Experiencing FabLab without Boundaries: an Online Tool for Makers Community

FabLabs are open and inclusive co-creation areas, by sharing not just tools and materials, but also knowledge, experiences and ideas. FabLab is not just a physical place, but also a meeting hub for makers, fabbers and any kind of participants to co-learn, collaborate and co-create. This mentality of FabLab has contributed to create the open and community-based maker culture of today. However, with the rise of virtual collaborative experiences and the appendage of Covid-19 Pandemic lockdowns and restrictions, the experience of FabLab has changed. This research aims to define the ways of recreating FabLabs’ sharing and co-creation ecosystem in response to the dynamics of the online network era. Through the guidance of related concepts such as; open design, participatory design, culture of inclusion, human-computer interaction, etc. and the priorities of 3Cos as the fundamental aspects of FabLab, seven necessary principles for FabLab have been defined. These are phronesis, commons, distribution, entropy, emancipation, hedonia and reciprocity. By putting these seven principles at the centre, some common online platforms have been evaluated through Harris Profile method, so that the principles are explained in more depth and some statements and requirements have been reached for creating the suited online tool for FabLabs’ community.