Arquitecturas Colectivas (AACC) is a network of individuals and collectives who share an interest in the participatory construction of the urban environment.
AACC offers an enabling framework that allows collaboration in projects and initiatives of all kinds. The network has been expanding since it was set up in 2007, through the contributions of different types of agents: concerned residents and urban activists, students and teachers, artists and cultural managers, landscape architects and environmentalists, urban planners and architects, political scientists and lawyers, anthropologists and sociologists, hackers and cooperativists…. a whole array of human beings, who ultimately all live side by side, and are keen to deepen our connection with the environment we dwell in.
Once we had embarked on this adventure, we realised that we needed to create a shared space – a space in which to share and spread our projects and interests, and in which we could set up spaces for teamwork and collaboration. That’s when the ArquitecturasColectivas.net website was born, as an open source tool that brings together, in a single site, all kinds of applications that boost shared creativity in the urban realm.
A meeting point and a space for dissemination and open learning, open to everybody.
Main features and goals of the crowdfunding campaign
ArquitecturasColectivas.net is a platform that allows users to share and publicise their content and provides tools for collaborative work.
Anybody can use it by simply registering as a user. And all it takes to register is an e-mail address and a username. The information that users enter is not used for any purpose other than identifying the source of the content and providing basic technical support.
ArquitecturasColectivas.net also offers users the option of organising self-managed working groups that can be set up by any user. Each group can choose the extent to which they interact with the rest of the network. They can also independently add new members, create content, manage archives, and so on.
ArquitecturasColectivas.net also publishes resources that are of general interest to the community, such as How-To Guides on relevant technical and legal issues.
Why this is important
ArquitecturasColectivas.net originally sprung from the desire to interconnect and equip the community of individuals and collectives who share an interest in the commons and in the construction of the urban environment in a plural, participatory way.
Goals of the crowdfunding campaign
ArquitecturasColectivas.net is based on an organic system, which develops in accordance with the needs and experiences of its users.
Our current goal is to expand the scope and features of the platform – to implement the improvements suggested by our current users, to fulfil the needs that arise from a more intensive shared use, and to allow it to grow.
In the short term, we need to develop the mapping and geolocation tool, improve communication capabilities among the users of the network, boost the interaction and user-friendliness of each of its parts, and fulfil some specific requests from the working groups, as well as finishing some of the static content of the site.
Team and experience
The team behind this project has been working collaboratively for over five years in the context of the AACC network, promoting and organising meetings, projects for urban change, research, and the creation and dissemination of tools for social empowerment.
There are a growing number of people involved in the development of ArquitecturasColectivas.net. The core team consists of David Juárez, Edgar Saumell and Eliseu Arrufat, members of the collectives Straddle3 and LaCol. Also important contributions have been made by Sergio Moreno (Hackitectura), Alejandro Bonasso (Recetas Urbanas) and Unai Reglero (Künstainer), among others.