Haley Fitzpatrick, Tobias Luthe, and Birger Sevaldson
In this session, we propose a series of methodological questions for an interactive discussion to deepen this topic further in the systemic design community as well as adjacent fields, such as sustainability science and transitions research.
Despite growing awareness of the interconnectedness of today’s social-ecological crises, research approaches across disciplines often fall short of effectively understanding and engaging in such complexity. Scholars in systemic design and beyond advocate for methodological pluralism, or the practice of integrating diverse ways of knowing, doing, and being, for more effective engagement in complex sustainability challenges and transformative change.
The discussion aims to deep dive into specific themes and further reflections on methodological pluralism. Our recent article published in Contexts—The Systemic Design Journal, Methodological Pluralism in Practice: A systemic design approach for place-based sustainability transformations, illustrates how a research-through-design, systems-oriented design approach was used to explore methodological pluralism by engaging with three mountain communities: Ostana, Italy; Hemsedal, Norway; and Mammoth Lakes, California.
Reflexivity was a central aspect of navigating these emergent and complex processes of adapting methods to diverse places and disciplinary contexts. While we identify different actions to cultivate reflexivity in the article, we see the potential to dive deeper into the specifics behind complex methodological decision-making in place-based research. We also see the potential for linking action, reflexivity, and emerging trends in psychology, such as inner resilience and embodied cognition, with systemic design methodologies to spur deep transformation.
We would like to acknowledge the original peoples who have cared for each of the mountain communities since time immemorial: the Sámi of the Fennoscandian area (in which Hemsedal, Norway is a part of), the Kutzadika’a People and Paiute of the Payahuunadü or, “land of the flowing water” (in which Mammoth Lakes, California is a part of) and the Occitani della Valle Po (in which Ostana, Italy is part of). We deeply respect and thank all the human and non-human actors who have been directly or indirectly involved in this research project.
Facilitators
Tobias Luthe is an academic transdisciplinary hybrid. He is specifically interested in the boundaries between systems. As in nature, biodiversity is highest where systems meet and overlay; complex challenges require timely and evolving “neuronal” approaches, and boundaries can be porous integration zones. He was originally trained as a forest scientist, with majors in environmental economics, wood technology and passive house design, and in education on sustainability, with a PhD in social-ecological resilience of mountain systems to climate change. He is a professor of sustainability science and regenerative design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Norway, and ETH Zurich, where he heads the Systemic Design Labs group and is the Program Director of a new professional Master’s degree, “Designing Resilient Regenerative Systems.” He is an entrepreneur, co-founding the MonViso Institute, and he co-founded Grown, a design-as-nature lab and experience collective, winning industry awards for bio composites. He is a practising designer with twenty years of experience, such as inventing the first hemp bio-composite skis and designing and building the passive net-positive “regenerator” house Il Doppio. Tobias is a mountaineering guide and photographer.
Raised on a rural farm in Ohio (USA), Haley Fitzpatrick’s respect and curiosity for the natural world has been lifelong. An architect by training and designer at heart, she is intrigued by the intersections of regenerative cultures, landscapes, and systems-thinking to nurture our relationships with nature. Currently, she is exploring these threads as a PhD candidate at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), using the practice of systems oriented design to investigate the regenerative potentials of mountain communities through better understanding of the complex socio-ecological systems that shape alpine landscapes. Haley is a design associate at MonViso Institute (Ostana, Italy) and further channels this energy by actively engaging in research and education, especially in mobilizing the co-production of alpine knowledge across diverse communities, from the Regenerative Design Talks to the regional network of local change-makers Here and Now. Outside the “office,” you can find Haley enjoying the mountains’ peaceful solace and playful energy through outdoor sport, thinking-by-drawing, and learning about the great variety of species that also thrive in alpine homes. From monviso-institute.org/about/people-team/
Birger Sevaldson [dipl NCAD PhD] is a professor at the Institute of Design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO), Institute of Design. He is a design researcher and educator with a background in a broad field of design and architecture. As a design researcher, he focuses on design processes for uncertainty and complexity. He has defined systems oriented design as a designerly way of systems thinking and systems practice. He was the founder of the RSD symposia and a co-founder of the Systemic Design Association.