Design X Other Species Istituto Europeo Di Design (IED)

Overview

It is well recognised that human societies must protect the environment to safeguard themselves. Simultaneously, their active involvement is more vital than ever in consciously enabling the environment to flourish. This participation helps maintain ecosystem balance and enhances biodiversity and environmental sustainability, ensuring long-term development. In this context, it is essential to conceive and create in support of regenerative design by integrating ecological, technological, and social factors, along with their interrelations, as fundamental components of the process.

Key Facts

By introducing new perspectives on how we perceive the world, students are encouraged to identify shared paradigms, objectives, and values among the diverse species inhabiting and sharing the same environment. Through sustainable design, they contribute to transforming both urban and natural environments into opportunities for ecological innovation and interspecies coexistence. This approach aligns with the vision of DesignXCommons, which promotes sustainable design as the integration and regeneration of shared resources and the communities involved in these processes.

Through participatory design methodologies involving collaboration with experts from fields such as ecology, ethology, environmental humanities, and sociology, the programme fosters an innovative dialogue that considers other species not as subjects of study but as equal participants in design and research processes.

Students of Master’s Degree in Design X Other Species from   Istituto Europeo Di Design (IED)  learn to develop ethical design practices that account for complex ecological interactions, the rights of other living beings, and the consequences of their interventions on natural systems. This reflective design approach combines scientific, ethical, aesthetic, and design perspectives in a profoundly integrated manner.

Participants engage with real-world contexts, gaining the opportunity to design, prototype, and test projects, products, and devices that support multispecies coexistence. Examples include integrated living spaces for humans and non-humans, regenerative projects aimed at biodiversity enhancement, and products designed to aid the repopulation of endangered species while maintaining ecosystem balance.

Upon completion of the programme, participants will be prepared to work in research and development (R&D) centres for institutions and companies or pursue academic research opportunities, engaging at all scales of design. They may also embark on individual artistic careers aimed at cultivating a shared culture of planetary coexistence.

New professional roles will emerge, such as Ecosystem Service Designer and Ecosystem Product Designer—specialists capable of developing innovative solutions for urban biodiversity and natural ecosystems. These experts will contribute responsibly to the co-design of desirable and sustainable futures. Graduates will also have the opportunity to continue their studies through doctoral programmes at Italian and international universities.