“It’s too hot.” It’s a sentence you hear a lot in Bergamo in the summer of 2026. While exploring the topic of (over)tourism in the city, the team quickly came across another growing challenge: the urban heat island effect. Urban areas tend to become significantly warmer than their surroundings because buildings and roads absorb and retain heat, while traffic, air conditioning and other human activity generate additional warmth. The more densely populated a city becomes, the more difficult it is for that heat to escape.
To explore how a city might be cooled more effectively, the team looked to nature for inspiration: at how bees collectively cool their hives with water, and how desert beetles use the texture of their bodies to collect and retain moisture from the air.
The project Diversity Knitting proposes a playful, community-based approach. Inspired by spider webs and their ability to collect and hold dew, the team developed a series of knitting patterns that Bergamo residents and visitors can create together. At the heart of the concept is a special yarn inspired by spider silk. Its structure is designed to collect condensation from the air — particularly promising in Bergamo, where humidity is high throughout much of the year.
The yarn is also embedded with seeds that can germinate in the constant moisture. The long-term vision is to create a network of knitted structures across the windows of Città Alta and Città Bassa, collecting and gradually releasing water throughout the day. As the water evaporates, it helps cool the surrounding air, while the growing plants provide additional shade, natural cooling and habitats for insects.
By knitting the city together, Diversity Knitting turns climate adaptation into a visible, collective and creative act — bringing people together while imagining a cooler, greener Bergamo.
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