Scholarlink

<p>Amidst escalating ecological crises and societal challenges, exploratory spaces such as Real-World Laboratories (RWL) and Design Research Labs (DRL) have become central to researching transformation. While RWL are well-established as transdisciplinary spaces for co-creation and reflexive learning, DRL offer creativity, iterative testing and tangible prototyping. However, the relationship between RWL and DRL has received little systematic attention. This paper examines how DRL, situated predominantly within art and design universities, contribute to sustainability transformations. Building on a comparative cross-analysis of the defining characteristics of both frameworks, we investigate overlaps, divergences, and complementarities between RWL and DRL. Findings highlight that while both frameworks share participatory and experimental orientations, they foreground different yet complementary forms of knowledge production. Whereas RWL emphasise transdisciplinary collaboration and intervention in societal contexts, DRL foreground designerly epistemologies grounded in materialisation, prototyping, and speculative imagination. These practices enable alternative futures to be explored, materialised, and negotiated through tangible artefacts and interventions. The paper concludes by discussing opportunities for mutual learning and future collaboration between design research and transformation research.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Epistemological and methodological contributions of design research labs to transformation research

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月9日

查看全文
  • Andrea Augsten,
  • Daniela Peukert,
  • Merle Ibach

摘要

Amidst escalating ecological crises and societal challenges, exploratory spaces such as Real-World Laboratories (RWL) and Design Research Labs (DRL) have become central to researching transformation. While RWL are well-established as transdisciplinary spaces for co-creation and reflexive learning, DRL offer creativity, iterative testing and tangible prototyping. However, the relationship between RWL and DRL has received little systematic attention. This paper examines how DRL, situated predominantly within art and design universities, contribute to sustainability transformations. Building on a comparative cross-analysis of the defining characteristics of both frameworks, we investigate overlaps, divergences, and complementarities between RWL and DRL. Findings highlight that while both frameworks share participatory and experimental orientations, they foreground different yet complementary forms of knowledge production. Whereas RWL emphasise transdisciplinary collaboration and intervention in societal contexts, DRL foreground designerly epistemologies grounded in materialisation, prototyping, and speculative imagination. These practices enable alternative futures to be explored, materialised, and negotiated through tangible artefacts and interventions. The paper concludes by discussing opportunities for mutual learning and future collaboration between design research and transformation research.