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This paper introduces the use of design to improve noticing skills in order to address environmental issues at a variety of physical and temporal scales. We illustrate the application of ‘design for noticing’ through Biodiversity Logbooks – a pilot project intended to reduce ‘plant blindness’ amongst primary school children. Plant blindness is the inability to recognise, appreciate and value plants and it has far reaching social, environmental and economic implications. In this project, we designed pedagogical tools and processes to foster the skills of noticing plants in their environments, and connecting the small-scale of their individual features to large-scale systems. Biodiversity Logbooks was designed in collaboration with primary school staff. We present initial lessons learnt from our work to support the delivery of specialist content and to create activities that can be embedded in the curriculum for the long term.

This paper introduces the use of design to improve noticing skills in order to address environmental issues at a variety of physical and temporal scales. We illustrate the application of ‘design for noticing’ through Biodiversity Logbooks – a pilot project intended to reduce ‘plant blindness’ amongst primary school children. Plant blindness is the inability to recognise, appreciate and value plants and it has far reaching social, environmental and economic implications. In this project, we designed pedagogical tools and processes to foster the skills of noticing plants in their environments, and connecting the small-scale of their individual features to large-scale systems. Biodiversity Logbooks was designed in collaboration with primary school staff. We present initial lessons learnt from our work to support the delivery of specialist content and to create activities that can be embedded in the curriculum for the long term.

Design for sustainability aims to improve conditions within social, ecological, and technical domains by reconsidering how these domains relate to each other. However, the disciplinary conventions of design lack a practical framework for studying entangled relations between humans and nonhuman entities. For addressing this gap, the thesis explores the concept of relationality that emphasizes the interconnected wellbeing of human and nonhuman entities through kombucha fermentation practices. Due to touted health benefits of fermented kombucha tea, the practice of brewing kombucha has been shared among people and becoming more popular in recent decades. Within the thesis framework, the symbiotic relations among microbial and human bodies during kombucha fermentation served as a stage for recognizing the interconnectedness of human and non-human wellbeing. Interviews with kombucha brewers, a remote collective fermentation workshop, and a design probing activity provided insights into the relations between humans and microbes in the fermentation practices. The concept of relationality and the acquired insights about kombucha fermentation practices informed alternative ways of relating to nonhuman beings. Recognizing relationality opened a reflexive space for reconsidering everyday activities and understanding the 'interconnectedness between humans and others.' The sensory experience and embodied knowledge informed the emergence of relational ethics within human-microbe relations in kombucha fermentation practices. The learnings on human-nonhuman relationality aimed to enrich the discussions in design for sustainability by providing concepts and intuitive tools for exploring social-ecological entanglements.

Emerging organizational forms of Public Sector Innovation (PSI) labs utilizing design-led approaches have spread globally in the past decade. PSI labs are set up with the aims of responding to rapid changes in societies by applying these approaches to the design of public policy and services. Public sector innovation is a relatively recent area of practice and research, and empirical research with cases of PSI labs focusing on the beginning stages of the innovation cycle is currently growing. However, there are a limited number of case studies of national-level labs, particularly in the Aotearoa New Zealand context. This thesis presents a qualitative case study on the phenomena of public sector innovation labs situated within the area of public sector innovation research. The case explores the Service Innovation Lab, which operated as a cross-sectoral government initiative between February 2017 and June 2020 in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand as part of wider public sector efforts for integrated citizen-centric digital services. One of the goals of the thesis is to gain a better understanding of the current state of design-led PSI labs as a phenomenon through a literature review, supplemented by expert interviews and site visits to labs. The main research component of the thesis explores the challenges with the case Lab and its design-led innovation approach to public services through the perceptions and responses of those closely involved in the case through nine semi-structured interviews. The interview data were analyzed along with supporting internal organizational documentation through reflexive thematic analysis. The main systemic challenges to innovation in the public sector context were identified as structures of accountability alongside organizational culture and personnel mindsets all reinforcing each other. A challenge unfolding uniquely to the case was changing Lab identity, including aspects of te ao Māori [the Māori worldview]. Two broader categories

Materialist Activist Communities (MACs) concern themselves with material flows in a politically engaged form of maker culture. They speculate, design and make collectively, with a marked environmental orientation, often developing impossible forms of bio-hacking and bio-art. The futures animating them grow out of technoscientific and mundane presents, but as they make knowledge on the sidelines, materializing the existing and the improbable, such groups render the Anthropocene and more-than-human futures tangible. While “maker culture” has been prone to techno-utopian hype, MACs embrace dirt, mess and bodies nurturing a “dirt way” of learning, a principled way of being in situated and partial confusion. We imagine alongside them, also in the dirt way, through ethnography, an explicitly messy way of working out what is important and why.

China has experienced rapid economic growth over the past four decades at a significant environmental and social cost. Sustainability at the national level has been progressed by the government with the intention of balancing the development of economy, environment and society. Meanwhile, the improvement in life quality at an individual level has also triggered the emergence of sustainability as a notion in the popular imagination. Understanding the public attitudes towards sustainability is conducive to promoting the thinking and practice of sustainability among citizens. However, how sustainability is understood by Chinese citizens remains uncertain. This thesis explores how citizens comprehend sustainability in the Chinese context, characterizing the status quo of sustainability understanding, and investigating its formation. For exploring the status quo of sustainability understanding, an online survey was conducted using a snowball sampling method based on the personal social network of author. Data from 272 respondents (mainly university students and graduates, distributed throughout China) are analyzed. It helps to address the lack of research into the popular understanding of sustainability in China. Based on its findings, it is argued that the understanding of sustainability in a Chinese context tends to take on the characteristic of being driven at the macro-level and environmentally centered. In term of giving an explanation of the formation of the status quo, this thesis argues that Chinese distinctive sociopolitical factors can be considered as the primary driver of impacting sustainability understanding among citizens, based on the research on sustainability progress and governance logics in China. The research finds that, in Chinese circumstances, citizens tend to comply with and follow the governance due to continuous socioeconomic development led by the authority, aligning individual development with orientations of governments, meanwhile underratin

