Gonzalo Raineri Bernain
The Symbiotic Design Framework (SDF) offers a rigorous pedagogical transition from extractive, anthropocentric design towards autopoietic social systems. Grounded in the theoretical lineage of Maturana, Varela, and Luhmann, and validated at the World Design Congress (2025), the SDF addresses “wicked problems” by redefining design as a self-producing organism rather than a producer of inert objects.
Central to the framework is the rejection of the “One-World World” paradigm. Drawing on Arturo Escobar’s concept of the Pluriverse, the framework integrates epistemic justice and diverse knowledge systems to dismantle the coloniality often embedded in design standards. It includes a systemic audit of seven interdependent components—Humans, Commissions, Observations, Procedures, Partners, Technology, and Outcomes—to identify and transform relational pathologies. By mapping interactions through six symbiotic typologies (Mutualism, Commensalism, Neutralism, Amensalism, Competition, and Parasitism), practitioners develop a Systemic Diagnostic Report. This outcome empowers designers to shift from extractive practices towards mutualistic configurations, ensuring that design interventions contribute to a world where many worlds fit and foster collective flourishing (Eudaimonia).
Keywords: systemic design, symbiotic design framework, autopoiesis, relational diagnosis, wicked problems, regenerative design
The Symbiotic Design Framework challenges practitioners to move beyond designing mere objects or optimising flawed systems. The framework aligns with a shift towards stewarding living relationships over time, consciously engaging with design as an inherently political act, and actively countering the extractive logics of the Capitalocene. Intended for design theorists, doctoral researchers, educators, and practitioners grappling with wicked problems and seeking transformative, ethically grounded approaches.
Adapted from symbioticdesignacademy.com/the-book