Critical research for alternatives

Collective CRAFT

An interdisciplinary platform for critical spatial research, crafting alternatives to dominant urban, ecological, and institutional logics.

A series of interconnected, translucent acrylic panels are suspended in a neutral gallery-like space, each etched with different layers of a city: infrastructure, public space, ecological systems, and informal networks. The panels overlap to form a complex, semi-transparent spatial collage that shifts in intensity depending on the viewer’s angle. Cool, even studio lighting from both sides creates subtle reflections and delicate edge highlights, while the background fades into soft blur. The mood is contemplative and investigative, suggesting multidimensional ways of seeing space. Photographed straight-on with a slight wide-angle lens, in a clean, minimalist, photographic realism style that emphasizes clarity, layering, and critical analysis.
An overhead view of a long, matte-black research table covered in carefully arranged spatial research artifacts: annotated site maps with bold red and blue markings, folded urban morphology diagrams, small 3D-printed white massing models, and color swatches clipped to the paper edges. A open notebook filled with dense, handwritten spatial diagrams sits at the center, flanked by technical drawing tools and a digital tablet displaying a layered GIS map. Soft, diffused overcast light from above creates minimal shadows, reinforcing a calm, analytical mood. The composition is symmetrical from a bird’s eye perspective with crisp, photographic realism, conveying rigorous yet experimental spatial inquiry across disciplines.

Critical spatial research in common

We co-produce spatial research with communities, challenging extractive expertise and testing situated alternatives across cities, margins, and infrastructures.

About CRAFT

Our Collective

A detailed close-up of a textured research wall in a contemporary studio, where overlapping artifacts are pinned and taped: hand-drawn sections on tracing paper, printed satellite imagery with colored threads connecting distant points, photocopied academic excerpts, and sticky notes with bold, handwritten keywords like “hierarchies”, “commons”, and “counter-maps”. Neutral painted plaster surrounds the dense cluster of material. Gentle side lighting from a nearby window creates soft shadows that give depth to the layers of paper. The atmosphere feels intense yet organized, capturing the energy of critical, interdisciplinary spatial research. Photographed at a slight angle with shallow depth of field, in warm, realistic tones that highlight tactility and process.

Aarav Sharma

CEO

Architect and researcher mapping urban inequalities through collaborative fieldwork and speculative spatial practices.

A large, meticulously detailed architectural model of an imagined collaborative research hub, built from a mix of translucent acrylic, raw plywood, and recycled cardboard, occupies the center of a clean studio table. Surrounding it are layered tracing-paper site plans, color-coded mapping diagrams, and small topographic foam blocks suggesting shifting terrains. Soft daylight pours through an unseen high window, creating crisp shadows that emphasize overlapping forms and materials. The atmosphere feels analytical yet hopeful, suggesting new spatial futures. Photographed at eye level with slight depth-of-field blur in the background, in a clean, modern, photographic realism style that highlights textures and precise edges, ideal for a homepage hero image about critical spatial research and collective alternatives.

Mateo García

CTO

Political ecologist examining contested landscapes, resource governance, and grassroots spatial justice movements.

A series of interconnected, translucent acrylic panels are suspended in a neutral gallery-like space, each etched with different layers of a city: infrastructure, public space, ecological systems, and informal networks. The panels overlap to form a complex, semi-transparent spatial collage that shifts in intensity depending on the viewer’s angle. Cool, even studio lighting from both sides creates subtle reflections and delicate edge highlights, while the background fades into soft blur. The mood is contemplative and investigative, suggesting multidimensional ways of seeing space. Photographed straight-on with a slight wide-angle lens, in a clean, minimalist, photographic realism style that emphasizes clarity, layering, and critical analysis.

Zuri Ndlovu

Engineer

Design anthropologist tracing everyday spatial rituals, infrastructures, and power relations across cultures.

An overhead view of a long, matte-black research table covered in carefully arranged spatial research artifacts: annotated site maps with bold red and blue markings, folded urban morphology diagrams, small 3D-printed white massing models, and color swatches clipped to the paper edges. A open notebook filled with dense, handwritten spatial diagrams sits at the center, flanked by technical drawing tools and a digital tablet displaying a layered GIS map. Soft, diffused overcast light from above creates minimal shadows, reinforcing a calm, analytical mood. The composition is symmetrical from a bird’s eye perspective with crisp, photographic realism, conveying rigorous yet experimental spatial inquiry across disciplines.

Leila Haddad

Designer

Visual artist translating critical research into maps, installations, and participatory tools for public debate.

Connect Collaboratively

Reach out to discuss partnerships, residencies, funding collaborations, or co-designed spatial research projects and workshops.

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