Design is becoming increasingly important in the public sector and governmental organisations. In the past few years our welfare states have come to a turning point; left with fewer and poorer tax payers, states are expected to be more effective with less resources. In an attempt to ease the challenged welfare states, the public sector is urging the creative sector to develop solutions. In this thesis, I explore design possibilities in the public sector. In particular, the possibilities and challenges that exist to influence the public sector within the context of local employment services in the municipality of Sipoo, Finland. This thesis consists of a background study on service design and employment services as well as a case study with the municipality of Sipoo and its employment services. Through my background research, I describe service design and the multiple possibilities it can pose in the public sector. In addition, I explain the current employment services at a national and municipal level and present the relationship between the unemployed jobseekers, the officials and the administration as a whole. Through the case study, I examine what challenges the unemployed jobseekers face as well as what needs and dreams they have concerning employment services. During the case study, I organized interviews and workshops with unemployed jobseekers as well as municipal and national service providers. Through my research I found specific challenges and issues that should be taken into better consideration before designing and developing the employment services further in order to achieve holistically more sustainable employment services. According to my research, the terminology, to how unemployed jobseekers are referred, should be considered more closely. There is more room for transparency in the services offered to the unemployed jobseekers who feel that the services are inaccessible. In addition, services should be more supportive and tied to a local context. F, Muotoilusta on tulossa yhä tärkeämpää julkisen sektorin ja julkishallinnon organisaatioissa. Viime vuosina hyvinvointivaltiomme ovat kohdanneet kääntöpisteen; veronmaksajien määrä on supistunut ja köyhtynyt, samalla valtioilta odotetaan enemmän tehokkuutta vähemmillä varoilla. Hyvinvointivaltioden haasteita helpottaakseen julkinen sektori toivoo luovia ratkaisuja. Tässä progradussa tutkin muotoilun mahdollisuuksia julkisella sektorilla. Keskityn muotoilun asettamiin mahdollisuuksiin ja haasteisiin erityisesti Sipoon kunnan työllisyyspalveluissa. Tämä tutkielma koostuu palvelumuotoilun ja työllisyyspalveluiden taustatutkimuksesta sekä yhdessä Sipoon kunnan kanssa tehdystä tapaustutkimuksesta. Taustatutkimukseni kautta kuvailen palvelumuotoilua sekä sen moninaisia mahdollisuuksia, joita se avaa julkiselle sektorille. Lisäksi esittelen tämänhetkiset valtakunnalliset ja kunnalliset työllisyyspalvelut ja kuvaan työttömien työnhakijoiden sekä palveluiden tarjoajien suhdetta. Tapaustutkimukseni kautta tarkastelen työttömien työnhakijoiden kohtaamia haasteita, tarpeita ja unelmia työllisyyspalveluita koskien. Tapaustutkimukseni aikana järjestin haastatteluja sekä työpajoja niin työttömien työnhakijoiden kuin kunnallisten ja valtakunnallisten palveluiden tarjoajien kanssa. Tutkimukseni kautta löysin tiettyjä kohtia, joihin olisi hyvä kiinnittää huomiota ennen työllisyyspalveluiden edelleen suunnittelua ja kehittämistä, jotta palveluista saataisiin kokonaisvaltaisesti kestävä. Tutkimukseni mukaan olisi tärkeä kiinnittää huomiota tapaan, jolla työttömiin työnhakijoihin viitataan. Jotta palveluista, joita työttömille työnhakijoille tarjotaan saataisiin paremmin saavutettavia, on palveluiden läpinäkyvyyttä tehostettava. Lisäksi, palveluiden pitäisi tarjota enemmän tukea ja olla sidottu paikalliselle tasolle. Lopuksi ehdotan Sipoon kunnalle seuraavia askeleita, joita se voisi ottaa kuullakseen paremmin työttömien työnhakijoiden äänen. Tärkeimpänä ehdotuksena on työttömien työnhak

This thesis explores alternatives to economic growth in the forest-dependent region of Kainuu, Finland through the lens of speculative design futures. Resource extraction through forestry and forest ownership have been crucial to Kainuu’s development, but the region is undergoing shifts and challenges in being economically productive amidst uncertainty in commodity markets, climate change, biodiversity loss, an aging population and urbanization. The conversations around these challenges tend to prioritize economic justifications for increasing resource extraction in forests design socio-ecological impacts. Furthermore, polarization of forest discourses has made it difficult to move towards action due to conflicting perspectives, politics and value systems related to forests and their usage. The thesis unpacks how the prioritization of economic growth creates unsustainable and disconnected material cultures as sites of resource extraction, flow/trade, and consumption are so globalized. This raises questions about what sort of livelihoods, forest-human connections and possibilities for reconnections between rural/urban material cultures are possible and desirable. As a designer, I wanted to explore how speculative approaches might expand possibilities and increase openness to multiple alternative values and place-based approaches. I propose that exploring alternative models of living and working can open up more possibilities for forest ecosystems and the communities that depend on them to thrive and adapt to a rapidly shifting world. In considering how such transitions will have to confront and likely co-exist with hegemonic systems of capitalism and economic growth imperatives, my goal was to enable multiple ways of knowing, being in, with and for forests. To achieve this, speculative scenarios were developed through a process of expert interviews, analysis and development. This resulted in the creation of three scenarios of speculative futures detailing possible fo

