Purpose This article examines how small-scale, community-embedded spatial practices can generate durable sociocultural and ecological value despite limited resources and temporally constrained implementation. It reflects on broader lessons derived from three situated cases to articulate a set of principles for rethinking architectural agency, emphasising process-based design, collective stewardship and the integration of hybrid knowledge based on artistic, ecological and technical expertise. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative, practice-based analytical framework grounded in ethnographic observation, participatory design methodologies and cross-case comparison. It examines how hybrid pedagogical-professional initiatives unfold in real time, analysing their negotiation processes, governance arrangements and socio-spatial outcomes. The approach foregrounds the situated knowledge generated through collaboration, making the process itself an epistemic lens. Findings The analysis identifies the emergence of a non-authorial design role centred on mediation, care and translation across institutional, ecological, neighbourhood and artistic domains. It highlights the long-term cultural and relational impacts of community-driven processes, and also exposes gaps in ecological design capacity, particularly within artistic and architectural education. Practical implications The article provides actionable insights for architects, cultural practitioners, educators and municipal actors seeking to support community-led initiatives. It demonstrates that collaboration with existing local processes, rather than imposing new prescriptive forms, enhances social cohesion, ecological sensitivity and project resilience. Social implications The study shows how participatory spatial practices can strengthen collective agency, cultural rights and local identity. Beyond the outcome achieved with the final design, the development processes of co-creation restructures social relations, mobilises communities and expands residents' capacity to imagine and enact more liveable, sustainable futures. Originality/value This article advances a process-oriented, hybrid understanding of architectural practice that positions urban space as a shared ecosystem shaped through learning, negotiation and care. It contributes original conceptual clarity on the epistemic value of “small” interventions and the importance of non-authorial, translational design roles for contemporary urban transformation.
Stasi et al. (Sat,) studied this question.