Profile

Email

pedro@sant-ana.cc

Science ID

801B-7048-36A5

Ciênciavitae

ORCID

Lab2PT Group

DeTech - Design and Technology

Scientific Area

Architecture

Supervision

Bruno Figueiredo (Lab2PT/IN2PAST) Alexandra Paio (DINAMIA-CET, ISCTE-IUL) Gil Nadais (BIKiNNOV Bike Value Innovation Center Association)

Project Title

MICRO-FACTORIES. The role of urban fabrication spaces and digital fabrication processes in a new model of decentralised bicycle production

Abstract

Industrial offshoring has helped turn European cities into consumption-centred territories, undermining their functional diversity and resilience. This research proposes reintegrating urban manufacturing through micro-factories, small-scale and technologically equipped production units embedded in residential neighbourhoods, as a strategy to stimulate local economies and enable on-demand production. Taking locally scaled bicycle production as its case, the study frames proximity manufacturing as the "seventh function" of the 15-Minute City, renewing the European productive tradition through digital fabrication. Aligned with Industry 5.0 and the Fab City movement, these micro-factories operate as a network, supporting distributed fabrication models grounded in innovation, sustainability and inclusion. The work proposes a replicable model of decentralised urban manufacturing that restores the city's productive dimension, contributing to sustainable reindustrialisation in the twenty-first century.

Keywords

Micro-factories, Urban Resilience, Neighbourhood Urbanism, Local Economy, Urban Manufacturing, Distributed Manufacturing, Artisanal Production, Digital Manufacturing

Organic Unit

School of Architecture, Art and Design of University of Minho

FCT Reference

2024.04062.BDANA