'Pomace: Learning Circularity from Olive' is a design study into circularity within the traditional unique practice of olive cultivation in the Karaburun region of Izmir. The team aims to raise awareness of circular design, to strengthen the link between urban and rural areas, and to draw global lessons from this intrinsically circular practice. The team from the Netherlands consists of architects Serdar Aşut, Melis Baloğlu and Friso Gouwetor and industrial designer Iris Jönsthövel. The local partners are: Zeytince Association/ The Olive Academy in Karaburun, Karaburun Municipality, Emre Gönlügür (Good Design Izmir), industrial designer Betül Hafizoğlu and documentary makers Bilge Demirtas and Can Gündüz.

After preliminary research, several workshops with the local community and a public symposium, the next phase consists of developing new by-products from pomace (the residual material from olive cultivation). By-products that olive producers now produce are soap and fuel, but the team is investigating which new by-products can be produced within a sustainable, circular closed-loop system. A first concept is a fly trap made of biodegradable compost. The team found that the flies are a major problem in olive cultivation and that many plastic bottles are used to counter this problem. The team will share its knowledge and experience through a film documentary, a handbook and an online open-source platform. The result will be presented as part of the Good Design Izmir programme and at a location in the Netherlands.

Nomaos is a collective of six Russian and four Dutch makers and designers investigating the diversity of and relationships between landscapes and identities in Russia. The interdisciplinary team demonstrates a speculative artistic approach to the landscape as an alternative to the conventional exploitation-based approach.

In the start-up phase, the team performed preliminary research into the urban and societal challenges in Russia, and the participants made a plan for the creation of new work. In the follow-up phase, the participants will develop the work and will address the identity of a specific location in Russia, each in his/her own way. The participants and locations are: Ksenia Kopalova (Kizji island), Mascha Kremer (Vyborg), Nataly Lakhtina (Kizji island), Nikolay Nikolaev (Yakutsk), Polina Veidenback (Moscow region), Rachel Bacon (mines in Lomonosov or Mirny), Radha Smith (St. Petersburg), Vera Mennens (Curonian Spit National Park), Yue Mao (Vyborg and Moscow region) and Maria Malkova (Mirny). The result will comprise ten speculative narratives of the Russian landscape in different creative forms including installations, films, illustrations and creative writing. The team will compile the results in a publication, an exhibition, and through interactive events in collaboration with Strelka Magazine.

Architects Alexey Boev and Daria Naugolnova are examining alternatives for the disappearance of the function of the many cultural palaces that were built during the Soviet era as a social-cultural facility for the neighbourhood. The team found that the palaces still in use today are only suitable for children and senior citizens. By adding new functions such as co-working spaces, studio space and space for educational programmes, the team sees an opportunity to reach out to a wider target group, to stimulate participation in culture and education, and to develop an economically viable model for these buildings.

In the start-up phase, the team investigated the history, potential and challenges posed by these palaces. The follow-up phase consists of developing a book and website, an exhibition and a prototype design. The book will show photographs of 140 different cultural palaces, complemented with study results and interviews with local residents. The team will also present the result in the form of an exhibition in the Moscow Design Museum or at the Union of Architects of Russia. Finally, the team will create a prototype design for the palace in Voronezh. Other partners in the project are various local youth centres, the Voronezh State Technical University, the culture department of the City of Voronezh and the Ural State University of Architecture and Art.

In 'Taking Stock', the makers Wouter Osterholt and Elke Uitentuis (NL) and curator Mariam Elnozahy (EG) are facilitating the decentralisation process of the Town House Gallery in downtown Cairo. The effect of recent economic and political shifts in Cairo on this cultural institute is such that it can no longer continue in its current form. By distributing the materials (capital) among the local community and archiving these online, the teams seeks to critically reflect on the significance of the organisation for its direct environment and the cultural scene, but also on the transition that this organisation could undergo.

This plan is the result of interviews and a survey among local grassroots organisations and the members of Down Town Gallery. The activities consist of: further indexing of all objects, a three-month public 'transition manifestation' and the development of an online platform and archive. The public manifestation in the gallery will show the history of Town House Gallery and will function as a space to share stories and ideas. The team will organise small group sessions where visitors can indicate which materials and heritage of the Gallery they want to take care of. The team will present the results in the form of an online platform, with a launch event in Town House Gallery in Cairo and at Onomatopee in Eindhoven.

In ´Papyrus and New Media´, architect and researcher Abla el Bahrawy, Ba7R (EG/NL) is performing design research into the contemporary significance of papyrus for cultural identity in Egypt. The goal is to create more awareness of the value of this local material as a cultural product. Partners are: Megawra-Built Environment Collective (EG), Khatt Foundation (NL) and the Jan van Eyck Academie (NL).

In the start-up phase, El Bahrawy researched the story and the development of papyrus by means of interviews with the local community of Qamoos, Sharkeya and the Egyptian creative sector. She found, among other things, that especially women and children work in the papyrus industry and that this industry is strongly dependent on tourism. The next phase will consist of an experimental materials research and the development of an artistic design and graphic novel. El Bahrawy will organise three materials, drawing and printing technique workshops. Next, she will work with designer Engy Aly (EG), researcher Amr El Komy (EG) and the Charles Nypels Lab of the Jan van Eyck Academie to create artistic work in the form of 25 silk screen prints on papyrus. Additionally, she will develop a graphic novel in collaboration with a number of talented young illustrators: Aya Tarek, Andeel, Chef Makhloof & Migo Rollz, Mostafa Ahmed, Mohamed Salah and Nasser Junior. Khatt Foundation will publish this book in a first edition of 100 copies. The team will present the results at Megawra in Cairo and in the Netherlands.