Have we passed the point at which a sustainable approach is enough, or do we need to design new processes in order to heal the spaces we live in?

This week (14 April 2026) FabLab was visited, as part of the Faculty of Architecture Erasmus+ exchange programme, by Prof. Dr Delfina Fantini van Ditmar of the Royal College of Art in London, who leads research into the design of regenerative processes and collaborates within Fab City global activities.

This was a chance to get to know that work better, and also to share FabLab activities on strengthening local ecosystems – both in an urban context through Fab City and in rural and remote areas. Our Adriatic GreenLab initiative, focused on islands, is precisely where our interests meet and where there is room for future collaboration.

This is a new moment for FabLab activities, in which the goal of creating local ecosystems as drivers of development is not only about sustainability: development is also directed towards healing the environmental and natural as well as the economic and social challenges of a community.

We also touched on the question of who can design these new processes, and how to educate or motivate people for visionary and ambitious work.

That was an opportunity to share our possible answer through the Designing the Future Academy, which FabLab has been developing and extending over recent years, currently through the DiSTT project – and the regenerative approach opens up new ways of thinking.

We are glad of the interest in working together in the future on making communities more resilient to the challenges ahead.

https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/staff/dr-delfina-fantini-van-ditmar