Design as relational infrastructure – Universities, territories, and systemic transformations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69143/2464-9309/19192026Keywords:
design for territories, territorial innovation, cultural infrastructures, third mission, systemic designAbstract
In the debate on Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 10, territorial innovation is often interpreted through technological and productive parameters, while cultural and educational infrastructures remain marginal. This contribution proposes that Design be understood as a relational infrastructure capable of connecting universities, territories, and productive systems. The analysis is based on a comparison between the two editions of the Design&Territori exhibition and conference series (Palermo 2018 and Agrigento 2025), taken as an observatory of university-based design practices. The results show, on the one hand, a shift from a product-centred paradigm to a systemic approach oriented towards services, networks, and community capability-building and, on the other, the structural limits that hinder the stabilisation of these processes.
Article info
Received: 17/03/2026; Revised: 21/04/2026; Accepted: 24/04/2026
Downloads
Article Metrics Graph
References
Arquilla, V. and Caruso, C. (2025), “Un approccio di integrazione nativa dell’inclusione nel meta-design – L’esperienza COmeta | Towards native integration of inclusivity in meta-design – The COmeta experience”, in Agathón | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, vol. 17, pp. 360-373. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.69143/2464-9309/17252025 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Barca, F., McCann, P. and Rodríguez-Pose, A. (2012), “The Case for Regional Development Intervention – Place-based Versus Place-neutral Approaches”, in Journal of Regional Science, vol. 52, issue 1, pp. 134-152. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9787.2011.00756.x [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Benincasa, A., Russo, D. and Tamborrini, P. (2025), Design&Territori – Agrigento 2025, Mimesis, Sesto San Giovanni.
Bistagnino, L. (2016), microMACRO – Il complesso delle micro relazioni sistemiche genera il nuovo modello economico-produttivo, Edizioni Ambiente, Milano.
Bonsiepe, G. (1995), Dall’oggetto all’interfaccia – Mutazioni del design, Feltrinelli, Milano.
Braunerhielm, L. (2025), “Place Design – From Planning for Places to Designing with People and Places”, in Land, vol. 14, issue 10, article 1941, pp. 1-19. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.3390/land14101941 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Cassano, F. (2005), Il pensiero meridiano, Laterza, Roma-Bari.
Crippa, D., Di Prete, B., Fagnoni, R. and Leonardi, C. (2024), “Distretti energetici collaborativi – Laboratori urbani per un’energia di prossimità | Collaborative energy districts – Urban workshops for proximity energy”, in Agathón | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, vol. 15, pp. 296-305. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.19229/2464-9309/15242024 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Cross, N. (2006), Designerly Ways of Knowing, Springer, London. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1007/1-84628-301-9 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
De Fusco, R. (1985), Storia del design, Laterza, Roma-Bari.
De Fusco, R. and Rusciano, R. R. (2015), Design e Mezzogiorno tra storia e metafora, Progedit, Bari.
Escobar, A. (2018), Designs for the Pluriverse – Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds, Duke University Press, Durham.
Ferreira, A. and Quesado Delgado, J. (2024), “The precarity paradox – The precarity-driven inefficiencies of research at a public university”, in Science and Public Policy, vol. 51, issue 2, pp. 297-308. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scad075 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Fondazione Symbola, Deloitte Private, POLI.design and ADI (2026), Design Economy 2026, I Quaderni di Symbola, Roma. [Online] Available at: symbola.net/ricerca/design-economy-2026/ [Accessed 17 April 2026].
Franzo, P., Quartu, A. and Tufarelli, M. (2025), “Re-shaping fashion in Italy – Sistemi circolari, scenari phygital e formazione informale | Re-shaping fashion in Italy – Circular systems, phygital scenarios, and informal education”, in Agathón | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, vol. 18, pp. 344-357. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.69143/2464-9309/18212025 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Gaddi, R. and Mastrolonardo, L. (2024), “Micro-reti locali per la transizione verde della filiera della lana | Local micro-networks for green transition of the wool supply chain”, in Agathón | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, vol. 15, pp. 344-353. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.19229/2464-9309/15292024 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Gaiardo, A., Remondino, C., Stabellini, B. and Tamborrini, P. (2022), Il design è innovazione sistemica – Metodi e strumenti per gestire in modo sostenibile la complessità contemporanea – Il caso Torino, LetteraVentidue, Siracusa.
Hooks, B. (1994), Teaching to Transgress – Education as the Practice of Freedom, Routledge, New York.
Irwin, T. (2015), “Transition Design – A Proposal for a New Area of Design Practice, Study, and Research”, in Design and Culture | The Journal of the Design Studies Forum, vol. 7, issue 2, pp. 229-246. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1080/17547075.2015.1051829 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Langella, C. Russo, D. and Scalisi, F. (2024), “Design e Gastrofisica – Innovazione e sostenibilità dei sistemi alimentari multisensoriali | Design and Gastrophysics – Innovation and sustainability of multisensory food systems”, in Agathón | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, vol. 16, pp. 250-277. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.19229/2464-9309/16222024 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Loorbach, D. A. and Wittmayer, J. (2023), “Transforming universities – Mobilizing research and education for sustainability transitions at Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands”, in Sustainability Science, vol. 19, pp. 19-33. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01335-y [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Manzini, E. (2018), Politiche del quotidiano – Progetti di vita che cambiano il mondo, Edizioni di Comunità, Roma.
