How can urban areas shaped by both humans and non-humans be investigated and connected? This doctoral project explores naturecultural places in five European cities through first-person action research, engaging directly in their daily life. The aim of this approach is to understand how this model of urban transformation can be replicated and to support the local communities inhabiting them.
The research project focuses on a specific kind of urban transformation: naturecultural places, sites on public land managed collectively by a specific community. Unlike conventional public open spaces administered by public institutions, these sites are ever-evolving and intertwine ecological and cultural dimensions. They are not only rich in biodiversity but also host learning initiatives, artistic programmes, and forms of collective life embedded in the maintenance and constant transformation of the site itself.
The doctoral work Urban Spaces for More-than-Human Communities: Collaborative Processes, Design Attitudes and Hybrid Practices investigates these places through intensive action-oriented fieldwork. The chosen method is direct participation: working, mapping, constructing, and sharing activities together with the communities. This approach makes visible the everyday negotiations and rhythms that sustain these environments.
Berlin, Amsterdam, Vilvoorde, Ljubljana, Zürich: Five Cities, the Same Type of Urban Transformation
At the Floating University in Berlin, collective mapping workshops were organised with visiting students and children from the neighbourhood to trace how the site is used and imagined. At De Ceuvel in Amsterdam, collaboration with the Zoönomic Institute involved installing hidden cameras to monitor animal movements and expand the perspective of who inhabits the space. At ASIAT Park in Vilvoorde, research unfolded both in ordinary days and during the Horst Arts & Music Festival, an extraordinary event that transforms the site and reveals its capacity to adapt. In Ljubljana, Krater was observed in moments of stillness as well as during a summer school, showing how the project negotiates disturbance. At Stadionbrache Hardturm in Zurich, assisting with maintenance operations highlighted how collective care underpins continuity and ecological richness.
Conversations with practitioners, artists, activists, and residents complemented these engagements. This dialogue culminated in the symposium Stories from Naturecultural Places, held at the Design in Dialogue Lab (ONA, ETH Zürich) in May 2025. This gathering brought together representatives of the five sites and the NEWROPE chair.
The aim of the research is not only to investigate these places but also to connect them. Building a network of naturecultural sites offers a way to empower them, giving greater visibility to their practices, creating opportunities for knowledge exchanges and ensuring that their contributions to urban biodiversity and collective life are more widely recognised.
Michele Porcelluzzi is an architect and researcher. After gaining experience in architectural offices in Milan and Berlin, in 2023 he began his PhD – jointly conducted at Politecnico di Milano (DAStU) and ETH Zürich (NEWROPE Chair of Architecture and Urban Transformation), focusing on naturecultural urban spaces and more-than-human communities. His work addresses public and collective life, with particular attention to urban commons and the intersection between spatial design and collective rituals. Alongside his doctoral research, he is also engaged in curatorial activities and exhibition design. His research activity has been published in journals including OASE (2022) and Die Architekt (2023) and exhibited at IABR 2022 ‘It’s About Time’ in Rotterdam.
