Design for adaptation

This article is in collaboration with

The future is no longer a promise of linear progress, but a space of uncertainty that calls for new forms of design and coexistence. The reflections of researcher Elena Vai and cultural designer Ilaria Morganti, both among the speakers at Creators Day 2025, highlight how art, culture and participation can guide practices of adaptation, regeneration and social transformation, helping us inhabit places in more conscious and collective ways.

At the end of the twentieth century, the future had a recognisable and reassuring face: it was optimistic, geared towards progress, inscribed in a trajectory of growth and innovation. Cities were transforming according to a vision of wellbeing, global connections and optimistic potential. Change was a promise, not a threat. But in 2008 this narrative broke. The economic crisis undermined confidence in the future. One of its earliest consequences was the questioning of the long-established relationship between humankind, development and the environment. A new paradigm emerged, more conscious and uneasy, in which anthropocentrism became a topic of debate rather than a belief to uphold.

It is precisely on the basis of these transformations that Elena Vai, designer, journalist and researcher at the University of Bologna, and Ilaria Morganti, co-founder of Itinerari Paralleli, will speak at Creators Day – the free (registration required) event organised by Delizia Media with meetings, talks, training, workshops and podcasts to explore the trends of the future and connect the world of culture with that of new media and content creation. The event is scheduled for 13 June 2025, at Dumbo in Bologna, and will feature a 2.20 p.m. talk entitled: “Creativa: come la cultura impatta sulle città” (Creative: how culture impacts cities).

From human-based to planet-centred design

«We human beings are now called to reflect on how each of us can influence the present, in light of what has been done in the past. One of the main issues to address is climate change: it is no longer about mitigating the transformation underway but about finding practices to adapt».

Elena Vai, researcher at the Department of Architecture at the University of Bologna and coordinator of the activities of the Centre for Research into Cultural and Creative Industries (CRICC), sees in art, and design in particular, a privileged role in the search for such practices.

Vai is a researcher at the Department of Architecture of the Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, where she collaborates with the Advanced Design Unit. Since 2019 she coordinates the activities of the Research Centre on Cultural and Creative Industries (CRICC) and since 2023 she has been a member of the Strategic Thematic Group “Design for Societal Transformation” directed by the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), within the EIT on Culture and Creativity. Her research interests concern creative practices and advanced design, with reference to the development of innovative cultural and creative ecosystems, with a focus on processes of urban, cultural and human reactivation in the contemporary city.

Far more than mere “industrial design”, as it was commonly referred to until the late 1980s, «thanks to its forward-thinking vision, design is able to anticipate the future needs of individuals and communities, and integrate them into the design process», Vai explains. Equally crucial, she continues, is the collaboration between individuals and creative communities: «We need to work with artists, photographers, filmmakers, dancers because, thanks to their creative freedom and special sensitivity, they are able to anticipate the needs of citizens and users».

In recent years, the world of design has also become increasingly aware of the need to take a broader perspective. A perspective that no longer places the human at its centre. There is a growing discussion about the shift from human-centred to planet-centred design: the goal is no longer simply to seek the best possible design outcome for humans, but to find solutions that also support ecosystemic balance. The narrow framework that once only concerned the animal kingdom has now expanded and, according to Elena Vai, the vision we should be aiming for is a collective one in which «animal, plant and mineral kingdoms work together to find survival strategies».

Adapting to change

This vision takes concrete form in a specific approach: «The claim», the scholar explains, «is “Design for adaptation”».

«We are called to design with a total vision of adaptation: design must therefore be light, changeable, powerful, transformative».

«This also impacts on the materials we use, which tend to be recyclable and recycled, biological. Both the material and immaterial dimensions must take the new paradigm into account. Even the approach could be described as “positive”». Projects such as the Po River Blue Fest¹, held over the weekend of 16–17 May between Bologna and Ravenna, show how local organisations and artists can work together to observe what is happening in specific places and foster interaction between research, cultural production and citizens.

«As the Centre for Research into Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Bologna», explains Vai – who has been coordinating the Centre’s activities since 2019 – «we were invited to develop a festival dedicated to the River Po and its communities, to raise awareness and help identify behaviours for adapting to the transformations and crises currently underway». The result is a series of events where scientific content and academic reflections are interspersed with playful and interactive activities to engage the public and encourage active participation.

