Ricky Schodl

#17 From the borders of the union

Life with migrants

Snow is falling over Lipa, a temporary camp for migrants, 30 kilometres away from the city of Bihać in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It snowed last night and it’s snowing again tonight. It’s not falling in my neighbourhood yet— maybe just a snowflake or two— and I’ve never looked forward to it less. After Lipa, snow will never look the same again. So I’m walking through the city, trying to make sense of our becoming so cold-hearted.

Read More »
#17 From the borders of the union

Will they come for our fish?

In 2019, a harness-clad Icelandic performance group named Hatari appeared on the Eurovision song contest stage to perform their song Hatrið Mun Sigra (Hatred Will Prevail). Through screaming, singing and strobe lights, the group shared their dystopian vision of the future: a society crippled, collapsed by consumerism, capitalism, and hate. The band achieved such popularity that Icelandic children began dressing up as members of Hatari for Halloween.

Read More »
#13 Designing (for) Humans

Plattenbauromantik

One sunny afternoon in June, Clara Rogowski stood at the base of a 16-storey apartment block on the outskirts of Leipzig. As she pointed her iPhone upwards, her screen framed a familiar motif. Rough washed-concrete panels divided the near wall into a grid that stretched to a sharp point against a pale cloud-wisped sky. “As an East German person, you sort of have that in your identity,” she said. “We all know these GDR blocks.”

Read More »
#13 Designing (for) Humans

Design for life

“When the project came up, I knew we had to take it,” says Professor Jo-Anne Bichard about Our Future Foyle. The urban intervention aims to redesign the river area in Derry, Northern Ireland. In the city with the highest suidice rate in the UK, the Foyle and its namesake bridge are notorious spots for people taking their own lives. The Northern Ireland Public Health Agency (PHA) commissioned a team of designers to revitalise the area, and prevent cases of suicide.

Read More »
#13 Designing (for) Humans

Home First

In the huge Library of Gender Studies—a feminist non-profit organisation in Prague—Alexandra Doleželová struggled to find any data on women’s poverty in her home country of the Czech Republic. After sharing her thoughts with friends and fellow activists, they decided to take the matter into their own hands. They would carry out their own research, starting by visiting emergency homeless shelters in the Czech capital.

Read More »
#13 Designing (for) Humans

Waste world

Buildings keep us warm, allow us to gather, and are often sites of idea- generation. They are places of residence, comfort and safety. But they come at a huge environmental cost. The construction industry accounts for 38% of global energy-related CO2 emissions—11% of which results from producing brand-new materials such as steel, cement and glass, according to the Global Alliance of Building and Construction.

Read More »
#10 the Sports Issue

You Flinch, You Lose

Julian Sanchez was in a hurry. He still had to buy a pair of cheap black trousers. He would wear his black leather shoes—as required by the dress code—but didn’t want to ruin his only suit.

Read More »
#10 the Sports Issue

The long run

In the fall of 2020, Selemon (not his real name) received an email announcing that a marathon race would be held in the Czech Republic. As an Ethiopian-born long-distance runner living in Europe, Selemon had been training throughout the pandemic. Like many of his peers who rely on prize money and appearances for a living, he’d been struggling. His bank account was drying up, and his resolve was weakening too. Here, finally, was an opportunity.

Read More »