Public spaces in the digital age are increasingly hybrid, shaped by both physical and digital activities. Yet, its design still aims to accommodate publicness in a physical way, while neglecting the increasing impact of digital realities.
How do we want to shape the hybrid world we live in? During the Society 5.0 Festival, over 500 researchers, artists, teachers, and students explored the impact of technology on our society and how we can collectively give direction to it.
Hybrid Public Spaces
Naomi Bueno de Mesquita and Hans Teerds presented their ongoing research project Hybrid Public Spaces, which investigates how digital and physical environments merge into new forms of public life. Designers Hedwig van der Linden and Kevin Westerveld (Dérivè), and more recently Bas Losekoot, conduct visual, photographic, and field research into how mobile technologies and social media influence our encounters, visibility, and participation in public debate and public space.
The research analyzes the transformation of physical public space under the influence of digital and mobile technologies from three interrelated — though not exhaustive — perspectives: the self-curated, the identity-driven, and the commercialized perspective. During the workshop, Naomi and Hans invited participants to walk along the panels and engage in conversation about these themes.
The project’s ultimate goal is to provide designers and researchers with tools to better understand and study the interplay between physical and digital activities — which together constitute public space. In addition, it explores the role of design and cultural practices in shaping inclusive, hybrid public domains in which diversity and democratic dialogue gain new meaning.
Follow-up presentations
The research will be presented on Wednesday, November 26, at the Culture Club. In January 2026, Naomi and Hans will also present the project at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency during the ‘Toekomstacademie: Interface – Het (veranderend) gebruik van de publieke ruimte’. This series is intended for designers, researchers, policymakers, and other professionals involved in the spatial development of the Netherlands and the role of technology within it.
More information and registration: Toekomstacademie 2025-2026
Society 5.0
The fourth edition of the Society 5.0 Festival took place on October 15–16, 2025. The festival was organized by the Centre of Expertise Creative Innovation (CoE CI) — an initiative of the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, the Amsterdam University of the Arts, Inholland University of Applied Sciences, and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences — in collaboration with VPRO Medialab, EIT Culture & Creativity, and The Social Hub.
