Open Living Lab Days 2025: Place Exploration in Andorra

With the Pyrenees as a stunning backdrop and steady sunshine throughout the week, the Open Living Lab Days (OLLD) 2025 of the European Network of Living Labs (EnoLL) gathered researchers and practitioners in Andorra for inspiring sessions, hands-on workshops, and lively exchanges.

Senior researcher Donagh Horgan and Ko Koens, Professor Urban Tourism, shared insights and tools from the livinglabs in Rotterdam and Amsterdam in workshops, talks and other sessions.

Place Exploration & Sensemaking

During a Place Exploration Workshop, supported also by Bernadette Quinn (Technical University in Dublin), participants ventured into the immediate surroundings of Andorra-la-Vella using the Place Exploration and Sensemaking Toolkit developed by the ULT-Labs in Rotterdam and Amsterdam (Roos Gerritsma, Esther Bouw, Donagh Horgan).

Through five steps – from ‘First Impressions’ to the well-loved ‘Kissing & Pissing Index’, ‘What do users think, feel and say?’, ‘Mapping the Place’ and ‘Past’ – participants explored how locals and visitors perceive public spaces. The ‘Kissing & Pissing Index’ drew particular attention, highlighting not only the most charming and romantic corners but also the less inviting, overlooked ones.

Participants noted that Andorra can take pride in its cleanliness and its unique location, nestled in the Pyrenees with direct access to the mountains. However, they also observed challenges such as traffic, noise, many tourists and found that—despite the mountains being almost within arm’s reach—it’s not immediately clear to visitors where and how to access them.

The Toolkit is regularly used with students in our Living Labs to explore movement patterns, highlight strengths and areas for improvement, and inspire new ways of understanding place dynamics.

Living Labs & Artists

In another session Donagh Horgan joined a panel discussion on The Role of Living Labs and Artists in Community Restoration. He shared the inspiring case of Mi Lobi Zuid (“I love South” in Surinamese) — a collaborative art project at Rotterdam’s Zuidplein, where local residents and artists co-painted a large mural on the former ABN AMRO building under the guidance of street artist Naomi King.

The project emerged from the graduation research of ULT-Lab student Joris Sauerbier, who investigated how the neighbourhood’s sense of community and safety could be strengthened through co-creation and art.

The Open Living Lab Days once again highlighted the power of Living Labs to connect people, creativity, and research — turning ideas into meaningful local action.