…And those first steps will be continued today at Chris Palmieri and Craig Mod’s session of the “City Tales” edition of Shibaura House’s “Critical Studio”. This is a linked series of lectures and workshops for young creatives in Japan, conducted by notable guests operating internationally bearing stimulating and inspiring perspectives on urban space - its shaping, use, experience, and representation.

Over recent weeks we have heard from an Dutch urbanist based in Shanghai, researching the export of Chinese urban models to Africa using a combination of photojournalism and ethnographic methods; a successful Japanese architect based in Amsterdam bringing her sensibilities of public and private, open and closed gained from an upbringing in Tokyo to the Netherlands’ tightly drawn buildings and streets; a Dutch hotelier-cum-contemporary art curator devising new kinds of hotels that double as art spaces; and a Venezuelan artist/architect who uses recycled materials and participatory methods to create community hubs in the favelas of Caracas.

Today, through the Hi project, Chris and Craig will draw our attention to the possibilities of linking the virtual and the embodied dimensions of cities using digital technology. The capabilities that the Hi platform offers to the documentation, representation, and mapping of the city through its geo-located storytelling and photography tools - and to do this all collectively - potentially provides new ways of building community around shared urban experiences and places.

Looking forward to seeing what we come up with!