ARQubator

With 15 years of international experience in participation and co-design, ARQubator bridges academia, architectural practice and the NGO sector to deliver Baukultur-driven, place-based transformation. We design participatory games and facilitate inclusive co-design processes—often with children, schools and youth, alongside residents and institutions—turning community knowledge into clear briefs, concepts, prototypes and pilots. Our approach combines an iterative research–design–test cycle with evidence-informed methods to strengthen design quality, social cohesion and local democratic decision-making while addressing climate and context-specific challenges.

What we offer

• Participatory game design for spatial planning & engagement

• Game-based co-design workshops (schools, youth, residents, mixed groups)

• Inclusive participation formats + facilitation and moderation

• Place-based research → design (iterative testing, evidence-informed methods)

• Concept development: visions, scenarios, design briefs, action plans

• Prototyping & piloting: small-scale interventions, pilots, evaluation loops

• Baukultur expertise: design quality, cultural value, social cohesion

• Tools & outputs: workshop kits, templates, toolkits, documentation, replication guides

• Multi-stakeholder bridging: academia ↔ municipalities ↔ civil society ↔ practitioners

• Living labs methodlogy

Project stages we can contribute to

• Scoping & framing: challenge definition, stakeholder mapping, participation strategy, ethics/safeguarding (incl. work with children/youth)

• Needs assessment & baseline research: fieldwork, interviews, surveys, spatial audits, evidence gathering

• Co-design concepting: participatory workshops, game-based sessions, scenario building, visioning and prioritisation

• Methodology design: creation/adaptation of participatory games, workshop toolkits, facilitation scripts, engagement materials

• Project design & planning: theory of change, work packages, timeline, governance, risk management, KPIs/indicators

• Proposal writing: narrative, objectives, impact logic, replication/transfer strategy, budget inputs, partner role definitions

• Prototyping & piloting: design sprints, temporary interventions, testing, iteration loops, user validation

• Monitoring, evaluation & learning: qualitative/quantitative evaluation, documentation, lessons learned, recommendations

• Communication & dissemination: visual storytelling, toolkits/guides, training formats, community feedback reporting