeg Square, the main plaza of Albania’s capital city. They appropriate Tirana’s iconic free-use green chairs to position themselves as part of the urban landscape and engage through music in a spontaneous process of placemaking. This film follows a day in the life of a group of local performers.

A short film about the add-on shelf on Copenhagen's public trash bins, for people to collect cans. This film highlights the inclusivity of the design and its impact on the users.

Metropolis is often used as a broad term, and sometimes boring. Perhaps we have neglected that the build-up of a bona fide city is always gradual, progressive and partial. The fact that it is indeed more intriguing can always be found in the inconspicuous corners, and in each corner there resides a bunch of hidden stories vividly shining concurrently. In Hong Kong, the outlying islands are the hidden gems. Many of us cannot even imagine how resilient and inclusive this city is until we see the living evidence. It may surprise some if we take some daily snapshots at the same time, the diverse timelines are manifested - fIshermen, jossmen, villagers, artists, swimmers, hawkers, and visitors… their journeys being also the crucial parts of the city coexisting with the traders and bankers sitting inside the skyscrapers. If we spread those moments on live, we then have a series of overlapping histories in pixelated form being a rich and flavorful color palette that composes the pearl of the Orient. This video aims to capture the metropolitan cinematics in different interpretations to retrieve the hidden historical scatters from the unique stories and cultural legacy behind the often-forgotten islands - that to have witnessed our once significant transformation from a fisherman village to the international city. By cutting from an angle of the current lifestyle alternatives we aspire to impress the audience by showcasing the contrast to our usual understanding of a “metropolis” and “socio-economic development need”. The visual narratives on the living habits, interactions, struggles and growth of the people around passively respond to how we chose to battle with the “prescribed” ways of living then in turn reminiscing us about the genuine comprehensive story of Hong Kong.

The event was conceived by Jan Kattein Architects, Enfield Council, and St John & St James C of E Primary School in Edmonton, North London . On 23 July 2021 we closed the street in front of the school to cars for a day to seed the idea that space in the city needs to be first and foremost reserved for people. Chalk drawing, experimental den building, an outside gallery of student artwork, an ice-cream tricycle and a pop-up zoo proposed alternative uses for the street with a view to permanently transform the street into a space for play, social interaction and biodiversity in the future.

The concrete structure of the Bronks theater located in the center of Brussels is altered by the presence and performance of Raven 007, a queer voguer. Their movement is political, it queers the architecture, changes the qualities of the building and has brought the queer ball room community together.

How many things can we do on a swing? Having fun, Relaxing, resting, laughing, meeting people, reading, admiring the landscape, moving, playing, feeling like a child, ... The Swings are free, accessible and inclusive for everyone. Is possible to found the swings all over the World in different shapes, colours and sizes, surrounded by the natural sounds of the nature. In this film i mix together some of my videos made traveling with my mother (75 years old) while we go on the swings of my favourite cities.

The earthquake-proof individual residential building "LOTOS" is a quickly erected, capital, fireproof and earthquake-proof house with a minimum consumption of such material as reinforced concrete, while ensuring a minimum construction cost. For this purpose, the flat walls of a large-panel house are replaced by thinner curvilinear ones, which have high rigidity and stability under the influence of seismic loads. In many regions of the world it is possible to solve the problem of providing the population with comfortable affordable housing by this method.

The Milk Float was conceived by Global Generation, Jan Kattein Architects and young people from Somers Town. The left side of the vehicle is equipped with a kitchen featuring a gas stove, lighting, storage and running water. The right side is equipped with hand tools for gardening. The rear has a micro gallery displaying projects and artefacts made during community workshops. The electric float is being deployed in the ‘Knowledge Quarter’ across Somers Town, West Euston and Kings Cross. It unfolds on arrival, embraces its location and calls for attention with its brightly coloured canopies and electric lights. Global Generation run community programmes out of the float including ‘Lunch and Learning,’ ‘Twilight Gardening’ and various making programmes. Working in schools and housing estates and with community groups, the float can service allotments, gardens and neighbourhood parks and support the planting of tree saplings pre-grown in a local community nursery. At the end of each day, the tools go back in to the float, the canopy is folded up and the float moves on to its next destination leaving behind the legacy of a communal meal, a joint building effort or seeds for a new season. The activities inaugurated around the float eventually take root. Adopted by neighbours, citizens, residents, workers, constituents and playgroups they develop a permanent presence, becoming centrepieces of truly public spaces.