Raffaella Fagnoni

The Ocean Decade has provided a unique framework for fostering science‐informed practices that necessitate a rethinking of human relationships with the sea. The 2024 UNESCO Venice Declaration for Ocean Literacy in Action highlights the need to develop “ocean‐centric design.” While the environment‐centred design is well‐established, the ocean‐centric design remains underexplored, particularly regarding its epistemological foundations. This article defines ocean‐centric design as an approach to expanding ocean literacy dimensions and driving change across disciplines. Integrating design methodologies (civic design method) and concepts like bodies of water, Hydrocene, and perspectives from the blue humanities, the study proposes a framework and devises indicators to help designers ensure their practices are ocean‐centric. These indicators aim to foster a stronger connection with the ocean among society while addressing the Ocean Decade’s Challenge 10 “restoring society’s relationship with the ocean.” To validate these indicators, they are applied to a selection of ocean‐design case studies to assess whether the designs are inherently ocean cycle‐centric or merely contextualised within an ocean setting. Ultimately, the article seeks to expand the scope of environment‐centred design by introducing and emphasising a blue epistemology. The article introduces ocean cycle‐centric design, expanding environment‐centred design and integrating ocean literacy into resilient design practices for a restored human‐ocean nexus.

The study emphasises the contribution of Biodesign in the radical ecological transition and encourages the use of collaborative biotechnological processes for the development of compatible products with ecosystem dynamics. The focus of the research will be on material design and its ability to contribute to the innovation of territories. In line with the principles of hyperlocal design, it will investigate approaches and virtuous experiences that will contribute to the re-activation of specific territorial contexts starting from endogenous resources and knowledge. Through the detailed exploration of the current scenario and the analysis of best practices, the contribution will argue its hypothesis in favour of project experiences rooted within a specific territorial context, reducing the material circuits. Aiming to provide a reflection on a specific project scenario, the paper will present a selection of projects realised at the Control + Junk Lab Study Centre at the Iuav University of, as peculiar case histories about the Venice Lagoon area. This contribution aims to provide new research perspectives in this area, oriented to the reactivation of traditional knowledge systems, recognised as depositories of indigenous knowledge of territories and local biocultural practices.