Spolka

Spolka forms sustainable cities for all. We involve the public in innovative urban development. We are a team of experts in the field of architecture and sociology. We are mainly based in Košice (SK), Bratislava (SK), and Berlin (DE). We work with education about the city by ways of discussion, our own research, artistic and architectural interventions, and by education of stakeholders, organizations, city officials, common people. Spolka was founded in 2016 in Košice as an informal collective of young women united by their interest in their hometown. Building on the values of care and sustainability, Spolka has been engaged in urban topics for more than 7 years. Currently, the collective brings together 6 female members from the fields of architecture, sociology, and urban planning. Spolka has been part of several international initiatives (e.g. New European Bauhaus, Year of Climate Care, Escalator, and others) and has successfully established itself in projects with the themes of planning with care, participatory planning, and education in Central Europe. In 2022, the organization expanded its scope to include Spolka Studio, which implements the values of care and sustainability in projects in collaboration with various NGOs and municipalities. Through research&design Spolka helps them to research the topic (terrain or desk), (re)define the brief, raise funds, involve the stakeholders, test, co-design with them, implement, etc. Part of Spolka’s critical approach is to see urban planning as a political tool and responsibility, which also includes the curatorial activities and cultivation of education – professional or popular, formal or informal. This is also where the focus of our non-profit activities currently lies – to nurture and experiment with ways of learning that are inclusive, peer-to-peer, dialogical, and future-oriented.