Founder
Thomas Ugo Ermacora, Eco-Pioneer & Founder
is a passionate dano-italian urbanist and geographer acting mostly as a creative social entrepreneur focused on sustainability. After working with architecture and planning professions on Zero Carbon projects in Europe, he shifted towards a trust in participatory design practices and started the CLEAR Village Initiative (www.clear-village.org) to rethink space, one village at a time and focus on upgrading the existing with communities. Thomas also runs the transition consultancy Etikstudio to promote sensible lifestyles through experience platforms such as exhibits and events for which he curentlty acts as Strategy & Creative Director, involving curatorial practice and concept design. One of the main outcomes has been a travelling platform exhibition on cycling culture called ” Dreams on Wheels ” in collaboration with Gehl Architects and Biomega amongst others. It has been touring for 8 years now and been seen by over a million people since it was selected as official COP15 prelude and supported by the Danish Foreign Ministry. Beyond these activities he has owned an organic slowfood-inspired restaurant, a webtv production company and acts as business angel or board member in a few early stage green start-ups such as Ethical Economy ltd making value-based performance tools, the Material Connexion Award 2009 nominee Cellucomp ltd and Inhabitat.com , the largest online sustainable design publication. Regional Ambassador for INDEX, member of Bioneers and Royal Society of Arts Fellow, he was recently appointed advisor to the RIBA Building Futures think tank.
Approach
We strive to harness the power of co-creation. Our tools and solutions are developed hand-in-hand with our network of local and international experts, who collaborate in our online community and come together for quantum-leap moments at the CLEAR Village Labs.
We are also committed to research. All our activities are supported by the CLEAR Village Observatory, whose role is to gather, analyse and benchmark the knowledge that is already out there about intentional as well as smart communities.
And finally, we are dedicated to sharing our knowledge and experience through publications, forums and online channels, as well as through advisory services based on a combination of global know-how and local perspectives.
Organisation & Team
Karsten Stampa, Organisational Development Manager, After studying economics in Berlin, Karsten started his professional life as a business consultant for several …
Sumel Chowdhury, Administration & Accounting, Sumel grew up in Bangladesh as an ardent actor and singer and also completed a Bachelor …
Frank Van Hasselt, Frank grew up in Holland and Hong Kong and studied philosophy & modern languages at Oxford. Communications & Partnerships…
Artur Moustafa,Visualisations & Content, Artur is a concept designer with a background in setting up and running a design and furniture company. …
The Board of Trustees
Thomas Ugo Ermacora, Founder & Trustee of Clear Village
Thomas is the founder and creative director of Etikstudio, a change production consultancy Etikstudio, which promotes sustainable lifestyles through experience platforms.
Paul Hughes, Amsterdam, CLEAR Village Trustee
Paul is partner and strategy director at the graphic design company Lava Studios in Amsterdam. An expert in design thinking, he provokes and advises the creative process of a number of important companies.
Wouter Steiner, Amsterdam, CLEAR Village Trustee
Wouter acts as lawyer for companies specialised in green energy and mobile communication, he is on of the Clear Village Trustees and our special capacity for commercial and legal advise.
Alice Chowdhury Holmberg, London, CLEAR Village Trustee
Alice is the COO of Etikstudio and is focused on the sustainable social impact of design –both immaterial and material. Her work covers a wide spectrum of design, ranging from high-end fashion to community identity.
Senior Advisors to the Board
Tim Smit
Senior Advisor to the CLEAR Village Board and Founder of the Eden Project
Hartley Booth
Senior Advisor to the CLEAR Village Board and Founding Member of the British Urban Regeneration Association
Josephine Green
Innovation Advisor to CLEAR Village
Key Individuals & Partners in Action
Henning Thomsen, Copenhagen, CLEAR Village Think Team
Henning is currently Cultural and Communications Manager at Gehl Architects. He was formerly Head of DAC Sustainable Cities and part of DACʼs management team. In 2008, he became a member of the Danish green think tank CONCITO and of the World Future Council Expert Commission on Cities and Climate Change.
Jennifer Leonard, San Francisco, CLEAR Village Think Team
Jennifer Leonard co-authored “Massive Change” with Bruce Mau, a book about the future of global design, voted 1 of 5 top books of 2004 by Wallpaper magazine. She is a specialist in research and communication methods and interdisciplinary Project Leader at IDEO.
