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A sustainable coffee hub builds community in Prague

Grounds by Kogaa, Prague

Prague – Grounds is a community-centric coffee hub that can adapt to customer and business needs.

Designed by architecture studio Kogaa, the space in Prague’s Karlin neighbourhood serves as a roastery, a café and a workshop space for the city’s coffee community. Grounds' various areas are designed to enable in-house coffee production, from the storing of raw beans to the roasting, cleaning and packaging processes.

Meanwhile, its workshop space functions as both a showroom for professional barista machines and an area for educational sessions and brewing competitions. ‘The idea here was to expand the concept of a roastery to the public, as well as being a platform for baristas and coffee experts to educate themselves and be part of a community,’ explains Kogaa in a statement.

Grounds also addresses sustainability through its use of building materials, with the majority of its interior made using construction site waste. In all, the space is creating new opportunities in the Craft Coffee Market, while responding to demands for Circular Store Designs.

ReCollection is a collaborative upcycled luxury line

ReCollection by TheRealReal, US

US – Resale platform TheRealReal is working with luxury labels to upcycle damaged or distressed stock into new garments.

Its programme, ReCollection, will transform unwanted clothing provided by eight designer brands, including Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, A-Cold-Wall and Dries Van Noten. To optimise its sustainability efforts, the company has established criteria for the upcycling initiative, such as using no virgin materials, zero-waste assembly, fair wages and US-based production.

As the ReCollection becomes more established, The RealReal plans to develop a library of leftover scrap materials that can be used in future collections. ‘This is a really exciting moment for The RealReal to expand our efforts and take a stake [in] the unusable materials that are from luxury pieces and should also have a second life,’ says Allison Sommer, the company’s senior director of strategic initiatives.

Through this new channel, The RealReal is creating an original fashion offer, while helping to uphold and promote less wasteful luxury practices. Explore Deadstock Designers for more fashion waste strategies.

Singapore turns to taxi drivers for Twitch tourism

Singapore – The Singapore Tourism Board is using a series of Twitch streams to engage virtually with overseas tourists.

Designed to promote the city while most global travel is restricted, the Singapore by Stream experience spans four live-streams, hosted day and night. Tuning in on Twitch, viewers are taken on an immersive guided tour by local Singaporean taxi drivers, virtually viewing popular landmarks and unearthing local hidden gems. A live chat function enables virtual tourists to interact with their taxi tour guides, who can make suggestions of where to go.

A press release for the experience, created in collaboration with agency TBWAChiatDay NY, describes the taxi drivers at the heart of the campaign as the city’s unofficial passion ambassadors. In this way, the campaign taps into a tradition in which Singaporean taxi drivers showcase not only the city but also a more authentic side to its culture.

In our E-tourism microtrend, we explore some of the ways in which travel and hospitality brands are embracing digital platforms to reconnect with tourists.

Singapore by Stream for The Singapore Tourism Board

Stat: Britons welcome more regional news perspectives

Alexander

As UK-based broadcaster the BBC announces its relocation of several departments and staff to areas outside of London, a YouGov study has revealed the British public’s perspective on regional news coverage.

According to the research, a quarter (27%) think the news would be better if more organisations moved staff away from London. Just under half (45%) think the quality would be about the same, while 4% believe that it would be worse. These opinions vary in relation to geographic influences, with nearly two in five Scottish people (38%), as well as a third of people living in the north of England (34%) saying that moving jobs to other regions would improve reporting.

With citizens increasingly reflecting on their identity and engaging more with local communities, a desire for culturally aware regional City Super-networks will foster a future of Equilibrium Cities where all residents have a voice and influence.