Today sustainability becomes an urgent decision-guiding objective. Yet it is not clear how sustainable societies should look like and therefore the role of design becomes critical.  

The general goal of the study I here propose, which will take place in form of PhD within the research group design.nexus in continuity with my PhD and postdoctoral work, is to further explore meta-theoretical development as well as applied-theoretical cases of Design Methodologies for Sustainability (DM4S).  Specifically, looks at Open-ended Design for bio- (including living) materials and their implementation in design education. The envisioned research approach is practice-based and adopts mixed methods.  

Finally, the expected outcomes are double: a new body of knowledge will be created to inform the academic community, and practical support to both young designers and educators in understanding how to engage with bio-materials with an Open-ended Design perspective.