Home
Future Observatory Journal
Read all issues
Print edition
Future Observatory Journal: New Narratives for Design, Ecology and a Future weaves the journal’s founding themes – Bioregioning, More Than Human, and In Abundance – into a cohesive and richly layered publication.
Issues 1–3 · September 2026
In Abundance
What do we mean by 'abundance'? Surely not just more stuff, more growth, more profit.
Reimagining abundance within planetary boundaries means finding plenty in repair, circularity and biodiversity.
Issue 3 · December 2025
More than Human
What does it mean to design not just for ourselves, but for other species and for the health of natural systems?
Issue 2 · November 2024
Bioregioning
Bioregioning redraws the boundaries of climate action, using the immediate landscape as a template for design, politics and regeneration.
Issue 1 · April 2024
Sign up to our newsletter
>
The Stone Demonstrator
A low-carbon construction prototype putting pre-tensioned stone building techniques to the test. Visit The Stone Demonstrator at Empress Place on the Earls Court Development site.
opened on
Publication: Design Researchers in Residence 2025/26 MINERAL
This publication features the work of the 2025/26 Design Researchers in Residence. It accompanies an exhibition staged at the Design Museum from June to September 2026. This year's theme, Mineral,
Authors:
Alfred Yatlong Yeung, Elise Limon, Rafael El Baz, Rosa Whiteley, Abbie Adams & Leilah Hirson-Comley
Research updates
What does the world sound like to a tree?
An interview with Mike Thompson
Weaving Voices into Place
Tools for Transition
South Powys Design Lab
UK 2040
Combing the digital coastline
Tools for Transition
More-Than-Human (MOTH) Rights Mural
A few years ago, I founded an initiative that I called More-Than-Human Life (MOTH). Co-organized with colleagues at NYU School of Law, the project brings together lawyers, scientists, Indigenous
Author:
César Rodríguez-Garavito
‘An immersive museographic experience’
Former Designer in Residence, Mále Uribe, designs Chilean pavilion at London Design Biennial 2025
Author:
Rebecca Lewin
Pollinator Pathmaker
Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg shares her research progress in this article as she explains her ongoing living artwork, Pollinator Pathmaker and the development of a large-scale tapestry, which has emerged
Author:
Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg
‘Rewilding benefits biodiversity, health and well-being’
In this interview, Justin Webb and Siân Moxon share how their Design Exchange Partnership is engaging Londoners with urban rewilding.
Siân Moxon & Justin Webb
Earthly Memorials: São Paulo Terra Indígena
In this article, Paulo Tavares shares the development of a project that will serve as a tool to advocate for more-than-human rights on the Jaraguá Guarani Land in Sao Paulo, supporting the Guarani
Author:
Paulo Tavares
‘Natural Stone Shows Huge Potential to Reduce the Carbon-Footprint of Construction’
This interview delves into Professor Wendel Sebastian's research approach, and his vision for a more sustainable future for the UK's
Wendel Sebastian
More-Than-Human Rights Mural
In this article, César Rodríguez-Garavito shares the development of the mural he has been working on with artist Elena Landinez. Representing many years of research into activism to protect the rights
Author:
César Rodríguez-Garavito
The Coast Is Not a Line, It's A Zone
In this research update, More-than-human Fellow Feifei Zhou, focuses on Kupang Bay in West Timor to examine traditional fishing practices threatened by coastal erosion and salt mining. The final piece
Author:
Feifei Zhou
Five more-than-human research projects join the Design Exchange Partnership programme
As part of a broader initiative to advance research in more-than-human design – recently reflected on in a blog post by Future Observatory director, Justin McGuirk – we are thrilled to introduce the
‘Urban green spaces have untapped potential for the green transition’
An interview with Katharine Willis and Ashita Gupta, Plymouth University
Ashita Gupta & Katharine Willis
‘Human health is inextricably linked to the health of the planet’
An interview with Paul Rodgers and Mel Woods, Design HOPES
Paul Rodgers & Mel Woods
More-than-human thinking for multiple audiences
Understanding the potential of designing with and for other species and living systems feels like an urgent undertaking. That is why we adopted More than Human as an ongoing research theme for 2024-5
Author:
Justin McGuirk
Future Observatory Journal – Issue Nº2
We are delighted to bring you Issue 02 of Future Observatory Journal. We launched the journal earlier this year to explore more expansive narratives for design that respond to the true scale of the
Author:
Justin McGuirk
The taste of bioregioning in Taiwan
Earlier this month I attended Circular Design Week in Taiwan, and had the opportunity to join a group of people from various backgrounds – design, engineering, food, publishing – curious to see some
Author:
Justin McGuirk
meet the future observatory network
>