Politecnico di Torino hosts RSD15

Politecnico di Torino and Sys_Lab are the annual hosts of RSD15, the fifteenth Relating Systems Thinking and Design symposium convened by the Systemic Design Association. As RSD15 hosts, they have lead this year’s focus on plurality, coordinate the international Scientific Committee, coordinate peer review and Paper Talks, and convene the four-day onsite gathering in Turin, October 13–16.

RSD15 unfolds from August to October through a distributed programme of online events, Paper Talks, regional hubs, partner programmes, and onsite gatherings. Together, these create multiple settings for participation in this year’s exploration of Shades of Systemic Design—Designing within a plural world.

Systemic design integrates systems thinking with design practice to address complex societal and ecological challenges. It draws from a wide range of methodological traditions, each rooted in distinct epistemologies, values, and contexts. As the field matures and expands globally, designers and researchers increasingly work with overlapping aims but different vocabularies, frameworks, and ways of knowing, raising vital questions about coherence, legitimacy, and inclusivity. This diversity is a source of richness, but also practical and methodological tension. The absence of consensus can create uncertainty about what constitutes rigorous or legitimate practice, particularly in high-stakes contexts like sustainability transitions, where approaches must be both inclusive and actionable.

RSD15 asks what it means to engage with the plurality of systemic design.

Pluralism invites us to embrace methodological diversity not as fragmentation but as a condition for collective learning and creative adaptation. It foregrounds questions of epistemic justice, intercultural dialogue, and the ethics of collaboration across disciplinary, institutional, and geographical boundaries. This theme originates from reflections developed collaboratively among researchers from several European design schools, who have been exploring the plural and evolving nature of systemic design practices.

Building on these conversations, RSD15 extends the inquiry internationally, bringing diverse voices and perspectives into dialogue. Contributors explore how systemic design is practised, named, and made meaningful across different regions, cultures, and disciplines, and how plural perspectives strengthen its theoretical foundations and practical relevance.

RSD15 is a space for dialogue and reflection on:

Geographies and ecologies: Explores how places and ecosystems intertwine, and how systemic design can foster resilient relations among human and non-human contexts.

Pedagogies and methods: Investigates approaches to learning and practice, highlighting methods that enable systemic thinking and collective transformation.

Visions and ontologies: Engages with worldviews and systems of meaning, exploring how diverse ontologies and imaginaries can shape systemic design and open pathways toward alternative futures.

Practices and tools: Explores concrete applications and tools that translate systemic design principles into practice, enabling collaboration and innovation across contexts.

Conference Chair (Politecnico di Torino)

Silvia Barbero
Amina Pereno
Asja Aulisio

Scientific Committee

Peter Hayward Jones (Tecnológico de Monterrey, OCAD University)
Alexis Jacoby (University of Antwerp, Belgium)
Sine Celik (TU Delft, Netherlands)
Hannah Goss (TU Delft, Netherlands)
Jotte de Koning (TU Delft, Netherlands)
Wen Lu (Tongji University, China)
Praveen Nahar (NID, India)
Jonathan Romm (AHO, Norway)
Mari Suoheimo (AHO, Norway)
Francesca Valsecchi (Tongji University, China)
Rosana Aparecida Vasques (ESPM, Brazil)

Systemic Design Association

Peter Hayward Jones (Interim Chair)
Cheryl May (Co-Secretary)
Ryan Murphy (Co-Secretary)