Human actions in the past centuries, along with global population growth and urbanization, have caused drastic changes in social-ecological systems, resulting in extensive sustainability challenges. Cities, as major living environments for people, can act as vehicles and platforms for positive change, while nature could provide knowledge and inspiration for design strategies and applications. This thesis presents the framework of regenerative design as the basis for future urban development in which sustainability could be re-imagined to a net-positive symbiosis between humans and nature. Being an emergent phenomenon, the thesis focuses on creating a clearer understanding of the concepts of regenerative design and development through a literature review. It also tries to interlink the ideas of regenerative design into urban ecological planning and design by locating elements, strategies, and approaches that could support and enhance regenerative urban development. On the practical level, the thesis examines if implications of regenerative design exist in the scene of urban planning and design in Helsinki through a case study with document analysis and qualitative thematic interviews focused on the development of Kruunuvuorenranta district. Although several regenerative approaches were recognized and supported, the study showed that the commitment to choose sustainability over other goals needs enhancing at different levels. While the actors involved in planning, designing, and constructing the City of Helsinki were keen to enforce sustainability efforts, there is a lack of common goal and applicable actions. Also, the organizations and processes of the development projects are not tuned for reaching sustainability and a holistic approach is needed. Overall, a mindset change required for regenerative development seems to be the greatest obstacle. The thesis contributes to the prevailing discussion of sustainable urban development, trying to recognize how it could be, Ihmisen toiminta viime vuosisatojen aikana, maailmanlaajuisen väestönkasvun ja kaupungistumisen lisäksi, on johtanut rajuihin muutoksiin sosioekologisissa järjestelmissä, aiheuttaen laajoja kestävyyshaasteita. Kaupungit kasvavina elinympäristöinä voivat toimia positiivisen muutoksen välineinä ja alustoina, kun taas luonto voi tarjota tietoa ja inspiraatiota suunnittelustrategioille ja -ratkaisuille. Tämä opinnäytetyö esittelee uudistavan suunnittelun perustaksi tulevaisuuden kaupunkikehitykselle, jossa kestävyydellä tarkoitetaan nettopositiivista symbioosia ihmisten ja luonnon välillä. Koska kyseessä on nouseva ilmiö, opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on luoda selkeämpi käsitys uudistavan suunnittelun ja kehityksen käsitteistä kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla. Sen lisäksi työ yrittää yhdistää uudistavan suunnittelun ajatukset ekologiseen kaupunkisuunnitteluun paikallistaen elementtejä, strategioita ja käytäntöjä, jotka voisivat tukea ja parantaa uudistavaa kaupunkikehitystä. Käytännön tasolla työssä tarkastellaan, löytyykö nykyisestä Helsingin kaupunkisuunnittelusta merkkejä uudistavasta suunnittelusta. Menetelmänä on käytetty tapaustutkimusta, jossa uutta Kruunuvuorenrannan aluetta tarkastellaan asiakirja-analyysin ja laadullisten teemahaastattelujen avulla. Vaikka Helsingin nykyisessä kaupunkisuunnittelussa hyödynnetään useita yksittäisiä uudistavan suunnittelun käytäntöjä, tutkimus osoitti, että sitoutuminen kestävyyteen kokonaisuutena tarvitsee vahvistusta useilla eri tasoilla. Vaikka kaavoituksen, suunnittelun ja rakentamisen parissa vaikuttavat toimijat olivat halukkaita tukemaan kestävää kehitystä toiminnassaan, yhteinen yhteiskunnallinen tavoite ja soveltuvat ratkaisut puuttuvat. Lisäksi kehityshankkeiden organisaatiot ja prosessit eivät ole viritetty kestävän kehityksen tavoitteluun, ja kokonaisvaltainen näkökulma puuttuu. Kaiken kaikkiaan, uudistavan kehityksen suurimpana haasteena näyttää olevan ajattelutavan muutos. Opinnäytetyö osallistuu vallitsevaan kestävän k

The societal role of universities and scientific research is being challenged by a new paradigm of knowledge production. Established structures and procedures are being pressured to reconfigure, facing the need to account for increasingly contextual, heterogeneous, transdisciplinary, and socially robust knowledge (Gibbons et al., 1994; Nowotny et al., 2001, 2003). Demand for reflexive and integrated research approaches has become more relevant in the face of global sustainability issues. Consequently, in many academic contexts, interest in multi-disciplinary collaborations is increasing. Among them, the collaboration between design and other disciplines is emerging. However, although a large body of research has investigated the role of design in business (e.g. Muratovski, 2015) and more recently in government and policy making (e.g. Malmberg, 2017), very little is still known about the potential role of design in scientific academic environments. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide an empirical account of design’s contribution to research processes in the current framework of scientific practice. Since its foundation, Aalto University has had the goal to foster a multi-disciplinary community with the mission of “shaping the future” to build a sustainable society (Aalto University, 2015). According to the University Strategy 2016-2020, the goal has been to solve complex societal challenges by combining knowledge from different disciplines, “science and art together with technology and business”. Thus, Aalto University can be seen as a relevant context to observe emerging collaborations between disciplines. Most recently, various initiatives saw designers collaborating with scientists in the process of scientific knowledge production. Through a case study of such initiatives, this research explores practices of collaboration between designers and scientists. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews with a group of 16 participants, composed of des

