SHADES OF SYSTEMIC DESIGN
VALENTINO CASTLE & LIVESTREAM
HOSTED BY POLITECNICO DI TORINO & SYS_LAB
Designing within a plural world
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-Turin brings together systemic designers to expand the global dialogue, engaging diverse voices and perspectives to deepen understanding of pluralism in systemic design.
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.
HOSTED BY POLITECNICO DI TORINO & SYS_LAB
Diversity and coherence in systemic design
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.
