The Relational Becoming of a Participatory Design Commoner

Sanna-Maria  Marttila; Frederick M. C. Van Amstel; Joanna Saad-Sulonen; Andrea Botero; Giacomo Poderi; Maurizio Teli; P.D. Commoners

doi:10.21606/nordes.2025.22

The Relational Becoming of a Participatory Design Commoner

Sanna-Maria Marttila
, Frederick M. C. Van Amstel
, Joanna Saad-Sulonen
, Andrea Botero
, Giacomo Poderi
, Maurizio Teli
, P.D. Commoners

Federal University of Technology - Paraná
Aalto University
Aalborg University
P.D.Commoners Research Collective

Research output: Conference Article in Proceeding or Book/Report chapter › Article in proceedings › Research › peer-review

Abstract

This research expands the understanding of the collective designer behind Scandinavian Participatory Design with the Latin American notion of relational ontology, which posits a worldview where everything and everyone are mutually constituted through evolving relationships. Drawing from three thematic workshops with design practitioners and scholars that explored intersections between commoning and designing, this research unveils the relational becoming of a participatory design commoner. This includes the production of a shared subjectivity—the collective designer—as integral to commoning design and designing commons. Specifically, we explore the role of participatory designers in commoning through their subjectivity in their infrastructuring actions and affective engagements with objective commons.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Nordes 2025: Relational Design
Number of pages	16
Publisher	Design Research Society
Publication date	29 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.21606/nordes.2025.22
Publication status	Published - 29 Jul 2025
Event	Nordic Design Research Society Conference: Relational Design - Pilestredet 46, Oslo, Norway Duration: 6 Aug 2025 → 8 Aug 2025 Conference number: 11 https://nordes.org/

Conference

Conference	Nordic Design Research Society Conference
Number	11
Location	Pilestredet 46
Country/Territory	Norway
City	Oslo
Period	06/08/2025 → 08/08/2025
Internet address	https://nordes.org/

Keywords

Relational Ontology
Participatory design
Commons
Commoning
Becoming
Collective Designer

Access to Document

10.21606/nordes.2025.22Licence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

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title = "The Relational Becoming of a Participatory Design Commoner",

abstract = "This research expands the understanding of the collective designer behind Scandinavian Participatory Design with the Latin American notion of relational ontology, which posits a worldview where everything and everyone are mutually constituted through evolving relationships. Drawing from three thematic workshops with design practitioners and scholars that explored intersections between commoning and designing, this research unveils the relational becoming of a participatory design commoner. This includes the production of a shared subjectivity—the collective designer—as integral to commoning design and designing commons. Specifically, we explore the role of participatory designers in commoning through their subjectivity in their infrastructuring actions and affective engagements with objective commons.",

keywords = "Relational Ontology, Participatory design, Commons, Commoning, Becoming, Collective Designer",

author = "Sanna-Maria Marttila and \{Van Amstel\}, \{Frederick M. C.\} and Joanna Saad-Sulonen and Andrea Botero and Giacomo Poderi and Maurizio Teli and P.D. Commoners",

year = "2025",

month = jul,

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doi = "10.21606/nordes.2025.22",

language = "English",

booktitle = "Nordes 2025: Relational Design",

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AU - Botero, Andrea

AU - Poderi, Giacomo

AU - Teli, Maurizio

AU - Commoners, P.D.

N1 - Conference code: 11

PY - 2025/7/29

Y1 - 2025/7/29

N2 - This research expands the understanding of the collective designer behind Scandinavian Participatory Design with the Latin American notion of relational ontology, which posits a worldview where everything and everyone are mutually constituted through evolving relationships. Drawing from three thematic workshops with design practitioners and scholars that explored intersections between commoning and designing, this research unveils the relational becoming of a participatory design commoner. This includes the production of a shared subjectivity—the collective designer—as integral to commoning design and designing commons. Specifically, we explore the role of participatory designers in commoning through their subjectivity in their infrastructuring actions and affective engagements with objective commons.

AB - This research expands the understanding of the collective designer behind Scandinavian Participatory Design with the Latin American notion of relational ontology, which posits a worldview where everything and everyone are mutually constituted through evolving relationships. Drawing from three thematic workshops with design practitioners and scholars that explored intersections between commoning and designing, this research unveils the relational becoming of a participatory design commoner. This includes the production of a shared subjectivity—the collective designer—as integral to commoning design and designing commons. Specifically, we explore the role of participatory designers in commoning through their subjectivity in their infrastructuring actions and affective engagements with objective commons.

KW - Relational Ontology

KW - Participatory design

KW - Commons

KW - Commoning

KW - Becoming

KW - Collective Designer

U2 - 10.21606/nordes.2025.22

DO - 10.21606/nordes.2025.22

M3 - Article in proceedings

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PB - Design Research Society

T2 - Nordic Design Research Society Conference

Y2 - 6 August 2025 through 8 August 2025

ER -

The Relational Becoming of a Participatory Design Commoner

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Conference

Keywords

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