Many people are surprised to discover that certain aspects of Viana STARTS remain intentionally undefined. There is often pressure from citizens to know exactly what Viana STARTS is and what will happen within the building—after all, the building is the most tangible part. However, the project is evolving beyond just the physical space: it is not about filling it with predetermined functions, but about responding to the real, changing needs of the city and creating a vibrant ecosystem. This requires flexibility, openness, and a willingness to shape the project alongside the community it aims to serve. And if those needs may not be met by the building itself, respond to them through other forms of intervention or collaboration.

At the heart of Viana STARTS is a co-creative innovation process that embraces experimentation and iteration. It involves exploring, trying, failing, and trying again until success is achieved. This approach places end users and stakeholders at the center, fostering collaboration, reflection, and continuous learning. Rather than locking into rigid plans, this process allows space for new insights, ideas, and adjustments—an essential mindset in a rapidly changing urban and social context.

Co-Creation as a Driver of Innovation and Adaptation in Viana STARTS

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Co-creation unfolds across two complementary domains: defining the problem and generating solutions. In both, the process begins with divergent thinking—expanding ideas, gathering input—followed by convergence toward shared understanding and action. This iterative rhythm makes it possible to adapt over time, engage voices from all stakeholders, and stay aligned with evolving needs, instead of being a linear, monolithic, one-directional process. In addition to this, co-creation aligns naturally with complementary innovative methodologies, such as Design Thinking, Open Innovation, Agile, or Lean Startup.

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Phases and milestones and pillars in the co-creative process
Phases and milestones in the co-creative process (left) source: S. Kuula, H. Haapasalo and J. Kosonen, doi: 10.1109/MS.2019.2958012. Pillars of the co-creative approach (right)

For Viana STARTS, this co-creative, collaborative approach is not accidental. It reflects a conscious alignment with the values of the New European Bauhaus: sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion. The project integrates circular construction and low-carbon solutions, prioritizes user experience and design quality, and fosters access and equity. Through co-creation, citizens and stakeholders actively help shape not just the building, but the culture, activities, and identity that will grow within and beyond the walls of Viana STARTS space.

How is co-creation put into practice in Viana STARTS?

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Ricardo Rego, Councilor for General Administration, Digital Transition and Innovation, Sports, Human Resources, and Health Promotion of Viana do Castelo—and one of the driving forces behind Viana STARTS—believes that innovation only makes sense when it starts with people:

At Viana STARTS, co-creation is at the heart of our approach: we bring together citizens, active agents, scientists, academia, and businesses in a space for sharing, where all ideas count. We create meetings, workshops, and, more recently, artistic residencies under the S+T+ARTS concept, which promote collaboration between different areas, crossing knowledge and experiences to create innovative solutions. Applying the principles of the New European Bauhaus, we are committed to beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive innovation, facilitating the active participation of everyone—from young talents to researchers and local entrepreneurs. We use digital platforms to gather contributions from the community and always stay close to the real needs of citizens, so that this concept is built with and for all Viana residents.

Beatriz Marques explains how this has been ITECONS’ first experience with co-creation methodologies. ITECONS is a Portuguese research and innovation centre focused on construction, energy, environment, and sustainability, bringing to this project their experience in innovative construction techniques. Although their typical approach already involves close collaboration with clients, encouraging dialogue and idea exchange, working on Viana STARTS has heightened their awareness of community needs.

Beatriz Marques (ITECONS): “This project is the first chance where we receive direct inputs from the citizens, in addition to all the partners and the Municipality. We were very open to the spirit of the New European Bauhaus—not just to ensure that the community is included, but also to understand how they envisioned the building serving them.“

Co-creation, however, has been at the core of DINAMO10 since its inception, due to the need to create a collaborative coworking space open to the community. As a creative hub, DINAMO10 explores new models of innovation through the interaction between the creative industries and other business sectors. From this experience, Joana Carvalho, its Founder and Director, notes that when talking about spaces for art, technology, or creative hubs, co-creation must be present from the very beginning. Therefore, a project like Viana STARTS could not be an exception.

There are high expectations from the community for what this space should deliver. Beatriz Marques explains that through the co-creative process, and in response to certain space limitations, they began working on the versatility of the areas, ensuring they could adapt to different uses flexibly and efficiently. This helped ITECONS connect the spatial design with their technical expertise, integrating specific requirements into the construction project to make it feasible.

Beatriz Marques (ITECONS): “We designed spaces in Viana STARTS that can be an office one day and a painting studio the next. And then, by choosing appropriate materials and defining technical requirements—whether acoustic, thermal, or lighting—we were able to ensure that versatility.”

Joana Carvalho explains how DINAMO10 has extensive experience in citizen participation and co-creation dynamics. They believe citizens should be involved in decisions made for their regions, not only because it is fair, but because this approach truly adds value. It brings together people with different interests around the same table to jointly think of solutions to shared challenges.

Joana Carvalho (DINAMO10): “Co-creation is not an isolated or occasional process that we are testing, it is  present in the business world. Businesses have to adapt their services, otherwise people will not want them, even if it is something you are passionate about. We apply this same philosophy to an urban space like Viana STARTS and the value it should offer to the community.”

