#07 | On the Places we Dream (in).

In this episode, in conversation with Albert Kreisel, we discuss the work of Oasis Urbano and together unravel stories of spatial practice entangled with stories of transformation, and ones of family, community, love, care, joy, solidarity, and hope. 

Oasis Urbano’s practice is embedded within the narratives of transformation of the Colombian informal neighbourhood of Moravia, whilst at the same time not taking any ownership of them. Their work, in a sense, is a platform that brings together people and their multiple forms of ‘expertise’, be it on architecture, community leadership, building, academia, cooking, or dancing. Their ‘urban labs’ take form as community centres, small parks, staircases and murals, gatherings, parties, and intercultural exchanges; becoming integral parts of the everyday life of the neighbourhood. Beyond claiming architectural merits, they become places in which one can dream, oases of collective imagination.

Oasis Urbano is an intercultural and multidisciplinary collective that facilitates the co-production of common spaces and liveable cities, rooted in the Colombian informal neighbourhood of Moravia, with strong ties across Latin America, Europe and beyond.

Oasis Urbano co-produces inclusive strategies for holistic neighbourhood transformations. They understand informal urban settlements not as a problem but as an essential part of the solution for the most pressing challenges that cities are facing today and in the future. They connect local communities with academia, civil and cultural organisations, businesses and public decision makers to exchange knowledge and experiences.

In multidisciplinary, intercultural urban labs, these diverse stakeholders meet on site to discuss, design, build and have fun together. These collective experiences build trust and prove the potential of co-production in open outcome design processes with surprising results. By finding common languages, they bridge the gap between bottom-up initiatives and top-down planning, and enable the co-creation of a city worth living for all of its habitants.