Projects per year
Organization profile
Profile Information
Empirica is an interdisciplinary research group where practices of art, design, and craft are used as vehicles of inquiry. We nurture a rigorous but open-minded research environment that accommodates diverse ways of being, knowing, and doing. By adopting the attitude of a craftsperson, we value the operational role of subjective and situated experiences in our various investigative processes. Each member brings along a set of personal, cultural, and disciplinary qualities that form the building blocks of the plural perspective prevailing in the group.
Central to Empirica’s approach is the reflexive character of creative practice, which becomes an important tool to challenge ourselves and others not only creatively but also intellectually. Documentation and reflection are thus essential in rendering our personal knowledge open, transparent, and explicit. Without limiting ourselves to disciplinary boundaries or topics, we persistently develop our art of research by theorizing, experimenting, prototyping, speculating, and (re)inventing ways to investigate empirical phenomena.
The group’s current research foci include making and materiality, creative practices and pedagogies, and world-making processes that extend beyond individual agencies to encompass multiple modes of social and environmental co-existence. These lines of inquiry allow us to openly invite different collaborators and promote a critical approach to knowledge production through diverse research formats. By communicating our research via articles, workshops, seminars, and exhibitions, we aim to cultivate an inclusive mindset and share our philosophy with various publics.
Network
Profiles
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Bilge Aktas
- Department of Design - Postdoctoral Researcher
- Empirica - Postdoctoral Researcher
Person: Postdoctoral researchers
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Priska Falin
- Department of Design - Doctoral Candidate
- Empirica - Doctoral Candidate
- School Common, ARTS
Person: Doctoral students, Doctoral studies
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MakerStudioPeda: Materiality, maker practices and design studio pedagogy at the digital age
Mäkelä, M., Aktas, B. & Vega, L.
01/09/2020 → 31/08/2024
Project: Academy of Finland: Other research funding
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Ceramics and its Dimensions
Mäkelä, M., Falin, P., Lautenbacher, N., Yli-Viikari, T. & Acharya, K.
01/11/2014 → 30/11/2018
Project: EU: Other research funding
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Aesthetic Experience and Agency of Environmental Architecture – Could Beauty Save the World?
Suomi, M., 2022, Architects of Disruption. Nyholm, C., Wiikinkoski, M. & Karkulahti, I. (eds.). Helsinki / Copenhagen, Vol. 1. p. 53-56 4 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Professional
Open Access -
Creativity and Participation
Mattelmäki, T., Botero, A., Chun, N., Dolejsova, M., Hakio, K. & Lohmann, J., 2022, Designing Change : New Opportunities for Organisations. Valtonen, A. & Nikkinen, P. (eds.). Espoo: Aalto ARTS Books, p. 24-31 8 p. (Aalto University publication series ART + DESIGN + ARCHITECTURE; vol. 2022, no. 2).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › General public
Open Access -
Kokemuksellisuus, mielikuvat ja ympäristötietoinen arkkitehtuuri – eli voiko kauneus pelastaa maailman?
Suomi, M., 2022, Murroksen arkkitehdit. Nyholm, C., Wiikinkoski, M. & Karkulahti, I. (eds.). Helsinki / Kööpenhamina, Vol. 1. p. 53-56 4 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Professional
Open Access
Activities
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Transcultural Pottery
Luis Vega (Organiser)
4 Jan 2021 → 22 Jan 2021Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Organization of a workshop, panel, session or tutorial
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NORDES 2021: Matters of Scale
Luis Vega (Speaker)
16 Aug 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Conference presentation
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Soil Matters: Ihmisen ja materiaalin dialogi
Maarit Mäkelä (Speaker)
13 Oct 2021Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public or invited talk