Urban innovator, architect of peace and artist Mateja Rot builds solutions for global communities and improves the livelihood of spaces through artistic and architectural interventions. She works at the intersection of community activism, urban design, sustainable architecture, environmental arts and technology and advocates user related solutions that enable environmentally friendly living.
Mateja’s research interests lie in the field of aesthetics and embodied perception in relation to games and play. One of her core research topics is the sustainable development of communities and cities within current technological possibilities. She engages with social and poetic justice, prototyping and co-creation of ecological art strategies together with local community members, and experimenting with everyday urbanism and new urban forms. Currently she is developing a project in Kenya, activating vulnerable groups in Kisumu that are excluded from public participation.
Mateja’s recent urban games include PLAY:CES, featured at Fusion – Urban Games Festival Matera 2019 and Sprites of Meadowlands, a game exploration of green spaces in the city. She intends to dedicate her residency in the US to such topics as sustainable and social architecture, social inclusion and human-centered design, tactical urbanism and placemaking, and augmented and virtual reality. She wishes to focus on underprivileged neighborhoods exposed to social and environmental injustice.
