Ecos da Alta
Human-Centered research initiative exploring intergenerational disconnection through qualitative inquiry and participatory design.
The story
Most of my projects let me hide behind a screen or a canvas. This one did not.
Ecos da Alta started as a research question about loneliness in Alta de Lisboa, and part of me expected to answer it the way I answer most things, by finding the right data and drawing the right chart. It turned out loneliness does not sit in a spreadsheet. The older people we met were not short of company so much as a role, a sense that someone still wanted to hear from them.
So we did the least technical thing imaginable. We got elders and young people in the same room, the elders told stories from their lives, and the young people listened and drew. We had grand plans for a polished docu-series and quietly let them go, because the valuable part was never going to be the finished artifact, it was the listening. It ended in a public exhibition at Quinta Alegre, which felt like the right kind of ending.
For someone who likes problems with clean answers, it was a good reminder that the most human ones do not have any, and are better for it.
Research focus
- Investigating intergenerational disconnection in Lisbon’s bairros
- Exploring loneliness as a symptom of deeper systemic invisibility
- Applying Human-Centered Design and systems thinking
- Identifying storytelling as a tool for restoring recognition and community continuity
Methodology
The project followed an iterative Human-Centered Design process:
- Secondary research on loneliness, urban transformation, and intergenerational initiatives in Portugal and the EU
- Primary research through interviews with elders, community leaders, and youth
- Stakeholder immersion with Associação Per 11 and Quinta Alegre
- Ideation using frameworks and systems mapping
- Low-fidelity prototyping of storytelling formats
- Implementation of live co-creative storytelling sessions
Report
Download PDFThe full research report can be viewed below.
Final presentation
Download PDFSlides summarizing the research findings.
Key insights
- Loneliness is not primarily about physical isolation, but about loss of role, recognition, and voice.
- Intergenerational gaps are reinforced by spatial, cultural, and emotional distance, not lack of goodwill.
- Storytelling functions not only as communication, but as intervention: the act of listening creates connection.
- Sustainable impact requires integration within existing community structures rather than external imposition.
- Small, emotionally resonant experiences can catalyze broader structural shifts when designed collaboratively.
Reflection
Ecos da Alta demonstrated that meaningful social impact emerges from co-creation rather than intervention. We learned to move beyond linear problem-solving and embrace systems thinking, iteration, and adaptive design. The shift from producing a docu-series to prioritizing live storytelling sessions reflected our commitment to process over product. Most importantly, the project reinforced that sustainable change is relational. Trust, humility, and embedded collaboration were not secondary to the outcome they were the foundation of it.