Work
In our projects we design concrete yet bold solutions that are vehicles for social change. We work in a wide range of domains, from mental health to restoring biodiversity and everything in between.
Reframing Studio is an independent innovation agency with over 25 years of experience.
Connecting the Dots Program
5KM LINT: Connecting the city through children's imagination
The exhibition 5KM LINT is a design project developed in collaboration with the Municipality of Rotterdam and Villa Zebra. In this project, children aged 8 to 12 collaborate with artists and designers to imagine the future of Het Rondje Bruggen in Rotterdam (Erasmus Bridge - Willems Bridge). While the bridges physically link the northern and southern parts of the city, the project goes beyond the physical environment. It explores how people are connected to one another, to their surroundings, and to the future.
Through a collaborative and interactive design process based on the Reframing Method, the children explore how places in the city can foster encounter, dialogue, and cooperation. The exhibition concludes with meaningful, future-oriented ideas that highlight the value of genuine connection.
Team
Lucca Kroot
Tessel Thijsse
Beatrijs Voorneman
Partners
Villa Zebra
Gemeente Rotterdam
Challenge
How can ‘Het Rondje Bruggen’ in Rotterdam be more than just a physical route between North and South? Although the bridges literally connect the city, true social and human connection does not happen automatically. How can we create places where encounter, play, and dialogue can emerge naturally? And how do you design that future together with the generation for whom the city is intended?
Urban development is often designed for children, but rarely with them. In this project, children aged 8 to 12 were given an active voice as future Rotterdammers. 5KM LINT offers a way to genuinely include children’s perspectives in shaping the city of tomorrow and to translate their ideas into concrete, future-proof designs that may play a role in urban development.
Process
We began with an intensive week focused on shaping the conditions for the exhibition: designing the flow through the space, the role of each element, and the visual language that would tie everything together. Together with the artists, Villa Zebra and the municipality, we set the framework, tested ideas and made final decisions, always keeping material reuse and feasibility in mind.
Next, the designs came to life: materials were produced, the spaces were set up, and the artists and Villa Zebra staff received a clear guide for their role in the process.
Throughout the program, we stayed involved, monitoring the process and supporting its progress wherever needed. We facilitated several meetings with the artists and the municipality to evaluate the outcomes of the exhibition and gather the key insights.
Developments
The result of 5KM LINT is a vibrant and imaginative exhibition where children’s ideas and creations come to life. The exhibition shows how young residents perceive and shape the city, from drawings and paintings to constructions and interactive 3D elements. What stands out is how children want to make the city more playful and challenging: not more efficient, but richer in detours, parcours, humor, and surprises, with a strong focus on nature, animals, and social connection. Throughout the entire project, the children are guided by five different artists within the exhibition.
The children’s creations do not disappear after the exhibition: they are presented to the Municipality of Rotterdam and serve as inspiration for the further development of the Rondje Bruggen. In this way, 5KM LINT makes children’s imagination visible and shows how their ideas can contribute to a playful, connected, and active city. The exhibition runs until the end of March 2026, so be sure to come by and see it!
Reframing Studio is an independent innovation agency with over 25 years of experience.
