FILL IN THE
ACADEMIC
SURVEY
HERE
A working group of researchers and professionals explores the relationship between architecture and democracy to make cities more understandable to all stakeholders.
We either sleepwalk our way to automated democracy and isolation or we develop tools for us to plan cities and communities for the kind of people we want to become.
Architectural Democracy started as academic research in Finland 10 years ago. The term was coined by Pedro Aibéo, proposing a framework for the relationships between architecture and democracy for all stakeholders to better understand the complexity of cities and thus participate more actively in the planning decisions that affect their lives.
Based on growing interest, active affiliations globally, and a track record of collaborations, Architectural Democracy is now considered a nascent movement, an informal academic discipline, encompassing service architecture and has its own developments. Aibéo & team provide leadership, but by no means is there a centralised doctrine.
We can achieve densification without compromise through deep engagement.
Our métier is early-stage gamified parametric design.
Our values are to enlighten the mass and maximize the collective brain
Architectural Democracy is not ideological. Informed participation is more effective when ideological constraints are avoided, and a better balance of decision-making is pursued. This will reflect both needs and aspirations, resulting in higher wellbeing, economic efficiency, sustainability, and more.
Just as people and institutions in a controlled society don’t fully understand how a democracy works or responds to citizen input, both residents and city planners have imperfect models of participation. We simply do not know how to interact. Architectural Democracy has experience in research, gamification, and other forms of engagement.
Aibéo and partners constitute a design collective to generate ideas for larger collaborations, provide storytelling, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy expertise. Architectural Democracy has secured academic and foundation sponsorships, as well as prestigious invitations. Although we are often asked to provide services, the ArcDem team has not yet settled on a business model. Our current focus is on building ArcDem’s convening power to create new and more significant collaborations.
A monthly podcast recorded at Helsinki Open Waves, Caisa Cultural House.
“Pedro Aibeo and Mark Linder are doing a great service to the Finnish architectural community in creating a forum for discourse. The focus of the podcast is on participatory design and the way the subject is interrogated is quite rigorous in my opinion. The guest speakers are chosen from a variety of fields and bring with them perspectives, that are not necessarily what you might immediately think about when it comes to the subject..” (Henrik Ilvesmäki)
Aibéo is an internationally awarded architect (MSc) and civil engineer (MSc) with over 50 buildings built in 18 countries. He is also a Visiting Associate Professor at UNAM University, Mexico, and Wuhan University of Technology, China. He is the founder of Architectural Democracy.
pedro.aibeo@architecturaldemocracy.com
Mark’s work in public advocacy has led him into sectors where planning policy has been controversial. He has created large-scale engagement programs for clients in the US, UK, Venezuela, and Finland. Mark is the co-founder of N2 Comms in Helsinki and a partner in Architectural Democracy.
Hugo has published extensively, including in National Geographic, most notably around his ‘Morphological Residual Model.’ He is doing groundbreaking work in photogrammetry.
We are a registered company based in Kannus, Finland, operating from a repurposed heritage building.
Our business areas include:
