Interview with Caterina Malinconico – From space to experience: practical and visual tools to train change makers
One step at a time, towards environments that generate well-being.
If you missed the beginning of this journey, discover the MeM survey for the European WellHOME project.
Among our long-standing collaborators, architect Caterina Malinconico has contributed to the creation of visual and accessible tools to accompany operators, educators, and users in a training process that starts from space and leads to experience. This work has translated the principles of regenerative design into practical tools to support training in contexts where more listening and care are needed.
MeM: “Can you tell us what your role is within the WellHome project and what is your contribution to the construcition of the training course?”
C.M.: “I have been involved in a project led by MeM to develop practical tools that can accompany operators’ activities and stimulate the emergence of real problems related to the living spaces of the most vulnerable people. My task is twofold: on the one hand, to design tools that are accessible and modular; on the other, to contribute to the visual and methodological translation of complex concepts, making them understandable and usable even by those without technical skills.
We are working on several versions of the tools, in particular a “user journey” that will be available both in a complete and detailed form and in a simplified and partly pre-filled version. The aim is to ensure accessibility and flexibility so that the materials can be used effectively by trainers, social workers and the end users themselves.”
MeM: “What are the main challenges you are facing in translating complex concepts – such as the needs of the most fragile groups – into accessible content for non-specialised operators?”
C.M.: “The main challenge is to balance complexity and accessibility, providing tools that are rich in content but also immediate, visual, clear and pleasant to use. In particular, the final material must be usable on several levels: understandable for those facilitating the training, but also engaging for participants with different cognitive, cultural or linguistic abilities.
Designing spaces, especially for vulnerable people, requires a multidisciplinary and humanistic approach. It is not just a matter of meeting functional needs, but of understanding the experience of living in its identity, relational and sensory dimensions. This is why I am working on tools that invite observation and listening: I want the user to feel that he is the main player in his own space, not simply the recipient of an external solution.”
MeM: “Can you tell us what the main features of the training planned for November will be?”
C.M.: “For the November training, I am developing highly practical, design thinking-oriented tools. In particular, the focus is on the user journey: a tool that allows you to map needs, emotions and issues within a living space in an intuitive way. It is a very comprehensive tool, designed to be used both during training activities and as operational support in the field.
The idea is to focus on a community living space in order to make the exercise concrete and recognisable for those who live or work in these structures.”
MeM: “How do you picture the concrete impact this process could have on operators, but especially on the end users of reception facilities?”
C.M.: “I hope that the path will be an instrument of awareness immediately, capable of bringing to the light critical issues that often go unnoticed. Too often, in fragile contexts, we adapt to dysfunctional spaces without really questioning them. These tools were created precisely to activate a critical and constructive gaze: to restore dignity to the environment and centrality to the experience of those who live in it.
For operators, they represent a concrete guide, useful both for observation and intervention. For users, they can be a way to express themselves, participate and recognise themselves in the space, finally feeling listened to.”
MeM: “Lastly, what message do you feel like giving to those approaching these topics for the first time?”
C.M.: “If I had to advise an approach today, I would say: emotional lightness. Which does not mean superficiality, but the ability to read complexity without getting overwhelmed. It is necessary to approach with care, empathy and respect, accepting that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, but processes to be built together.
As Giorgio Gaber used to say, we need to “look at things with love and the awareness of a God who looks”. This is the attitude I try to bring to the projects I believe in, like WellHOME.”