Ɛdan / Research & practice

Four interlinked
ways of knowing
the city.

A living ecosystem where researching, learning, making and reflecting coexist. A place to experiment with forms of knowing that reach beyond text.

A living research practice · Nyaniba Estates, Accra

The research field / 001

Knowledge is
never a straight line.

Four practices, connected by questions that move between people, place, memory and possibility. Select a field to see what it listens for.

FIELD RELATIONSHIP MAP OPEN SYSTEM
Four connected research fields Sound, ground, artificial intelligence and textile research fields are linked around a shared centre. SHARED FIELD 01 / SOUND 02 / GROUND 03 / AI COMMONS 04 / MATERIAL
FIELD 01 / LISTENING

What can the everyday sound of a city tell us about belonging?

Listen for the rhythms, noise, silence and memory held in urban soundscapes.

Select a field · follow a question · stay curious

Four practices / one ecosystem

The labs, in detail.

Each lab has its own material and methods. Together, they make room for forms of knowledge that are collective, situated and still unfolding.

Fig. 01 — Listening as method. Field photograph and credit to follow.

LAB 01Sound / Memory / Belonging

Urban Sonic Lab

Exploring the soundscapes of the city as data, archive and method. The lab listens to the rhythms of everyday life, tracing how movement, noise, silence and memory shape belonging and urban identity.

Approach
Sound as data, archive and method.
Listens to
Movement, noise, silence and memory.
Asks
How these shape belonging and urban identity.
Current inquiry
To be confirmed
Led by
Name and collaborators to be confirmed

Fig. 02 — Earth, making and place. Site photograph and credit to follow.

LAB 02Place / Making / Resistance

Ground Works

The lab reclaims the ground as a site of knowledge, collaboration and resistance. It works through public art, community co-design and creative infrastructure building, drawing together communities, artisans, artists and urban designers to reimagine how the city is built.

Approach
Public art, community co-design and creative infrastructure.
Works with
Communities, artisans, artists and urban designers.
Asks
How the ground can hold knowledge, collaboration and resistance.
Current inquiry
To be confirmed
Led by
Name and collaborators to be confirmed

Fig. 03 — A commons as a network, not a centre. Working notes to follow.

LAB 03Technology / Memory / Access

AI Commons

A shared space for experimenting with artificial intelligence as a public tool. It seeks to decentralise digital knowledge, using AI to amplify local narratives, collective memory and community-led problem solving rather than extract from them.

Approach
Artificial intelligence as a public tool, with digital knowledge decentralised.
Amplifies
Local narratives, collective memory and community-led problem solving.
Stance
To amplify rather than extract.
Current inquiry
To be confirmed
Led by
Name and collaborators to be confirmed

Fig. 04 — A weave in progress. Loom photograph and maker credit to follow.

LAB 04Textile / Care / Migration

Fabric of Society

Exploring textiles, craft and material culture as social infrastructure. The lab threads together making and meaning, reflecting on how fabric, both literal and symbolic, holds histories of migration, care and collaboration across generations.

Material
Textiles, craft and material culture.
Holds
Histories of migration, care and collaboration across generations.
Asks
How making and meaning thread together.
Current inquiry
To be confirmed
Led by
Name and collaborators to be confirmed
OUR SHARED METHOD ACCRA, GHANA · 01—04

Trust, reciprocity
and shared care.

Research is not something we extract from a place. It is something we build with the people who live, work, make and imagine it.

HOW WE WORK AN OPEN, EVOLVING PRACTICE
01

TIME & CONTINUITY

A practice that stays.

Each lab runs on a minimum two-year cycle. Our work grows around community needs, not the short timelines of temporary funding.

MINIMUM DURATION 02 YEARS +
02

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Come curious.

Once a month, our doors open for people to meet, explore an idea, try a process or simply see what is taking shape.

OPEN LAB HOURS ONE DAY / MONTH
03

COLLECTIVE PRACTICE

Make things together.

Project hours give lab members dedicated time to experiment, exchange knowledge and develop work through focused collaboration.

FORMAT MEMBER SESSIONS
04

SHARED RESOURCES

Knowledge in circulation.

A shared workspace, a Library of Things and practical workshops make tools and knowledge more accessible — from field recorders and cameras to dye kits.

AVAILABLE TO SHARE TOOLS · SPACE · SKILLS