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Co-creation moves from concept to practice in Viana STARTS
Co-creation moves from concept to practice in Viana STARTS (picture by Freepik)

Once the co-creation process started, the project team realized that Viana STARTS space could work as a first step in the transformation of the whole urban ecosystem. From the beginning, states André Costa from INOVA+—a Portuguese consultancy firm that supports organisations in driving innovation, technology transfer, and research funding—this project has been perceived not only as an opportunity to renovate the building itself, but also to position Viana do Castelo in the leading trends at EU level.

André Costa (INOVA+): “When we think about co-creation, at the local level, our aim is to engage with diverse target audiences and collaborate with them through a range of methodologies—whether through focus groups, workshops, one-on-one meetings, or public presentations.”

The decision to create openings to the outside of the building illustrate a co-creative way of working. Normally, such spaces remain closed for security reasons, but in Viana STARTS the idea came directly from community ambition to enter, walk through, and remain in the building, ensuring permeability with the surroundings. Besides this, the community wondered about  technological solutions being implemented in the building. As a result, the most innovative systems—like the green roof, photovoltaic panels, wind turbine, or hydrogen storage—will not  be hidden, but visible and accessible. Indeed, the green roof, to cite an example, was always planned as part of the design, but the decision to make it walkable emerged through co-creation.

Beatriz Marques (ITECONS): “We realized that the community was curious about the technological components of the building, so we let all this be revealed. The result will be something beautiful, functional, and also attractive for people, allowing them to realize all components make sense and are integral parts of Viana STARTS space.”

Professors Pedro Moreira and Pedro Delgado, from Instituto Politécnico de Viana do Castelo (IPVC)—the public higher education institution in the city that promotes applied research, regional development, and collaboration between academia and society—highlight the usefulness of the co-creative approach when the goal is to fully involve stakeholders and users in a project and its outcomes. This applies not only to the physical transformation of the building, but also to the multiple values embedded in it. Through co-creation, we can envision life of the Viana STARTS space and how it will interact with the rest of the city: what kind of initiatives it will host, how it will integrate the interests of academia, business associations, entrepreneurs, artists, and individuals alike.

Pedro Moreira (IPVC): “Co-creation brings a great advantage to Viana STARTS: a sense of ownership among the people. This is not something the Municipality decided on in isolation, nor something invented by us as engineers or academics. By listening and directly involving people, they can feel that the project also belongs to them.”

The professors also emphasize that bias is always present when conceiving an idea—an engineer and an artist, for instance, may see the same space or activity plan from completely different perspectives. Co-creation adds the value of inclusive engagement, helping people and institutions to reach appropriate ideas and actively contribute to them. In a multi-activity, multi-disciplinary space like Viana STARTS, this approach increases the chances of achieving truly innovative results mixing all these points of views and needs.

Joana Carvalho (DINAMO10): “These dynamics—bringing people with diverse interests together around the same table to collaboratively devise solutions to shared challenges—are particularly powerful. People can contribute ideas beyond their specific area of expertise. And often, a seemingly minor comment from someone outside the core topic can significantly help the project move forward. That, to me, is one of the most interesting and valuable aspects of the co-creative process.”

In the Creative NEBLab, the co-creative ambition of the New European Bauhaus comes to life, offering IPVC students the chance to turn ideas into real furniture prototypes for Viana STARTS. The initiative allows them to explore interdisciplinary solutions together with the Municipality and other partners—putting them in a real working environment focused on design, results, and industrial prototyping. In the same spirit, INOVA+ and IPVC are working on the idea of establishing a permanent lab within Viana STARTS, potentially oriented to a project-based learning methodology. The aim is to channel real-world challenges—launched by the Municipality or local companies, for instance—towards the student community, allowing them to address them throughout the academic year, embedded within their university courses.

Pedro Delgado (IPVC): “We, as IPVC, are also contributing our vision of what we would like Viana STARTS to be—its spaces, its activity plan, its projection toward students and the city. But we do this not just as academics, but also bringing in perspectives from our school, students, and academic stakeholders to enrich the co-creative process.”

André Costa also explains that INOVA+, together with the Deão Youth Association, will visit a series of parishes in the metropolitan area of Viana do Castelo to catch youngsters’ thoughts about what they hope Viana STARTS should achieve. This effort complements the work being done within the university community. Starting from students, professors and researchers, extending to companies and the startup ecosystem, and including the Municipality itself, these actors represent the key local target audiences, alongside the general public.

André Costa (INOVA+): “How we can create connection between the cultural and creative sector, and the startup ecosystem and the local companies? Those bridges will be built, undoubtedly, rooted in collaboration and co-creation among stakeholders around Viana STARTS. And we will also have strategic partners and external entities that may support the design and implementation of some activities, but it is equally essential to develop our own capacity to implement and drive these initiatives forward.”