Children today are born into a complex and contradictory world of entwined social and ecological problems with increasing levels of uncertainty. As the number of plant and animal species plummets in what scientists describe as the sixth mass extinction, the flow of people to urban areas continues to rise. Simultaneously, the decline of children’s routine experience of nature is widely reported with direct impacts on health, wellbeing and the development of positive environmental attitudes. In the nexus of these interrelated problems lies an opportunity for urban design which promotes both ecosystem and human flourishing. The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine how the design of pedagogical green spaces, namely school yards and urban parks can enhance children’s connection to nature. For the main research component, I conducted a five-week observational study of outdoor schools in Stockholm. The purpose of the study was to record the relation between the qualities of various significant nature situations and the physical properties of the spaces that they occurred within. The results suggest that it is possible to determine which physical elements are frequently part of significant nature situations. By including these elements within the design of pedagogical greenspaces, it is likely that a high potential for nature connection could be provided. Furthermore, the results show the qualities of significant nature situations can be divided into 5 key categories: restorative experiences, creative experiences, sensory experiences, physical free play and nature school which were recorded alongside the physical properties present in each situation. The results show that the first four categories are linked to specific physical attributes while nature school activities utilised a combination of different properties. Consequently, there is a potential to design greenspaces which support specific types of nature situations. The results can be utilised by urban pla

Design facilitation is among one of the most acclaimed approaches applied in contemporary collaborative projects. Intended as both the overarching process and the mediating act between a facilitator, typically a designer, and actors such as citizens, it has increasingly gained popularity due to the participatory, inclusive, co-creative, and empathic principles associated with it. The sudden recognition of the field of Participatory Design (PD) has nonetheless led to the use and (mis-)(over-)use of practice, causing an exponential loss of its political origin (Seravalli, 2014) if compared for example to the Scandinavian participatory movements in the ‘70s driven by political disputes regarding workplace democracy (Simonsen & Robertson, 2012). Design facilitation, among other areas of practice, has become a buzzword, rendering inevitable the adoption and adaptation of different definitions to it. This aspect, despite highlighting facilitation’s versatility, leaves room for deliberate and convenient interpretations of its meaning, use, and ethical limitations. The research focuses on acknowledging and rendering visible the otherwise often unaddressed political nature of design facilitation by making more explicit its underpinning structures and components. It focuses on critically contrasting contemporary views of design facilitation, which are typically apolitical, against revised notions that take into consideration its complex power dynamics and political implications. Delving into the interconnectedness between design, power, politics and participatory practices becomes an opportunity to explore contemporary mainstream notions within design that are worth being revisited and challenged from an alternative stance. The thesis is entirely theoretical and draws on principles of transdisciplinary research. Three lenses - critique, unpacking, and language use - are established and applied to an extensive analysis of literature belonging to design, philosophy, social stud

There are many challenges facing the use of sustainability rating systems for the built environment, both interior and exterior. Implementing such ratings can also be immensely rigid and quite expensive. The rigidity and cost disables their use by firms whose project scheme varies, and their implementation becomes limited by tight project budgets. With varying project types, client visions and firm goals, the task of choosing and applying a rating system, is an arduous stride. In this thesis, I study the aforementioned rating systems, and develop a new rating process for a Finnish interior design agency, Suunnittelutoimisto Amerikka. For the sake of keeping to timely project delivery and general ease of applicability, it is crucial for the design professionals at Suunnittelutoimisto Amerikka to have a reliable source from which new guiding criteria can be obtained unanimously. Because of the profound need for familiarizing design professionals with the terrain of sustainable design, there is doubtlessly a missing link between the tools which facilitate the practice of sustainability and the designer. As a result, this paper outlines a roadmap (production component) for the design professionals at Suunnittelutoimisto Amerikka situated in Helsinki, Finland. It will serve as a guiding force toward their sustainable business development which will prove to methodically enable employees and clients to more effectively communicate and achieve their goals within a sustainable agenda. With practice and development, Amerikka’s implementation of the roadmap will serve to eco-effectively plan, design and deliver projects.

Eco-oriented makers and grassroots subcultures experimenting with digital fabrication technologies, and other activists designing sustainable futures, are increasingly the subject of research. As they address problems of environmental sustainability beyond institutional contexts, their work may appear vague, even confused, yet their activities are underpinned by intense and principled commitment. Working through their confusion, many maker communities build new understandings about what ‘sustainability’ could mean. We argue that herein lie important resources for new knowledge, and further that ethnography is the ideal way to track these processes of learning and knowledge production. The ethnographer participates in local confusion, over values and the definitions of sustainability, but also about what constitutes useful knowledge. Supported by STS (and other) literature on environmental expertise, we argue that maker communities' own acknowledgement of this vagueness actually makes possible a position from which epistemological authority can be reasserted.

Eco-oriented makers and grassroots subcultures experimenting with digital fabrication technologies, and other activists designing sustainable futures, are increasingly the subject of research. As they address problems of environmental sustainability beyond institutional contexts, their work may appear vague, even confused, yet their activities are underpinned by intense and principled commitment. Working through their confusion, many maker communities build new understandings about what ‘sustainability’ could mean. We argue that herein lie important resources for new knowledge, and further that ethnography is the ideal way to track these processes of learning and knowledge production. The ethnographer participates in local confusion, over values and the definitions of sustainability, but also about what constitutes useful knowledge. Supported by STS (and other) literature on environmental expertise, we argue that maker communities' own acknowledgement of this vagueness actually makes possible a position from which epistemological authority can be reasserted.

