From ambiguity to articulated impact: Perspectives on Design for Resilience
The world we live in is continuously changing, and we are required to adapt, pivot individually and collectively in response. In the face of significant global challenges, the bushfires in Australia and the COIVD-19 pandemic, resilience has become a familiar term. But what does it mean to be resilient? And what is resilience in the context of design?
As a concept, resilience has been adopted across scholarly literature, policy and practice in many disciplines. However, in the design research literature, the term resilience has been applied in different and often contradictory ways. There appears to be a lack of shared understanding, particularly in resilience is defined. This ambiguity in terminology and the subsequent articulation of meaning can be challenging, hindering progress and potential impact, and creating repetition within the discipline. As the design discipline continues to evolve, contributing to broader sociocultural and ecological challenges, there is a need to explore the notion of resilience further.
As part of this year’s Design Research Society Conference, DRS2020, we will be hosting a virtual workshop that aims to explore and articulate perspectives on design for resilience. Delivered as a collaboration between The University of Sydney and Queensland University of Technology, we hope to challenge both the design and non-design community to critically reflect on their understanding and practice of design for resilience, generating new shared knowledge framed around key questions:
· What is resilience in the context of participatory co-design?
· What does it mean to be resilient?
· What is design for resilience?
By mapping stories, experiences and perspectives, this workshop aims to develop a stronger sense of resilience across the field and support designers, researchers and practitioners to consider more deeply the articulation and application of design resilience.
We hope that this co-created knowledge can contribute to an emerging research agenda, encouraging participants towards future collaboration. Ultimately, we hope to strengthen a broader discussion on design for resilience, supporting the development of a community of practice who are interested in exploring the workshop themes further.
Workshop conveners:
Dr Leigh-Anne Hepburn is a senior lecturer in design innovation, with a focus on design-enabled collaboration to inform and influence meaningful change. Her research focuses on participatory and socially-driven innovation to co-design new models of resilience and transdisciplinary collaboration.
Liz Brogden is a lecturer in transdisciplinary design and architecture at the Queensland University of Technology. Her research focuses on innovative pedagogy and curriculum design to support the integration of sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and disaster resilience within design education.
The workshop will take place on Tuesday 11th August 2020 at 12.30pm.
If you would like to know more, please get in touch:
