(Un)Likely Connections between (Un)Likely Actors in the Art/NBS Co-Creation Process - Application of KREBS Cycle of Creativity to the Cyborg Garden Project

Sep 15, 2026

Nature-based solutions (NBS) provide a technical basis for adapting to climate change, while co-creation enables the co-production of knowledge and innovation, reinforcing the EU Green Infrastructures Strategy. Yet effective co-creation requires incorporating knowledge from diverse social systems, which existing methodological models address through largely linear knowledge transfer. To overcome these limits, the research proposes applying Oxman’s KREBS cycle of creativity as a conceptual map to represent alternative knowledge flows across science, engineering, design, and art. It then examines co-creation strategies to foster “creative energy” in designing the Cyborg Garden in Madrid.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

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Introduction

Green Infrastructures Strategy and nature-based solutions

Co-creation and knowledge production approaches

KREBS cycle as a framework for creativity and knowledge flows

land Article (Un)Likely Connections between (Un)Likely Actors in the Art/NBS Co-Creation Process: Application of KREBS Cycle of Creativity to the Cyborg Garden Project Manuel Alm²star 1,2, *, Sara Romero-Muñoz 3, Nieves Mestre 1, Uriel Fogu²1, Eva Gil 1 and Amanda Masha 4 Citation: Alméstar, M.; Romero-Muñoz, S.; Mestre, N.; Fogué, U.; Gil, E.; Masha, A.(Un)Likely Connections between (Un)Likely Actors in the Art/NBS Co-Creation Process: Application of KREBS Cycle of Creativity to the Cyborg Garden Project. Land 2023, 12, 1145. [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)land12061145 Academic Editors: Thomas Panagopoulos and Vera Ferreira Received: 28 April 2023 Revised: 21 May 2023 Accepted: 27 May 2023 Published: 30 May 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Escuela T²cnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, Universidad Polit²cnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; mariadelasnieves.mestre@upm.es (N.M.); [uriel@elii.es](uriel@elii.es) (U.F.); [eva@elii.es](eva@elii.es) (E.G.) 2 Climate-KIC Holding B.V., 46980 Valencia, Spain 3 Escuela T²cnica Superior de Ingenier½a de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Polit²cnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain; [sara.romero@upm.es](sara.romero@upm.es) 4 Instituto Mutante de Narrativas Ambientales, 28040 Madrid, Spain; [amanda.masha@network.rca.ac.uk](amanda.masha@network.rca.ac.uk) * Correspondence: manuel.almestar@upm.es; Tel.: +34-646571955 Abstract: NBS provides the technical basis for adaptation to climate change, and co-creation is the vehicle for the co-production of knowledge and innovation, both forming a strong binomial for the UE Green Infrastructures Strategy. Nonetheless, one of the main challenges for the implementation of effective co-creation strategies is the incorporation of knowledge from diverse social systems. Knowledge production has been approached through different methodological models, such asthe quintuple helix innovation by Carayannis, or the diffuse/expert knowledge model by Manzini. These theoretical models are based on linear knowledge transfers, without sufﬁciently depicting alternative knowledge ﬂows among (un)conventional actors. In view of these limitations, the research proposes a third strategy: the KREBS cycle of creativity deﬁned by Oxman is a conceptual map capable of describing knowledge transfers across the four modalities of human creativity (i.e., science, engineering, design, and art) . Providing sufﬁcient “creative energy” in a co-creation process would guarantee the successful production of knowledge. Thus, the research seeks to illuminate different co-creation strategies to promote “creative energy” in the design of the Cyborg Garden (CG) in Madrid, giving a novel application to Oxman's methodological framework based on the Carayannis's and Manzini's models. Keywords: KREBS cycle; co-creation; creativity; knowledge; QHIM; art/science; NBS 1. Introduction “Why a Cyborg Garden? Planting trees won't solve the problem?”(Extracted from the ﬁrst working session of the Cyborg Garden project (30 May 2018)) . In June 2013, the European Commission (EC) launched the Green Infrastructures Strategy (GIS) [1] with the aim of promoting the use and development of nature-based solutions (NBS), deﬁned as actions inspired by, supported by, or copied from nature, to address environmental, economic, and social challenges linked to climate change [2] . From then on, the programme has invested more than EUR 926 million in one hundred thirty-six projects [3]: one hundred and ten NBS-related projects, seventeen GI projects and nine linked to both (Appendix A

FAQs

What is the main focus of the research?

The research focuses on illuminating co-creation strategies that incorporate knowledge from diverse social systems, using the KREBS cycle of creativity to support the design of the Cyborg Garden project in Madrid.

Why are existing knowledge production models considered insufficient?

They are based on linear knowledge transfer patterns and do not adequately depict alternative knowledge flows among unconventional actors.

How does the KREBS cycle contribute to co-creation in the Cyborg Garden?

It provides a conceptual map to describe knowledge transfers across four modalities of human creativity—science, engineering, design, and art—so that sufficient “creative energy” can be achieved for successful knowledge production.

Sep 15, 2026

Uploaded by Lucas Vance