Eco-oriented makers and grassroots subcultures experimenting with digital fabrication technologies, and other activists designing sustainable futures, are increasingly the subject of research. As they address problems of environmental sustainability beyond institutional contexts, their work may appear vague, even confused, yet their activities are underpinned by intense and principled commitment. Working through their confusion, many maker communities build new understandings about what ‘sustainability’ could mean. We argue that herein lie important resources for new knowledge, and further that ethnography is the ideal way to track these processes of learning and knowledge production. The ethnographer participates in local confusion, over values and the definitions of sustainability, but also about what constitutes useful knowledge. Supported by STS (and other) literature on environmental expertise, we argue that maker communities' own acknowledgement of this vagueness actually makes possible a position from which epistemological authority can be reasserted.

Eco-oriented makers and grassroots subcultures experimenting with digital fabrication technologies, and other activists designing sustainable futures, are increasingly the subject of research. As they address problems of environmental sustainability beyond institutional contexts, their work may appear vague, even confused, yet their activities are underpinned by intense and principled commitment. Working through their confusion, many maker communities build new understandings about what ‘sustainability’ could mean. We argue that herein lie important resources for new knowledge, and further that ethnography is the ideal way to track these processes of learning and knowledge production. The ethnographer participates in local confusion, over values and the definitions of sustainability, but also about what constitutes useful knowledge. Supported by STS (and other) literature on environmental expertise, we argue that maker communities' own acknowledgement of this vagueness actually makes possible a position from which epistemological authority can be reasserted.

Eco-oriented makers and grassroots subcultures experimenting with digital fabrication technologies, and other activists designing sustainable futures, are increasingly the subject of research. As they address problems of environmental sustainability beyond institutional contexts, their work may appear vague, even confused, yet their activities are underpinned by intense and principled commitment. Working through their confusion, many maker communities build new understandings about what ‘sustainability’ could mean. We argue that herein lie important resources for new knowledge, and further that ethnography is the ideal way to track these processes of learning and knowledge production. The ethnographer participates in local confusion, over values and the definitions of sustainability, but also about what constitutes useful knowledge. Supported by STS (and other) literature on environmental expertise, we argue that maker communities' own acknowledgement of this vagueness actually makes possible a position from which epistemological authority can be reasserted.

Emotional Nature is a hands-on learning experience and toolkit that connects different tangible and intangible tools for educators to visualise, grasp and engage in a dialogue with emotions in relation to materials. The Emotional Nature toolkit is also a temporary safe space for educators and children to motivate their understanding of emotions, as well as meaningful connections with nature. The learning is enhanced through a creative and fun process combining tools like value cards, storytelling, meditation, natural inks, and mainly wood-based biomaterials. Having regular contact and meaningful connections with nature have several benefits for humans from playful learning to wellbeing, from bonding relations with other beings to inner self. This research is focused on the specific relationships between emotions and materials, and it is supported by a bigger academic context - The CHEMARTS strategy. The research process is designed in response to the main findings from the initial exploratory phase of Emotional Nature. First, biomaterials as a key tool to feel nature, as well as express and materialise emotions; second, the difficulties in dealing with emotions in the classroom; and third, the reduced availability of safe and comfortable spaces to share and transform emotions in Finnish educational context. This study is an explorative approach based on self-experimentation and participatory design research practices done mainly with teachers and field experts. The research design seeks to inspire educators to explore and grasp relationships between emotions and nature through the experimentation with biomaterials and diverse tools in Finnish School Context. The main audience for Emotional Nature Learning Experience are educators of children between 10 and 13 years old. However, based on the co-creation sessions with different populations, such as parents and postgraduate students, the hands-on learning experience also proved to be effective for other age groups and

In a world in which market-oriented economies steer human endeavours on a global scale, the urgency for moving towards more sustainable futures has become more than evident. The role design plays as co-producer of everyday life, both in its physical and social construction, demands today designers to lead collective action through visions of sustainable lifestyles (Manzini, 2015; Irwin, 2015). Urban citizens, concerned with the unsustainability of dominant practices have been actively participating in such transitions, bringing changes into the lifestyles of their communities. Described as collaborative organizations, these bottom-up initiatives use social media and act as grassroots organizations (Manzini, 2015). Alternatively, these initiatives also fall under the umbrella notion of the collaborative or sharing economy. However, this notion is not representative of the diversity in those organizations as the phenomenon encompasses diverse endeavours wherein aims, motivations, organizational structures, and consequent societal and environmental impact vary widely from case to case. This research aims to learn, from an empirical viewpoint, how and why citizens interact and engage in these practices, through a case study of a citizen-led initiative from Montevideo, Uruguay. This platform and community propose a solution to the problem of accumulation of disused goods, configuring alternative practices of consuming, using, and disposing of goods. The case is analyzed with literature from collaborative economy studies; relevant concepts from Design for Social Innovation; and several theories brought together by Transition Design, used as a conceptual framework for sustainable lifestyles. The study suggests that on top of various motivations, engagement in community-oriented collaborative platforms can be explained by technological and cultural arrangements that foster a sense of belonging through giving active roles to participants in the community. Therefore, it is ar

