Digital PlatformsCRITICAL ARABIC URBAN LEXICON (CAUL)Year: 2021 The Critical Arabic Urban Lexicon (CAUL) is part of a wider project of knowledge dissemination developed by CLUSTER to interrogate the discursive gap between the Middle East and North Africa and the centers of knowledge production in the ‘First World.’ CAUL aims to address the interdisciplinary nature of urban…
ProgramsWatch Video INFORMALITY AS CREATIVITY: URBAN GREEN WORKSHOPYear: 2021 Location: Ard al-Liwa Scope: Workshops Cairo, as most cities in the Global South, is largely produced informally, posing questions about the role of architects and designers in shaping their cities. The project aims at bringing together architects, designers and art students along with craftspeople and artisans,…
Digital PlatformsCREATIVE URBAN INITIATIVES PLATFORM (CUIP) TUNISYear: 2021 The Creative Urban Initiative Platform, CUIP, is a community-based, user-generated interactive map and directory of art, culture, architecture, advocacy, urban development and interdisciplinary initiatives and organizations. CUIP also provides a calendar of events by emerging initiatives focusing on the city and public space. CUIP Cairo was launched…
DesignCENTRAL BANK OF EGYPTYear: 2021 Location: Downtown Cairo Client: Central Bank of Egypt – Concept Proposal Scope: Renovation, Development and Implementation Built in 1903, the original structure was designed in a rusticated Neo-Baroque style by Dimitri Fabriculus. Its stone exterior is ornamented by a pediment above the main portal, cornices, balustrades, columns and an intricate…
ProgramsWatch Video CREATIVITY IN ACTION: RESTORING SIGNAGE TRADITIONSYear: 2021 Location: Mansoura Scope: Workshops As part of the Creativity in Action project supported by Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies (DICE) to promote creative and social enterprises, CLUSTER’s ALFABRIKA carried out its second workshop “Restoring Signage Traditions” in Mansoura on Feb 4th- 6th 2021. In collaboration with…
Digital PlatformsGROUNDED URBAN PRACTICESYear: 2021 CLUSTER is glad to announce the launch of “Grounded Urban Practices (GUPs) by CLUSTER and Non-Fiction. This study contains an in-depth investigation of the work of GUPs in several countries, based on an extensive research and several meet-ups with a selected number of GUPs in many cities. The research focused…
PublicationsGROUNDED URBAN PRACTICES IN BERLINYear: 2020 Independent urban actors in Berlin, as in many other cities in Europe and across the globe, are critically engaged advocates for a more just urban environment, inclusive housing policies and diverse public spaces. While the number and impact of alternative, locally-rooted and experimental urban practitioners continues to grow worldwide,…
ProgramsWatch Video CREATVITY IN ACTION: ENHANCING VISUAL IDENTITYYear: 2020 Location: Ard al-Liwa Scope: Workshops As part of the Creativity in Action project supported by Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies (DICE) to promote creative and social enterprises, and in partnership with DUCO, CLUSTER’s ALFABRIKA carried out its first Urban Shutters workshop on December 25th- 27th 2020.…
ResearchGROUNDED URBAN PRACTICES: BERLINYear: 2020 Location: Berlin Client: Creative Industries Fund NL Scope: Research Grounded Urban Practices (GUPs) refer to alternative initiatives engaging cities and public space that have emerged over the past decade in response to economic and political shifts. They engage space as an agent for change, an approach known as spatial activism,…
ProgramsWatch Video SCAVENGING JUNK, MAKING FURNITURE: UPCYCLING WORKSHOPYear: 2019 Location: Alfabrkia, Ard al-Liwa Scope: Workshops The objective of the first up-cycling workshop, “Scavenging Junk, Making Furniture,” was to engage artisans, introduce new applications of production, and experiment with functional designs while using waste materials in practical pieces of furniture. This second workshop in “cluster makes”…