Design does not operate in isolation. Every decision - material, spatial, aesthetic - is entangled in broader systems: ecological, political, cultural, and technological. As crises of climate, equity, and resource intensification demand deeper attention, designers must reconsider their roles as both stewards and disruptors. This year’s lecture series examines how design thinking and practice can intervene in complex systems and propose new modes of co-existence. Invited speakers will explore how design shapes, and is shaped by, the networks it inhabits, negotiating between bodies and space, narrative and data, and heritage and speculation. The series invites our audience to consider: What are the ecologies - human and nonhuman - that design participates in?

This session welcomes Johan Celsing (architect, Sweden) and is held in sponsorship with the BSA.

Join us the evening prior at Blount Auditorium for a screening of Sven Blume's film "Lewerentz Divine Darkness" about Sigurd Lewerentz is one of the most famous Swedish architects, followed by a conversation with the director. Learn more →