Living organisms such as fungi – mycelium – are opening a new paradigm for the manufacturing industry through the technology of biofabrication. To engage in this phenomena, designers and scientists are starting to collaborate in transdisciplinary contexts. However, little is known as to how this collaboration with experts takes place and even less how designers develop their interaction with living organisms in laboratories. Fungi possess a biological machinery of their own, which is often unknown to designers. The research for this master’s thesis took place primarily at the laboratories of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. This work explores how design processes using fungi can lead to sustainable alternatives to animal leather through the practice of biofabrication. I define this practice as a process that integrates living matter for the manufacturing of biological materials or products. The aim is to open the spectrum of physical materialities for fungi and through this practice understand the interaction between the designer and the living material as it grows and speaks to the designer. These materials are alive and possess an agency of their own. Through the interaction with fungi and the collaboration with scientists, this practice of design offers new possibilities to extend beyond the traditional forms of doing design. One is by engaging users in the process to explore material experiences and another one is by applying speculative design when exploring future applications for these materials. The focus of this research lies on the practical design work in the laboratory. The methodology includes constructive design research, material design driven method and user involvements through two workshops and ten interviews. The contextual research includes the practices of speculative design and biodesign. Further research includes more centralized research on a single species of fungi, conducting a life cycle assessment, and internal research on the us

The prevailing climate crisis points to the pressing need to preserve the fragile and irreplaceable ecosystems of our planet. A critique of development-as-growth in the context of menstruation in rural India is a case study situated in the rural village of Spiti Valley, India. The ecological significance of the region makes menstrual health management a critical case of modernization, to observe and study the environmental impacts and consequences with regard to use and disposal of sanitary pads. The thesis adopts an ethnographic, qualitative research approach and utilizes ethnographic methodologies to outline a process of observation, question, hypothesis, intervention and findings. It touches upon critique of existing ‘forced modernization’ in conditions of incomplete education regarding the importance of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and waste management, coupled with geographical diversity, specific socio-political and cultural factors (such as religious restrictions and social taboos). It is then extrapolated into a scale of conditions reflective of the subcontinent – specifically the myth of progress and ‘development-as-growth’ defined by the ability to purchase goods and commodities for everyday life. Through stakeholder mapping, the local women’s struggles with state menstrual policies, accessibility to alternative products highlight the existing structural issues. Interviews of women as well as the local doctors provide key insights into the situation from the locals' perspective which exposes the underlying relationship to women’s health and the ecosystem, the human and the non-human elements, farming and sustenance. These complex adaptive socio-ecological systems are highlighted in this case study. The final stage of the thesis delves into the specific key individuals, collectives, organizations and NGOs (Non-Governmental organizations) within India, and in other parts of the world that are conducting projects, initiating a systemic change. The conte

According to the Food2030, the Finnish strategy for national food production, the aim is to produce the most sustainable food in the world. If the nation aims at making this strategy a reality, a transition in the industry needs to occur, in order to get there, the current ways of production must be replaced by innovative and sustainable systems of production. In order for this to happen policymakers, together with producers, researchers and everyone involved need to collaborate and explore innovative ways of production. In the strategy it is clearly stated that regional collaboration is essential for the strategy to succeed, nonetheless, looking closer to the Helsinki Metropolitan Region, there are no clear strategies from the cities of the capital region to put forward efforts in regards to the national strategy. In the literature around urban transitions towards sustainability, the importance of local and national agreements is underlined. Cities consume most of the goods produced in the world, it is estimated that by 2050 80% of the food produced in the world will be consumed in cities, as predictions suggest that the rates of migration from rural areas to urban areas will only increase. Not to mention the worrisome predictions of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report suggesting climate change will, for example, increase the number of asylum seekers due to potential food shortages. For this reason, it is essential that national strategies are followed at local municipal level, where the characteristics suggest it is easier to have impactful action. As for the context of the Helsinki Metropolitan Region, there are many innovations, startups and initiatives seeking to make urban food production and consumption more sustainable, but these niche innovations can do very little without a platform that supports them, encourages food innovations and enables pathways for alternative markets to reach more customers. In this thesis, the local c

Children are learning every moment; every childhood experience could influence their life-long values, behavioural development towards a sustainable way of living. To understand the new complex phenomena and make changes, children need relatively different competences, such as eco-literacy, empathy and systems thinking. Play, as a key way to explore the world, is seen as a significant element for promoting education for sustainability in childhood. Therefore, this thesis presents a new playset design as an alternative learning experience for children to study the abstract concept of sustainability. Setting Finland as the research context, this research examines how play design might promote climate education with diverse playthings and activities in Finnish early childhood and primary schools. The aim is to enhance children’s environmental knowledge, awareness and sense of responsibility, thus supporting teachers promoting relevant topics as ready-made learning materials. The set consists of one riddle as the storyline, seven playful activities with paper-based toys and templates. During the play, students acquire knowledge progressively and build the connection between themselves and climate issues through the story of an unwell “thunderstorms spirit”, inspired by Finnish myths, as core discussion. On the whole, the pedagogical framework combines elements of purposefully framed play, multi-literacy, phenomenon-based learning and imaginative education to deliver the learning goals of education for sustainability. The weight of this study lies on the practical design process of the playset. It involves methodology of transdisciplinary design research, double-diamond model, design thinking and user involvements. Contextual research includes interviews with educators and teachers, observation in a kindergarten, workshops, an analysis of the Finnish curriculum with a selected education model EarthCore by Worldwatch Institute. Further research will be collecting feedback

