The Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO) is organizing the 13th edition of the symposium Relating Systems and Design Thinking from October 22nd to 24th. This year’s theme is “Rivers of Conversations.”

In 2012, Professor Birger Sevaldson at AHO initiated the establishment of a symposium for system-oriented design students. This initiative led to the creation of the Systemic Design Research Network (SDRN). It also marked the beginning of a series of symposia worldwide, serving as a forum to promote systemic design as an integrated design practice.

This year, the Relating Systems and Design Thinking symposium (RSD13) is being held for the thirteenth time. The symposium returns to AHO after being hosted in countries such as Italy, Canada, England, India, and the USA. This is the fifth time AHO is hosting the symposium.

The symposium, titled “Rivers of Conversations,” will focus on dialogue and plenary discussions. Three intense days of lectures and professional conversations are planned.

Additionally, there will be an exhibition in the gallery at AHO, in the reception area corridors, and other locations within the building. On October 23rd, an excursion to Vippa will be organized, where state-of-the-art examples will be presented by both Norwegian and international guest lecturers, in collaboration with Halogen during this year’s “Change By Design” event.

Symposium Programme: Relating Systems and Design Thinking at AHO, October 22-24, 2024.

The symposium has received over 300 contributions from various research and design communities. To warm up for the main event at AHO, a three-day digital conference will be held with over 90 thematically divided contributions selected for the symposium. Additionally, several workshops will be held the weekend before the symposium, from Saturday, October 19th to Monday, October 22nd, at Pilestredet at OsloMet.

After the symposium at AHO, a selection of researchers and participants will travel to Studenterhytta in Nordmarka to reflect on the symposium’s content and discuss the future of systemic design as a field.

The symposium is led by Professor Birger Sevaldson, along with Professor Jonathan Romm and Andreas Wettre.