«We chose», the researcher concludes, «not to stage the numbers behind the environmental crisis, but instead to invite performers, directors and theatre collectives to give life to a positive vision of the future and how we might adapt».

«The strength of artists lies in their freedom to create content that is not necessarily productive. The worlds of art and culture are the only truly free spaces where we can observe the world and shape our own lives».

Filling spaces

Not simply to endure, but to activate and support the processes of transformation already underway – in both urban and rural settings – is also the goal of Itinerari Paralleli, a social enterprise that works with public administrations, private institutions, communities and local organisations to conceive, design and deliver cultural content and social innovation initiatives. The goal is always the same: to develop creative practices that can help cities, inner areas and cultural heritage sites regenerate and transform in step with the times, while also encouraging social interaction.

«The idea is to turn public space into a space for meeting and connection, using culture as a vehicle for integration». So says Ilaria Morganti, co-founder of Itinerari Paralleli and expert in cultural management, who also explains: «We work on culture- and community-based territorial innovation processes. In other words, we work with communities to imagine solutions that make places more liveable and more engaging for the people who live there». Many fields and various scales are involved across their projects, but what connects them all is a shared purpose: to reclaim spaces that have been abandoned or taken away from citizens, using art and culture as tools for engagement and social inclusion.

The focus is on so-called “hybrid spaces”: disused or vaguely defined areas, and therefore unused, which could become places for community gathering.

«We are talking», explains Morganti, «about open and free gathering spaces that enable non-traditional relationships: there is not necessarily someone managing the space and providing a service, while users are expected to consume. Instead, people themselves become the animators of that space».

Ilaria Morganti is co-founder of Itinerari Paralleli Impresa Sociale and works on cultural and community-based territorial development projects. Engaged between the academic and professional worlds, she has focused her work on the relationship between territorial development, cultural innovation and social inclusion.

It is this sense of belonging that becomes the key feature of hybrid spaces: it is the people who care for them, bring them to life and transform them, thanks to cultural and artistic programmes aimed at the community.

And it is not just urban contexts that are involved: «Rather than “urban regeneration”», says the cultural manager, «I prefer the term “territorial enhancement”». The scope is certainly broader: it goes beyond cities and includes inland areas. The context, however, is quite different. While in urban areas cities are expanding, with increasing populations and heightened social tensions, rural areas are experiencing depopulation and a lack of services and opportunities. Yet, despite these different starting points, the approach remains the same: «We need culture-based enhancement processes», Morganti insists, «to encourage people to take the countercultural step of staying in their area, and to revive places that would otherwise be abandoned within a short time».

Culture as the “spark” of transformation

Itinerari Paralleli has been supporting the process of Pordenone’s bid to become Italian Capital of Culture 2027 since November two years ago, right up to the Ministry hearing in February 2025. Once again, the collaboration between players from different sectors proved essential, though always with a focus on culture as the “spark” of a transformation that involves everyone: from the third sector and businesses to citizens, associations and schools. «The result of this plural and participatory process was a collective dossier, with over 50 projects capturing the ideas, visions and dreams of the 111 organisations involved – including local and national cultural and social bodies, businesses and municipalities across the province of Pordenone. The dossier’s innovative and inclusive approach to cultural enhancement, its drive to make culture a vehicle for sustainable development, and its emphasis on youth engagement were particularly well received».

In a present shaped by environmental crises and uncertainty, the world of art and culture continues to offer tools to reinterpret and reimagine territory, regenerate spaces and strengthen communities. From cities to rural areas, designing with vision and sensitivity means creating futures that are liveable and open to all. Cultural enhancement of places is not merely an aesthetic or conservation exercise, but an active, participatory and transformative process, capable of generating new relationships, a renewed sense of belonging and shared visions of the future.

The shift from an anthropocentric to a broader, systemic outlook that considers the balance between humans and the environment opens up promising new perspectives. From the Po River Blue Fest to Pordenone’s candidacy, these examples show that another way of living in and thinking about places – not one of consumption, but of creativity, awareness and inclusion – is possible. In this sense, culture is not merely a witness, but a driving force for change.

 

1. The Po River Blue Fest was developed within the framework of the LIFE CLIMAX PO project and coordinated by the Po River District Basin Authority, with the scientific coordination of the University of Bologna and the Metropolitan City of Bologna and with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region and Legambiente. (https://www.lifeclimaxpo.adbpo.it/po-river-blue-fest/) ↩︎