The thesis is part of the Creative Sustainability master’s programme at Aalto University. Eeva Berglund, an adjunct professor in the Department of Design, is the supervisor of the thesis. The study is carried out at Consti Building Façade department in a Regional Development team. The demand for resident-oriented operation in housing companies’ renovation is the basis of the study, but it tries to go beyond that approach by using collaborative learning as the guide when the co-design process for Consti personnel is done. The study starts from the finding that if the professionals (here engineers) try to collaborate in a resident-oriented manner using new models like workshopping and co-designing, they should first understand the importance of these methods and learn to use them. The main objective of the thesis is to co-design, with Consti personnel, a service model for housing companies’ group renovation planning phase. This model could assist collaborative learning and the equal encountering of board members and property managers of a housing company and Consti personnel. The study is an action research and uses literature, unstructured interviews, online questionnaires and observation as research methods. In the co-design process, four workshops are arranged with the methods of collaborative learning and the outcome of the thesis is a service model for the renovation planning phase. The study uses Myyrmäki area as a case study, where several housing companies are planning to start the group renovation project. In the real-life context, the author carries out the observation and questionnaires. According to the answers of the board members and the property managers, there is a demand for sharing the information on group renovation planning. Housing companies should be supported in decision-making as well as in communication between other housing companies. All respondents thought that the life situation of residents should be considered when planning the group ren, Aalto Yliopiston Creative Sustainability -maisteriohjelmaan tehty Pro gradu on yhteistyö Consti Julkisivut Oy:n aluekehitystiimin kanssa. Tarve asukaslähtöiseen toimintaan taloyhtiöiden peruskorjauksessa on opinnäytetyön lähtökohta. Sen lisäksi tutkimus käyttää yhteisoppimista co-design prosessin yhteydessä. Työn lähtee havainnosta, että jos ammattilaiset (tässä työssä insinöörit) toimivat asukaslähtöisesti käyttämällä apunaan co-design menetelmiä ja työpajoja heidän täytyy ensin ymmärtää näiden menetelmien tärkeys sekä oppia käyttämään niitä. Opinnäytetyön päätavoitteena on suunnitella yhdessä Consti:n työntekijöiden kanssa palvelumalli asunto-osakeyhtiöiden ryhmäkorjauksen suunnitteluvaiheeseen co-designin avulla. Palvelumallin tulee olla sellainen, että se tukee yhteisoppimista sekä tasavertaista kohtaamista taloyhtiön hallitusten jäsenten, isännöitsijöiden ja Consti:n henkilöstön kanssa. Opinnäytetyö on toimintatutkimus, joka pohjaa kirjallisuuteen ja käyttää tutkimusmenetelminä avointa haastattelua, online-kyselyä sekä havainnointia. Työn aikana järjestetään myös neljä co-design työpajaa henkilöstölle, jotka hyödyntävät yhteisoppimisen menetelmiä. Niiden lopputuloksena syntyy palvelumalli asunto-osakeyhtiöiden ryhmäkorjauksen suunnitteluvaiheeseen. Myyrmäen alue toimii opinnäytetyössä tapaustutkimuksena. Työn tekijä havainnoi ja suorittaa kyselyn usean taloyhtiön ryhmäkorjaushankkeen suunnittelun aikana. Online-kyselyn vastausten mukaan hallituksen jäsenet ja isännöitsijät haluavat, että tietoa jaetaan ryhmäkorjausta suunniteltaessa. Vastauksista tulee ilmi myös, että taloyhtiöitä olisi tuettava päätöksenteossa sekä taloyhtiöiden välisessä viestinnässä. Kaikkien vastanneiden mukaan asukkaan elämäntilanne on huomioitava kunnostustöiden suunnittelussa ja heitä on tiedotettava. Tärkeää vastanneiden mielestä oli myös, että suunnitteluprosessissa eri toimijoiden välillä on yhteistyötä. Nämä vastaukset korreloivat IKE-raportin ehdotuksen asukaslähtöisistä toimista ko

In Finland, experimentation and culture of experimentation have been lately driven forward by the current Prime Minister’s Office’s key project Experimental Finland, where experimenting has been promoted as a way to develop ideas, services and innovations. In this thesis, I study experimentation and service design practice in the Finnish public sector and more closely, in the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). By using service design methods, I study how these approaches are being implemented in Finland through three case studies conducted during a 6-month internship in Migri's service design team, Inland Design. I argue that complex societal challenges are putting pressure on public-services and recognise that design approaches are increasingly used in public sector development, in Finland and internationally. Despite the increasing interest, experimentation and design practice in the public sector has yet not been researched much. The practical objectives in this thesis include understanding the current discussion around experimentation and design in the public sector. Additionally, objectives include opening up how designers can advance experimentation, and describing both the opportunities for and challenges in experimenting in the Finnish public sector. I use participant observation and design experiments to study experimentation in Migri. Service design methods are used in the design experiments that form the three case studies, which I use to learn about the key features of experimentation. I understand experiments broadly as new and concrete actions, that aim to test and try new actions, functions and practices in Migri. Moreover, I use participant observation to record my experience and the occurrences in the organisation. The main contribution of this thesis is to offer a description of the first steps of advancing experimentation by service design methods in an organisation within the Finnish government. I conclude that experimentation is affected by hi, Kokeilut ja kokeilukulttuuri ovat Suomessa olleet pinnalla pääministeri Juha Sipilän kärkihankkeen, Kokeilevan Suomen, myötä. Kärkihankkeessa kokeiluja on markkinoitu tapoina edistää uusien ideoiden, palveluiden ja innovaatioiden kehittämistä. Maisterityössäni tarkastelen kokeilemista ja palvelumuotoilua Suomen julkishallinnossa. Tutkin kokeilukulttuuria ja palvelumuotoilun käyttämistä julkisella sektorilla Maahanmuuttovirastossa (Migri) kolmen tapaustutkimuksen kautta, jotka sisältyvät kuuden kuukauden mittaiseen työharjoitteluuni Migrin Inland Design palvelumuotoilutiimissä. Tapaustutkimukset muodostavat kolme kokeilua, joissa käytän palvelumuotoilun menetelmiä ja työkaluja. Esitän, että julkisten palveluiden tarjoajilla on tarve vastata kompleksisiin yhteiskunnan haasteisiin ja kehittää palveluitaan. Tässä kehitystyössä muotoilua käytetään enenevissä määrin, ja muotoilusta julkisella sektorilla käydään keskustelua niin kotimaassa kuin kansainvälisestikin. Esittelen muotoilun suuntaukset, jotka nousevat muotoilusta julkisella sektorilla käytävästä keskustelusta ja tämän kautta positioin tutkimuksen palvelumuotoilun kentälle. Käyn läpi näkökohtia kokeiluihin yleisesti ja esittelen, miten kokeilukulttuuri on ilmennyt Suomessa. Kasvaneesta kiinnostuksesta huolimatta kokeilukulttuuria ja muotoilua julkishallinnossa on tutkittu toistaiseksi vähän. Tämän työn tavoitteena on tarjota kuvaus siitä, miten muotoilijat voivat tukea kokeiluja, ja lisäksi kuvailla miten mahdollisuudet ja haasteet kokeilemiselle ilmenevät Suomessa. Käytän osallistuvaa havainnointia ja muotoilumenetelmin tuettuja kokeiluja kokeilemisen tarkasteluun Migrissä. Kolmen kokeilu-tapaustutkimuksen avulla opin kokeilemisen pääpiirteistä. Tässä työssä ymmärrän kokeilut laajasti uusina ja konkreettisina toimintoina, joiden avulla tes- tataan uudenlaisia toimintoja ja toimintatapoja Migrissä. Osallistuvan havainnoinnin avulla dokumentoin kokemustani ja mitä organisaatiossa tapahtuu harjoittelujaksoni aikana

