On May 17th, 2025, at the House of Beautiful Business in Tangier, Originate Institute's founder Sofya Abramchuk and David Afonso have hosted an experience that will echo for weeks to come.

"What Could Have Been: Designing from the Origins" was not just a session — it was a co-creative process. A ritual of memory, imagination, and design. We invited participants to walk the path of Antoni Gaudí’s unbuilt dream: a Franciscan mission in Tangier that never touched the earth.

Through soundscapes, sketching, storytelling, augmented reality, and shared silence, we gathered on the exact site where Gaudí’s vision was meant to rise — not to reconstruct the past, but to imagine what could still be.

We explored Gaudí’s spiritual and nature-rooted philosophy, then asked participants to reinterpret it through pen, paper, and AI — many reconnecting with their creative instincts for the first time in years.

A highlight was the Polifuniculator, an interactive tool inspired by Gaudí’s gravity-based design system. Seeing it in action reminded us: what hangs in potential might still take shape.

This was a speculative act of architecture — not of concrete, but of connection. A reminder that original thinking begins at the origin.

🎯 Theme

Returning to the Source: Fusion by Design
In Tangier — where cultures, continents, and histories converge — we returned to design’s spiritual and natural roots. What if innovation didn’t begin with novelty, but with remembering?

🧭 What Participants Experienced

• A guided storytelling and sound journey at the Cinémathèque de Tanger
• A design workshop exploring Gaudí’s "origin method" through sketching
• Real-time AI-assisted visualizations of imagined structures
• A silent walk to the site of Gaudí’s unbuilt temple
• An augmented reality unveiling of the temple’s speculative form
• A collective reflection circle rooted in shared vision and memory

🧰 Participants Took Away

• 3 foundational exercises in origin-rooted design
• A personal sketch inspired by Gaudí’s philosophy
• A custom AI-generated visualization of their concept
• A renewed sense of creativity grounded in spirit, place, and possibility

🔁 Why It Matters

This was more than a one-off event. It was a glimpse into a new methodology — one that fuses ancient wisdom, embodied presence, and emerging technologies to imagine futures that remember their roots.

If you’re curious to co-create a version of this experience for your organization or community, get in touch.