Towards an Ecological Turn in Design

Designing a regenerative future requires designers to adopt radically new ways of thinking, approaches and methods ...

Designing a regenerative future requires designers to adopt radically new ways of thinking, approaches and methods that integrate the consideration of sustainable, ecological and social aspects and include both local and global communities, ecosystems and planetary boundaries. Transformative change must go hand in hand with questioning existing paradigms, such as the dualistic human-nature relationship or our anthropocentric material culture.

In the design conversation "Towards an Ecological Turn in Design", the renowned experts for sustainable and transformative design Usman Haque (Umbrellium), Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino (UK Design Council), Raphael Stermann (Haleon) and Chris Grantham (Regenovate) will present their perspectives and, together with Prof. Oliver Szasz, discuss questions such as:

What are the challenges for designers in the context of regenerative design principles?

How can systemic approaches such as "living-systems-centered thinking" or "life-centered design" be practically integrated into design processes?

Is it possible to involve non-human stakeholders in co-creation processes?

The design talk will be complemented by a sensory dimension in the form of the exhibition at Culturesphere Gallery "Awaré - Objects of Human-Nature Dialogue“, which presents the works of the artist duo Sylvia Eustache Rools and Jérôme Pereira, who explore aesthetic aspects of change, co-creation and natural processes of transformation.

Design Talk: "Towards an Ecological Turn in Design (PDF)