On the surface, it appears that Finnish design and design culture are closely related to the notion of sustainability. Simultaneously, there are a variety of angles how design, in general, is perceived – reaching from ‘design as a solution for everything’, ‘design as a strategic tool’ or ‘(good) design as something natural’ to a less positive view on the topic, such as ‘design as a main reason for issues in the world’. Thereby, it is of interest to explore how these topics are connected to the motivations of designers to have sustainability as a focus in their work. Hence, the two main angles of the thesis are: - How (Finnish) design, designers, and design culture are perceived. - Why and how design professionals working and living in Finland are motivated to implement sustainability in their work as designers. It will be examined which different approaches to Finnish design culture could be created through researching these angles. Can the context of design and sustainability be perceived differently? The thesis researches, analyzes and explores Finnish design and designers through the lens of design history and culture. Literature of these areas provides the background for discussing the individuals’ angle – the designers’ motivations to sustainability. Studying the motivations is based on empathic design research. Besides other methods from this field, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the designers’ ambition to implement sustainability in their work. The results of analyzing the study in relation to the research about design and design culture provide a different perspective on how design and design culture are perceived in Finland. Design could be a tool to transport messages, which is one of the findings of the thesis. In the case of the interviewees, the message is the notion of sustainability and their understanding of it. It is presented in a way, that does not force people to take on a certain behavior. As a final step, it is discussed

What is Helsinki's future and are there alternatives? This book is written by professionals who love Helsinki. Each writer has chosen an element of the city that has inspired delight, disgust, sorrow or enthusiasm. The book looks not only at the pasts of the Finnish capital but at what its future might be. Could vacant office space be transformed into homes? Does building within city limits have to mean clearing away its forests? what might the authorities learn from the resident who have occupied buildings, set up meeting places and worked as volunteers to protect cherished built heritage? What is it that is unique about Helsinki?, A book for the general public in Finnish, Swedish, and English based on the editors' research interests. The essays in the collection are written by Helsinki based researchers, architecture writers and journalists.

The goal of this workshop is to facilitate a rich discussion of the field of social design, which is increasingly becoming a contested space. To support this, we have drafted ‘12 Principles of Social Design’, which we want to share with the NORDES community as a starting point for an open conversation about the goals of social design as an area of academic inquiry and a field of reflective practice. Our plan for the workshop is to have a discursive structure that allows us to dig deeper into the Principles and the issues that sit behind them. Participants will be invited to bring their own case studies to see how the Principles perform against practice. The workshop will thus be used to test the principles and improve them, to build and strengthen the connections between design researchers working in this area, and ultimately to influence the direction of social design.

In this paper we share our resilience making approach for a first year design program in which we work intentionally with scale – through the subject matters of resilience, and through our learning design. We respond to the provocation of matters of scale in design to progress our design research in two ways. The first contributes to discussion of design education's remit from within ecological and existential crises, relative to expanding (design) knowledge. We then give focus to the co-citizen design lab that students conduct to illustrate how the inter-scalar relations we explore manifest through students' design action. Here we draw on the 2019 and 2020 co-citizen design labs and evolve its learning design for a third iteration of resilience making in 2021. We conclude by suggesting resilience making as a purposeful way of practising hope and small, ecologically and socially viable transformations.

The goal of this workshop is to facilitate a rich discussion of the field of social design, which is increasingly becoming a contested space. To support this, we have drafted ‘12 Principles of Social Design’, which we want to share with the NORDES community as a starting point for an open conversation about the goals of social design as an area of academic inquiry and a field of reflective practice. Our plan for the workshop is to have a discursive structure that allows us to dig deeper into the Principles and the issues that sit behind them. Participants will be invited to bring their own case studies to see how the Principles perform against practice. The workshop will thus be used to test the principles and improve them, to build and strengthen the connections between design researchers working in this area, and ultimately to influence the direction of social design.