Actua: Urban collective creation for transformation with Jon Marín is an activity of Eina Gateway to Collserola.
How can we reconnect with the territory that surrounds us? What initiatives can make this boundary between city and nature more liveable, sustainable and inclusive? Eina Act is a transformative proposal that invites participants to imagine and build new forms of coexistence between the urban environment and the natural landscape of the Collserola Natural Park.
The programme is a call to action and an opportunity to co-design a greener, more humane future through five collective creation workshops led by designer and biologist Jon Marín. These workshops are open to secondary and upper secondary students, as well as young people in university education in the fields of architecture and design, alongside local residents and creative professionals.
🚀 Would you like to bring this activity to your school or institute? Contact labcollserola@eina.cat and we’ll schedule a date.
The initiative, promoted by Eina, is committed to collaborative spaces where citizens and stakeholders can rethink, prototype and test concrete actions to improve this transitional area located on the boundary between Barcelona and Collserola. With a critical and committed perspective, Eina Act advocates a model of urban intervention that not only transforms physical space but also the way we relate to it.
The workshops aim to generate a measurable eco-social impact by promoting ecological improvement, quality of life and social cohesion in this shared environment. The collaborative working process between students, local residents and professionals places their diverse voices and experiences at the centre, in order to imagine and materialise solutions with value for the territory and for the future of the city.
Workshop 1. Exploration and analysis
Following an initial session of reflection on the site and the identification of potential areas for intervention, an exploratory route is designed and undertaken by participants accompanied by a creative professional. During the walk, three main dynamics are developed: observation and visual documentation through the photographic recording of elements and situations that could be improved; opportunity mapping through the identification and marking of spaces with the greatest potential for action; and active listening with local residents through brief interviews to understand what they value about the environment, which aspects cause discomfort and which improvements they consider a priority. The information collected serves as a basis for defining specific challenges and for developing meaningful and impactful intervention proposals in subsequent sessions.
Workshop 2. Inspirations
To inform the future landscape intervention, the workshop proposes the exploration and discussion of works by practitioners from the fields of art, architecture and design, with the aim of identifying relevant approaches, languages and project strategies. The inspiration process is complemented by on-site visits to reference initiatives and spaces, such as the self-managed community of Can Masdeu, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, and other community garden projects and situated learning ecosystems that can offer perspectives applicable to the Collserola context. These experiences help expand the collective imagination, stimulate critical thinking and establish a shared framework of ideas from which to conceptualise proposals with relevance for the territory.
Workshop 3. Ideation
Building on the research and analysis carried out in previous phases, this workshop invites participants to formulate eco-social improvement proposals for the environment of the Collserola Natural Park. The ideas must respond to the specific problems and needs of the territory, promote social cohesion and connections between the educational community and local residents, and be viable and environmentally responsible. The ideation process also aims to encourage active and creative participation from the local community, placing their voices and experiences at the centre in order to conceptualise shared solutions with social and environmental impact.
Workshop 4. Prototyping
This workshop proposes a session of collaborative work and co-creation with participating students, local residents and active neighbourhood organisations in Barcelona, in order to materialise and prototype the ideas developed during the ideation phase. Through the construction of models, small-scale prototypes or specific interventions in the environment of the Collserola Natural Park, selected proposals are shaped with the aim of assessing their viability, testing solutions and refining functional and design aspects. The process incorporates contributions from the different stakeholders involved, fostering open and constructive dialogue to refine proposals and optimise the final design approach.
Workshop 5. Intervention design
Based on the analysis and conclusions drawn from the prototypes, this workshop focuses on developing the final design of the urban and/or landscape intervention in the transitional space between the city and the Collserola Natural Park. The session includes an advisory process to define and coordinate the necessary resources, material, technical and human, to make the project possible, with academic and professional support from the creative community linked to Eina Centre Universitari de Disseny i Art de Barcelona. Students and participants play an active role in decision-making and in carrying out the action, ensuring that the intervention generates a positive and tangible impact on the community and the immediate environment.
The entire process is documented with a dual purpose: to create dissemination materials as part of the programme of the Barcelona World Capital of Architecture 2026, and to evaluate the results in order to support learning and inspire future interventions based on eco-social criteria.
