ReHEALMS Project. Co-creation of spaces as ecosystems of emotional well-being and social sustainability

The ReHEALMS project is co-led by three individuals from different institutions:

• Maria Carol (Hospital de Sant Pau): key person for all the hospital and social-health aspects, with a central role in facilitating processes, institutional relations, and community engagement.

• Dídac Ferrer (GIC.UPC): responsible for strategic definition and integration of conceptual and methodological frameworks related to transformative sustainability.

• Giulia Sonetti (IS.UPC): coordinator of the conceptual and pedagogical dimensions of the project, as well as connections with educational and artistic initiatives.

ReHEALMS focuses on the co-creation of emotional and spatial interventions within the premises of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, placing special emphasis on the participation of older adults, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and artistic collectives. The project combines participatory diagnosis methodologies, emotional architecture, and psychosocial evaluation to transform everyday spaces into urban health scenarios.

Project goals and context

Hospitals, especially in dense urban contexts such as Barcelona, can become laboratories for symbolic and sustainable transformations that promote care, rest, and community. ReHEALMS builds on this potential, proposing a new vision of hospital corridors, waiting areas, and interaction spaces through:

• Artistic and narrative co-creation (PÁJARAS action)

• Participatory redesign and sensory activations (Full of Life Scenarios action)

One of the project's major breakthroughs has been the development of a conceptual framework that organically integrates emotional sustainability, planetary health, and transformative education. This framework has served as a compass for all the co-creation activities carried out. Great importance has also been given to participatory processes, such as the Mapathon and sensitive cartography workshops, which have allowed the community —especially in hospital settings— to reinterpret and reconfigure their spaces through citizen science methodologies.

Another key aspect has been the ability to articulate different territorial and institutional levels, creating solid alliances between actors such as the Hospital de Sant Pau, ISGlobal, and the association Pulmons de Barri. The project has also sought to support and empower the new generation, mentoring students and young researchers, and transferring methodologies to initiatives like the EIT Urban Mobility Summer School. Finally, the learnings from the project have opened new work paths, such as the proposal submitted to BitHabitat 2025, aiming to expand its impact in the field of therapeutic horticulture and community health.

Projection and impact

With a solid methodological foundation and a creative, interdisciplinary approach, ReHEALMS becomes a replicable model for the sustainable transformation of healthcare spaces and the promotion of collective well-being. The project contributes to public health, social inclusion, and urban ecological transition objectives, from a person-centered and innovative perspective.

Key synergies

ReHEALMS connects organically with other ongoing projects:

• Cycling to Care (C2C): links mental health, climate anxiety, and affective mobility. The "tricycle walks" methodology has been adapted to gather stories and sounds within ReHEALMS, adding a poetic and intergenerational dimension.

• Transformative Education for a Sustainable Life (TE4life): part of Giulia Sonetti’s research on art, education, and emotional sustainability, in collaboration with community organizations and artists to explore theater as a tool for social transformation and the construction of care. The play PÁJARAS is part of this as a collective theater process led by elderly women.

• EIT Urban Mobility Summer School: ReHEALMS was presented as a real case study in the final phase of the 2025 Summer School (UPC-Lisbon). Students worked on proposals to rethink mobility and accessibility in the hospital grounds as an urban health space.

Project partners and roles

• ISGlobal: leads the design and evaluation of emotional and psychosocial impact, contributing expertise from the European projects RECETAS and RESONATE. Coordinates the scientific team and qualitative and quantitative evaluation tools.

• Hospital de Sant Pau: facilitates access to hospital spaces and promotes the involvement of healthcare professionals, social services, and patients in workshops and activations.

• Pulmons de Barri: designs and leads artistic and narrative processes, offering a sensitive and community-based approach to designing interventions and workshops.

• UPC (IS.UPC): From UPC, thanks to the collaboration of Dídac Ferrer from GIC.UPC, Giulia Sonetti from IS.UPC, and with the support of Ferran Marquès and Eva Vidal, the methodological integration of participatory diagnosis, systematization of co-creation processes, and connection with other teaching and urban innovation projects has been led. This joint work has been key in strengthening the transdisciplinary approach of the ReHEALMS project, linking academic work with transformative practices rooted in the territory and oriented toward community well-being.

Contact
Giulia Sonetti
Researcher and PI of the ReHEALMS project – UPC
Institute of Science and Technologies for Sustainability
Giulia.sonetti@upc.edu

Useful links

To follow the project’s progress and access open resources, visit this useful link.