Paul Hughes, Amsterdam, CLEAR Village Think Team
Paul Hughes is partner and strategy director at the graphic design company Lava Studios in Amsterdam. An expert in design thinking, he provokes and advises the creative process of a number of important companies.
Alastair MacKenzie, London, CLEAR Village Think Team
Alastair trained as an Anthropologist and his wildlife photography took him around the world with the BBC and WWF. His current work as a facilitator and leadership adviser supports projects such as CLEAR Village.
Kristina Börjesson, UK/France, CLEAR Village Think Team
Kristina Börjesson is a PhD and Research Associate at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London. She is dedicated to the designed object and its contribution to holistic sustainable development.
Daniel Christian Wahl, Findhorn, CLEAR Village Think Team
Daniel holds a BSc (Hons) in Biology from the University of Edinburgh, an MSc in Holistic Science from Schumacher College, and a PhD in Sustainability from the Centre for the Study of Natural Design (University of Dundee), where he is a research supervisor. Daniel works part-time as the academic director of Findhorn College and as a researcher for the International Futures Forum.
Filipe Balestra, Stockholm, CLEAR Village Think Team
After creating works for architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Thomas Sandell, Filipe is working on his own vision of Evolutionary Architecture, which uses his profession as an instrument to accelerate global development.
Chris Garvin, New York, CLEAR Village Think Team
Chris is a partner at Terrapin Bright Green, a strategic environmental consulting group, and a senior associate at Cook+Fox Architects. His interests include high-performance design at both the building and community scale, zero energy communities, biomimicry, and water conservation.
Korinna Thielen, London, CLEAR Village Think Team
Korinna is a Senior Designer with Arup Urban Design and has led several strategic Masterplans for both urban regeneration projects and new towns, most recently for the eco-town for Leicester.
Partners in Action
Etikstudio
Etikstudio is a sustainability strategy consultancy founded in 2003 in Paris, now based in London and with strong ties to Scandinavia. The company focuses on creative direction, concept design and curation of exhibition/events to grow awareness and debate on key issues, and also develops lifestyle venture concepts and business ideas. Etikstudio is currently touring the world with Dreams on Wheels, elected as an official exhibit for COP15. www.etikstudio.com
Club of Amsterdam
Club of Amsterdam is an independent, international think tank that organises regular high-level discussions on preferred futures. It involves those who are not just talking about the future – but those who are active participants in shaping the outcome.www.clubofamsterdam.com.
IaaC
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia is a latest-generation education and research centre dedicated to the development of an architecture capable of meeting the worldwide challenges in the construction of habitability in the early 21st century. Based in the 22@ district of Barcelona, one of the world’s capitals of architecture and urbanism, the IaaC is a platform for the exchange of knowledge with faculty and students from over 25 countries, including the USA, China. India, Poland, Italy, Mexico and Sudan. www.iaac.net.
Inhabitat
Inhabitat.com is the world’s most popular online publication devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future. www.inhabitat.com.
DAC
The Danish Architecture Centre (DAC) is a globally-oriented visionarium for cultural and commercial development and for dissemination of Danish architecture and construction. www.dac.dk
Lava Graphic Studios
“Lava was established in 1990 with its foundations in magazine design, yet quickly evolved to include not only the form of a magazine but also its content. This approach to editorial design focused Lava on telling a story in a visual way and brought with it a dynamic way of working. From the motto ‘a new issue every month’ arose a dynamic working method, where an ongoing balance is sought between consistency and change – renewal while conserving recognition of an identity. This has eventually developed into a unique design vision called the five Cs: collaboration, content, consistency, change, concept. www.lava.nl.
Special Thanks
CLEAR Village extends a big thanks to those who have contributed time and effort towards the project since its inception.
Special thanks to our speakers, supports and performers as well as to Brigitte Gratton, Alasdair Ingels, Patrick Crehan, Lina Gustavsson, John Manoochehri, Rav Panesar, Raj Singhal, Joanna Kamath, Kate Hamilton, Cate Trotter, Felix Bopp, Helena Uesson, Alexandra Sauveplane and Hermeet Gill.