In other words, the co-creative approach in Viana STARTS is not limited to the design of the building, the definition of its architectural solutions, or the planning of its content. Sharing, collaborating, being in a space with other people—professionals, artists—leads to a permeable coexistence. In these conditions, one can be influenced not only by common projects, activities, and initiatives, but also by how others work, how they deal with clients, how they establish their professional routines... And in turn, they can also be influenced by others. This is a chain of direct and indirect value creation—enriching, inspiring, and dynamic in the long run.

The way forward

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As the project enters its construction phase, the transformation of the architectural space is already visible. But beyond the physical evolution, what defines this moment is the underlying openness to collaboration and co-creation, not only among the design and technical teams, but also with the broader community. Beatriz Marques from ITECONS highlights this crucial point: the contractors and other companies implementing the project share also this vision. The technical assistance work—clarifying doubts, responding to queries from the contractors and the technical inspection teams—has contributed to reinforcing this shared vision. Significantly, this has generated greater awareness among those executing the work: despite having the option of using conventional materials, the contractor has remained committed to the use of sustainable, nature-based materials, fully aligned with the spirit of Viana STARTS.

Beatriz Marques (ITECONS): “We can develop the engineering, go deeper into the techniques, and discuss strictly technical aspects for the proper execution of the project. But here, the dialogue is open to the community and involves stakeholders, allowing new details and new points of view to emerge. We wanted to be part of that whole dynamic too—and that made a difference.”

At the same time, IPVC continues its work monitoring results—not just from a technical or procedural point of view, but in terms of the impact on the community. This is where the complexity of the challenge lies: in capturing and reflecting how deeply the project is engaging local people and shaping collective knowledge. The monitoring tools need to go beyond simple indicators, exploring who is participating, how they are involved, and how knowledge is evolving within this collaborative process.

Pedro Moreira (IPVC): “We are designing tools to monitor the project’s results, even though we are working with indicators that were mostly defined when the proposal was submitted. But now we are inspired by people’s involvement, through a co-creative approach, to develop a dashboard that captures the impact the project is generating in the community. This will also give people direct access to information about how the project is evolving and what activities are taking place.”

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Viana STARTS moves forward by building together
Viana STARTS moves forward by building together

Alongside construction, the project team is actively shaping the future use of the space through strategic communication and co-creation. The aim is not just to renovate a building, but to ensure it is meaningful and alive from day one. Engaging diverse audiences early—local and specialized alike—helps embed the project in the community and define its identity collectively. Programming and activation are seen as central to the project's sustainability, ensuring that once the ribbon is cut, the space already has purpose, direction, and momentum.

Joana Carvalho (DINAMO10): “The most important thing in communication is to involve people—to bring them in and make them feel part of building this project. Programming the activities within Viana STARTS, envisioning what initiatives will happen inside… That is the complex challenge. If you finish the building but there is not a program ready for it, the project will not be sustainable. But here, from the beginning of this project, there has been experts focused on construction, but also others thinking ahead about future initiatives and what this ecosystem can become.”

André Costa from INOVA+ explains key stakeholders have been already identified at national level, such as Porto Business School and the Cluster of the Sea. The aim is to define specific collaborative activities that can strengthen the potential startup ecosystem around Viana STARTS. Similarly, at the international level, they are fostering partnerships through city-to-city exchanges and visits, including EUI’s transfer cities (Brest, Brescia, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), but also others like Ghent, Linz, and Oulu, to integrate into existing networks and share best practices. Rather than multiplying projects, the focus is on co-creating fruitful, effective collaborations aligned with shared interests, such as STEAM education programs and creative residencies. This strategic approach will enable Viana STARTS to compose its governance model, understand better the needs of the ecosystem, and expand international cooperation over the coming years.

André Costa (INOVA+): “We do not need ten separate projects; what matters is finding high-value meaningful collaboration where our interests align. By learning from partners’ governance models and experiences, we can build stronger networks and impactful activities that truly support the Viana STARTS ecosystem.”

This dual focus on building a space and building a community is what gives Viana STARTS its distinctive character. The path forward is not only about completing the works but about ensuring that every decision, every action, every conversation contributes to a shared vision. A vision in which architecture is a starting point, not the end goal. What matters most is that when the doors open, the space already belongs to the people who helped shape it. Because it is in this connection between place and people, between strategy and spontaneity, between construction and co-creation, that the true legacy of Viana STARTS will emerge. As Councilor Ricardo Rego reminds us, innovation in Viana is not just a strategy—it’s a shared responsibility that begins with people:

The future of Viana STARTS involves strengthening this network of collaboration and continuous learning. We want to consolidate Viana do Castelo as a European benchmark in the connection between science, technology, and the arts, opening doors to new ways of creating and innovating through co-creation. We will continue to invest in a co-creation model capable of keeping pace with the challenges of the times, simplifying processes and encouraging the participation of all those who have new ideas for transforming our territory. There is a clear goal: to build an innovative, creative, and inclusive ecosystem where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to their territory.

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Javier Leiva
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The European Urban Initiative is an essential tool of the urban dimension of Cohesion Policy for the 2021-2027 programming period. The initiative established by the European Union supports cities of all sizes, to build their capacity and knowledge, to support innovation and develop transferable and scalable innovative solutions to urban challenges of EU relevance.

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