Manzini, E. (2015), Design, When Everybody Designs – An Introduction to Design for Social Innovation, The MIT Press, Cambridge.
Mari, E. (2011), 25 modi di piantare un chiodo – Sessant’anni di idee e progetti per difendere un sogno, Mondadori, Milano.
Mortati, M., Villari, B., Maffei, S. and Arquilla, V. (2016), Le politiche per il design e il design per le politiche – Dal focus sulla soluzione alla centralità della valutazione, Maggioli, Santarcangelo di Romagna.
Moulaert, F., MacCallum, D., Mehmood, A. and Hamdouch, A. (eds) (2014), The International Handbook on Social Innovation – Collective Action, Social Learning and Transdisciplinary Research, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.
Parello, G. (ed.) (2008), Alexander Hardcastle e la Valle dei Templi – Storia di un progetto visionario nella Sicilia del primo Novecento, Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. di Agrigento, Agrigento.
Parente, M. and Sedini, C. (2017), “Design for Territories as Practice and Theoretical Field of Study”, in The Design Journal | An International Journal for All Aspects of Design, vol. 20, issue supp. 1, pp. S3047-S3058. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2017.1352812 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Pasca, V., Russo, D. and Tamborrini, P. (eds) (2018), Design&Territori, Aesthetica-Mimesis, Palermo-Milano. [Online] Available at: iris.unipa.it/retrieve/e3ad891d-db8c-da0e-e053-3705fe0a2b96/DR%20D%26T.pdf [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Petersen, I., Kruss, G. and van Rheede, N. (2022), “Strengthening the university third mission through building community capabilities alongside university capabilities”, in Science and Public Policy, vol. 49, issue 6, pp. 890-904. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scac036 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Putnam, R. D. (2000), Bowling Alone – The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, New York.
Putnam, R. D., Leonardi, R. and Nanetti, R. Y. (1993), Making Democracy Work – Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton University Press, Princeton. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7s8r7 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Russo, D. (2020), “Appunti sul design meridiano”, in Russo, D., Bisson, M., Palmieri, S., Sessa, E., Carta, M., Cristallo, V., Carullo, R. and Labalestra, A. (eds), Southern Identity – Notizie sul design meridiano, Palermo University Press, Palermo, pp. 7-16. [Online] Available at: iris.unipa.it/handle/10447/531303 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Russo, D. and Tamborrini, P. (eds) (2019), Design&Territori – Università e aziende tra sperimentazione e innovazione, Palermo, Italy, November 2-3, 2018, Palermo University Press, Palermo. [Online] Available at: hdl.handle.net/10447/352723 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Savatteri, G. (2025), “Agrigento in cerca di autore”, in La capitale del Mito – Agrigento ’25 – La scommessa della cultura, GEDI, Torino, pp. 20-65.
Sennett, R. (2018), Building and Dwelling – Ethics for the City, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York.
Sennett, R. (2008), The Craftsman, Yale University Press, New Haven.
Sposito, C. and Scalisi, F. (2024), “Affrontare la Complessità – Conoscenza, progetto e gestione dell’ambiente costruito | Dealing with Complexity – Knowledge, design, and management of the built environment”, in Agathón | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, vol. 16, pp. 2-15. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.19229/2464-9309/1602024 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Tamborrini, P. and Stabellini, B. (2018), “Metodologie e strumenti per l’innovazione sostenibile”, in MD Journal, vol. 5, pp. 50-57. [Online] Available at: hdl.handle.net/11583/2713828 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Torre, A. (2025), “Territorial development – Towards a dynamic and innovative understanding”, in Regional Studies, vol. 59, issue 1, article 2465657, pp. 1-5. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2025.2465657 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
UN – United Nations (2015), Transforming our world – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1. [Online] Available at: docs.un.org/en/A/res/70/1 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Visser, W. (2006), “Designing as construction of representations – A dynamic viewpoint in cognitive design research”, in Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 21, issue 1, pp. 103-152. [Online] Available at: doi.org/10.1207/s15327051hci2101_4 [Accessed 10 April 2026].
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Paolo Tamborrini, Dario Russo, Cristina Marino
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This Journal is published under Creative Commons Attribution Licence 4.0 (CC-BY).
License scheme | Legal code
This License allows anyone to:
Share: copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt: remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms
Attribution: Users must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made; users may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses them or their use.
No additional restrictions: Users may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices
Users do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation.
No warranties are given. The license may not give users all of the permissions necessary for their intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
