w_w \\Situated Design
Last updated
Last updated
It was an amazing course, we've visited some places in Barcellona and talked with two journalist; that could became our new community of practice. I believe this is a good way to create an honest network, all the place visited express a lot of energy and seems really similar to our topics. I think that every classmates probably found a place where work in and develope their skill and design practies.
Andrea this is a remember for make a swaggy video on youtube.
We have a no-ordinary lessons, basically was a biking trough all Llobregat Delta to understand and discover what is that land and why is important to know all this Barcellona's hidden layer. Llobregat is uncontroversional land because is a natural reserve but at the same time, after Barcellona's airport was build, some crazy/strange/creepy events happens.
We continued our journey to Cal Negre, a collective farmhouse where art, sustainability, and community converge. There we met who crafts ceramics using local clay and different kind of non accademic process, who made furniture just because he wants to explore better different kind of antique techinics that remain the same for ton of years.
Also there was who just arrived on that field to discover some new shape of himselfes, with a London backgrounds on working in to graphics design. He wants to understand how a reletion with nature could change human beings, he still doesn't know what he is going on but I think this is a challange, a big challange for really braves and good designers.
We shared a meal made from locally sourced rice and vegetables (from the farmers).
We visit a farmer near call negra, I don't remeber his name but itsnot relevant. I was really curios about him and his land, I believe that's so important have people or farmers that maintain this eco-sustanaibilty way of livings. We have been in his lands and he explained us some interesting things about how he managed his land and how he live in it.
Something that for me was really relevant it's all the story about Delta's Llobegrat, this farmers give us an important testimony. Basically what happen, that for increase airport dimension there was this plan to change Llobegrat rivers' path; but this events created a complicated situations for all the farmers of this area. In fact a lot of family were forced to leave the land due this river's path change. Increased airport dimension caused also problem with the pollution, Llobegrat rivers became one of the most polluted rivers in Europe and the air condition would become same.
This testimony I think is what give me more suggestions, we met a really balcanian man who is the falconers of Barcellona's Airport. In a few words him with his falcons, create an enviroment where plane could fly without any fear or danger, basically with the falcons this man could scare different kind of birds'species and so make a free area for the airplane to arrive or starts fly from the airport.
This affascinat me a lot because is an amazing dualism that explain how we still need nature and its power to create an enviroment where our technologies could works. Its like create something that is the opposite of something else, but without it the stuff/systems that we as human create couldn't work.
But at the same time, the falcons help an humans systems to work, but also is like a slay. It's a really complicated topics, wow this world is so complex.
Hibai Arbide Aza is a Spanish journalist and legal expert known for his work on migration, surveillance, and border policies. He has reported extensively on issues related to European border control, the criminalization of migration, and how security measures often lead to human rights violations instead of providing real protection. His work critically examines how surveillance systems and strict border policies create more danger rather than ensuring safety.
Arbide has written about how increased border control—through surveillance technologies, restrictive immigration policies, and police enforcement—does not stop migration but rather forces people into more dangerous routes, often leading to deaths and human rights abuses. He argues that borders function as mechanisms of exclusion, benefiting economic and political interests rather than protecting people.
In class we've talked about:
The European Union’s border policies, especially the role of agencies like Frontex in pushing migrants back into unsafe conditions.
Surveillance technology at borders, showing how it criminalizes migration rather than addressing its root causes.
The impact of militarized borders, which often create more insecurity, as they push migrants into the hands of human traffickers and force them to take more life-threatening journeys.
We took a walk through Montjuïc to Zona Franca, tracing Barcelona’s urban transformations—from the 1929 Expo to the 1992 Olympics, when parts of the city were reshaped, and many residents were relocated. The area now faces new challenges tied to port expansion and social issues.
Our destination was FOC, a vibrant cultural hub founded by Víctor, home to a radio station, artist residencies, and a performance space. Guided by the Jokkoo Collective, known for championing alternative African electronic music, we explored the space, recorded sounds, and later turned them into experimental compositions using Ableton. The session wrapped up with a listening experience that shattered stereotypes about African music—less traditional drums, more deep electronic vibes.
Ben Ditto is a creative director, artist, and curator known for exploring the intersection of technology, culture, and identity. He plays with the dualism between real life and digital life, questioning where one ends and the other begins. His work often blurs the boundaries between physical and virtual realities, exposing how digital culture reshapes human perception, aesthetics, and behavior.
We had the pleasure to talk with him for 2 hours and I understand Ben Ditto’s work isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a reflection of how deeply technology is rewiring human experience. His use of AI and social media highlights the fluid, ever-blurring boundary between the digital and physical world, making us question what "real" even means in the age of algorithms.
In class we discuss about the line between real and digital life, showing how AI, social media, and algorithms deeply shape our emotions, identity, and perception of truth.
He uses AI to create surreal, unsettling visuals that explore post-human aesthetics, fragmented identities, and the tension between human and machine creativity. His work often questions authenticity through deepfake technology, algorithm-driven storytelling, and futuristic digital identities.
On @bennyditto, he curates AI-generated art, internet subcultures, and dystopian aesthetics to critique consumerism, surveillance, and the absurdities of online culture. His feed acts as a digital moodboard of the future, making us rethink what’s real and what’s constructed in the digital age.
