Fab City Hub vision

This group of principles aims to create a mindset from which the hub operators should look at their project and relative challenges: What is a FCH? What should one think about FCHs? How should one visualise the future of those hubs in relation to other actors, makers, institutions and private companies?

• Principle one: FCHs as ecosystem activators Hubs act as “concentrators of urban interactions” among different actors (communities, institutions, businesses). To do so, hubs need appropriate physical facilities and intangible assets (activities, public events, conviviality, free exchange…).

• Principle two: FCHs as physical devices for accessing distributed ecosystems Actors are distributed in a city, and their impact depends on their mutual interaction. FCHs act as interfaces (physical spaces or landmarks) to connect different agents, communities and projects, and to guide newcomers who want to enter the local ecosystem.

• Principle three: FCHs as complex organisms enabling resiliency FCHs’ structural, organisational, and functional aspects are predominantly hybrid, complex and non-hierarchical. This is also reflected in their space planning and the programs of their activities. As complex organisms, FCHs perform as resilient structures to fast-changing and hazardous environments.

• Principle four: FCHs as extensions of traditional institutions Hubs represent a buffer zone for the prototyping of unusual assemblages of actors and functions. Hubs can attract more traditional institutions (schools, municipalities, private companies) and facilitate openness, networking and innovative thinking.