At the initiative of the civic association Intymyta, we designed and implemented the large-scale production of Menstruation Stations – objects whose purpose is to provide access to menstrual products for people who, for various reasons, have limited access to them.

The Menstruation Station is red, durable, suitable for outdoor use, and always stocked with menstrual products. It is designed to be easily recognisable, accessible 24/7, and fully functional even under the demanding conditions of public space.

Today, more than 70 Menstruation Stations have been installed across Slovakia. However, the effort to combat menstrual poverty does not end here.

If you know of a place where a Menstruation Station could help, please get in touch with the Dôstojná menštruácia initiative.

Košice, as well as practically the whole of Slovakia, is in an area of ​​even more significant temperature rise than the global average. We all felt it. Lost “white winter” and sledging on Červený breh, dried up century-old chestnut trees in front of our house or sold-out air-conditioning in shops.

Graphic by Katarína Štefanková, which was created in parallel to the exhibition Košice ±40°C, visualizes the main impacts of climate change on the city of Košice. According to the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, whose data are the basis for this graphic, extreme heat and torrential rains await us in Košice. Must have to any home or office!

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect our cities and the way we share space? What role did architecture play in this process? We explored these questions together with experts, cultural event organisers, and the wider public.

In 2021, with the support of Creative Industry Košice and the City of Košice, we focused on cultural venues – one of the sectors most affected by the pandemic – and examined factors that reduce the risk of disease transmission while improving the quality of staying in a space. The result is an architectural handbook intended primarily for organisers of cultural events.

We are aware that many of the recommendations are no longer directly applicable today. However, we see the handbook as a record of learning in a time of crisis and as a stimulus for thinking about the future resilience of cultural spaces.

The handbook is in Slovak language only.

Take the city (love) home!

This is a literary and graphic interpretation of lectures and discussions prepared in collaboration with Kino Úsmev, invited essayists, and the Midfield studio. The publication has a practical format: it can be read as a booklet and then displayed as a design poster ("plagazine").

The plagazines were released in sets of three. Individual copies are available for €4, complete cycles for €10, or all of them together (if you can’t decide) for €20. The number of prints is limited, so don’t hesitate!

The bilingual publication Playing Mestometer: Why Do Cities Need a Zoning Plan? builds on the knowledge and principles developed during the creation of the interactive Mestometer installation, which introduces complex topics of zoning and spatial planning through a playful and accessible approach.

More information about the project, its impacts, and outcomes can be found here. The publication is available in both electronic and printed formats – just get in touch with us!

The publication Plan for Košice 2014–2025 guides readers through the entire 11 years long process of creating the new land-use plan of Košice, presents its main principles, and shows how it can be applied in everyday practice. It is intended for everyone interested in what is happening in the city – from representatives of local government to residents who want to better understand the city and seek new impulses for its participatory development.

The publication is available in electronic form on the Plan for Košice website (in Slovak). We are also happy to make it available for loan from our library.

Urban Dialogue With a Post-Socialist City is a collection of essays, utopias and other contributions.

All essays are based on our research of the housing estate Ťahanovce in Košice, during the pilot edition of Never Never School 2018. We asked: Can the former socialist housing estates become places to live and not just places to spend the night? How do they respond to changing policies and economic systems? Can new utopias respond meaningfully to old ones?

What is a caring city? What does care mean?

Through stories, essays, interviews, photographs, video, and a game manual, the publication presents different aspects of care for places. It is based on the workshops, interventions, and lectures of Never Never School 2021, which took place at various locations across Košice. The reader therefore engages with local topics, while the approaches to care presented are applicable beyond the boundaries of the city and the summer school.

‍‍The reader is available in Slovak language only.

The bilingual publication Mapping the In-Between: Interdisciplinary methods for envisioning other futures is the outcome of an international summer school that, within the context of Central and Eastern Europe, explores interdisciplinary mapping and contextual utopias as alternative approaches to urban planning. It critically positions itself against the commodification of real estate as well as visions of “large-scale development” in post-socialist cities. The texts were developed in Košice in collaboration with participants of Never Never School and offer a unique perspective on new forms of collaboration and city-making.

The publication has long been sold out; however, we will be happy to make it available to you in electronic form or to take away from our library.

The anthology Housing in Times of Crisis explores housing as a vital social issue in times of uncertainty, bringing together perspectives on care, resilience, and urban life from Europe. The book reflects on how crisis shapes the way we live, share space, and imagine more just housing futures.

This bilingual book was created in Košice – a city at the crossroads of borders, stories of people on the move, and the reality of inaccessible housing. In 2022, Košice became one of the main centers of solidarity with people arriving from Ukraine, but its limits quickly became apparent: empty apartments, missing tools, and public infrastructure struggling to keep up. It builds on Never Never School 2023 – a summer school where urban utopias are taken seriously and reality is happily nudged a little.

The book is available in both digital and print formats via Kapitál and in selected bookstores.

In addition to torrential rain – when raincoats offer essential protection – our heads, too, require shelter in times of climate extremes. And that shelter can just as well be crafted from old jeans with a story to tell. In collaboration with Tamara Tóthová Markovičová of the We Are Not Sisters brand, we designed the Head Shelter.

The concept and design were created for Never Never School 2023, which focused on housing and having a roof over one’s head – an idea we metaphorically translated into headwear.

Each piece is hand-sewn in Košice from collected old jeans. One pair of jeans = one head shelter. The design consists of a basic cap and optional components, such as a classic or a bohemian brim. Thanks to this mix-and-match approach, every piece is unique and can be tailored to your own wardrobe.

Can’t decide? Stop by our office in Košice or Bratislava and try out the combinations in person!

Košice-based designers We Are Not Sisters – our long-time friends and collaborators on many pieces in Spolka’s wardrobe – designed a limited series of raincoats for us in 2019. Created for the international summer school Never Never School, they accompanied us as we explored the city, even in the most inhospitable weather.