FELLOWS

Michalina Markousi

2019/20 Thessaloniki

Michalina is a civil engineer based in Thessaloniki. She has a strong interest in sustainability and creativity and tries to combine these with engineering. She holds an MSc in Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering and has worked both in academia and the construction industry. She is the co-founder of deconsup studio & lab, created to incorporate and promote principles of sustainability and circular economy in the built environment and the objects that surround it.

Although she has lived in several cities such as Volos, Xanthi, Corfu (Greece), Delft (The Netherlands) and Seoul (South Korea), she chose to return to Thessaloniki, the city where she was born and raised and loves the most. Her vision is to make Thessaloniki a better place to live, better for everyone!

The START fellowship program (2019), gave her the opportunity to broaden her horizons in the sociocultural sector and offered her the necessary tools to transform her vision into reality. Her project deconsup ideas aims to boost the creativity and sustainability awareness of the people of Thessaloniki and let them express and share their views about the future of their city through their innovative and visionary proposals.

Project Title

deconsup ideas

The name of the project is “deconsup’’ that stands for Design, Construct, Sustain and Upcycle. Our aim is to set up an upcycling lab that will organize a number of competitions/workshops, in order to explore the possible reuse of materials that are often considered garbage. Those materials may be items of daily use, hard waste materials or
left over materials from local manufacturers. Through the contests/workshops we want to boost the creativity and raise the sustainability awareness of local artists, architects, designers, engineers, craftsmen, students, children or any other creative person. We wish to create a community of local creative people and give them the opportunity to express their views on the future of Thessaloniki through their innovative and visionary proposals.

Host Institution

Drop In

Drop In e.V. combines educational and integrative work with attractive, easily accessible recreational offers. We were supported in this approach by our common passion for riding skateboards and by the experience that athletic youth culture and artistic activities are an excellent medium for working with young people. How can a political activist create a good group atmosphere before he deals with sensitive subjects? How can activities that create community offer a framework for a workshop on mobbing in schools?