Cities have never belonged only to humans, non-humans have always been city dwellers, too. However, the ongoing urbanization and significant usage of natural resources have led to a major impact on climate change and species decay. In the world of the Anthropocene, it becomes essential to engage in a critical re-evaluation of our position as architects, wherein we contemplate the manner in which we design environments to be inherently accessible for all – humans and non-human actors. The increasing belief among city dwellers that humans and non-human entities share a mutually interconnected moral, physical, and spiritual realm indicates a novel aspect in our relationship with non-human beings and life in general.

To engage other-than-humans in the city life, it requires not only spatial change, but a major shift in the way of thinking of to whom the space belongs to. It is a complex task that involve different individuals together by engaging in a dialog and interactive actions. Richard Sennett highlight the challenge that togetherness faces today, when modern politics emphasizes unity and similarity, which often leads to a preference for simple and easily identifiable groups, rather than embracing diversity and complexity.

The Common Ground calls for a space in the city, where humans can reconnect with nature, where embracing diversity is be possible. How to shift the purpose of architecture from being a border for humans and non-human actors to connect them together, while preserving a rich biodiversity existing on the site? The research explores what we all have in common, how we can share the ground, how to create a city of Empathy.

In an abandoned field in Brussels, where different species of plants and animals took over, wasteland ‘Friche Josaphat’ stirs the imagination and opens up many possibilities for the future of this land. This vacant lot is like a ‘hetero-topia’, a place that is extra-ordinary, outside the everyday, an ‘other space’ where things become possible.

Architectural drawing was always a main tool for us – Architects. Transferring thoughts to paper is something that allows us to communicate our ideas and make them more tangible. But the drawing itself has another unique feature – it is always very personal. We all have an extraordinary imagination that allows us to become special creators and designers. However, in the age of new technologies, some people fear being replaced by Artificial Intelligence. Certainly, with its technology, AI can create amazing images and be a powerful tool for architects. How does AI work? Can we say that Artificial Intelligence will win over Human Intelligence? This thesis is conducted in order to explore how the human creative process works, whether AI will actually win out over our imagination, and how, in the end, we can use AI as a tool during design. In this thesis, two sets of free-hand drawings will be produced to analyze its process and the way of thinking. The differences between hand drawings and computer-generated drawings will be analyzed, which will help identify how human imagination differs from what AI presently does. For this purpose, this research will be based on the prompts from the thesis ”Monuments in the AI Age Evaluation of AIGenerated Images in Architecture”, where students were investigating how AI sees different common keywords related to monuments. With a strong belief that hand drawing will be always an irreplaceable tool, reaching for new ones does not have to dominate traditional drawing, but can enrich it.