Pole Pole
Parque 25 de Abril, Matosinhos
(Happisodes)
Pole Pole, which in Swahili means “slowly, slowly,” is more than just an expression: it is a tribute to time, the time needed to design, to build, and to be together.
Pole Pole, a self-build structure, was first presented in 2022 in Mathare, Nairobi, by Studio Giacomo Moor in collaboration with the NGO LiveinSlums. It now comes to life in Matosinhos through a self-build workshop with the local community, led by Moor.
Pole Pole is intended as an intergenerational space, where the girls from the Nossa Senhora da Conceição boarding school can express themselves and explore independence, and where the elderly residents of the Lar Sant’Ana and the families who gather in the park can spend time together and socialise.
The programme of activities for Pole Pole, conceived by artist Cláudia Lopes in dialogue with the boarding school girls and the residents of the care home, is carried out in partnership with CIIMAR, the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research.
Designer Studio Giacomo Moor
Artistic Mediation: Cláudia Lopes
Institutions Santa Casa da Misericórdia do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos (Internato Nossa Senhora da Conceição) + Casa da Juventude + CIIMAR + Lar de Sant’Ana
Eleonora Fedi is an interior and spatial designer and educator, based in Porto. She has a degree from the Politecnico of Milan (2012) and a master's degree from the College of Art and Design of Matosinhos (2015), where she teaches subjects related to spatial design and the culture of dwelling.
She collaborates with esad—idea as a researcher and designer responsible for exhibition projects, and has been a member of the Porto Design Biennale team since its first edition in 2019.
Her work includes exhibition designs for Galicia – Processes and Forms (2023) curated by David Barro; Erasing the Line (2023); Portugal Pop – Fashion in Portuguese 1970–2020 (2022-2025), curated by Bárbara Coutinho; Sneakers – From the Estado Novo to the Turn of the Millennium (2022), curated by Pedro Carvalho de Almeida.
She co-curated the exhibition Reusing Furniture (2023) together with Maria Milano and has collaborated as an assistant curator on Frontiere – Contemporary Design Expressions, Abitare Itália – Icons of Italian Design, and Riccardo Dalisi – Perfect Imperfection (2019).
Core Programme
Happisodes
Promoted by the Porto Design Biennale, Happisodes are co-design projects between designers, communities, and municipalities that bring to life, in Porto and Matosinhos, the joy of collectively recognising that the present can be reimagined. They are living, inhabited processes where design gives shape to the common.
Publications
Book publishing is a fundamental part of the Porto Design Bienniale, conveying, through the editing and materiality of the books and catalogues, the concept and curation of the projects.
Constellations
The selected projects are independent and autonomous projects regarding curation, financing and production that engage with the theme of this edition.