From Systems Thinking to Systemic Design

Jan Jongert is architect and co-founder of Superuse Studios. Since 2024 he has been a Visiting Professor at the Department of Architectural Engineering and Technology at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment. In this video, Jan discusses the five components that support systemic design.

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Main Takeaways

  • Architects are not just creators of spaces; they are participants in intricate systems and share responsibility for the entire chain of production they set into motion.

  • Systemic design is both a mindset and a methodology that acknowledges the complexity and the interconnectedness of the designing and doing process. It further equips architects to map existing dynamics, propose effective alterations, and predict their broader effects.

  • Systemic design has five key components: System Boundaries, Stakeholders, Metabolism, Stakeholder Interaction and Leverage Points.

Author

Jan Jongert
Jan Jongert
Visiting Professor

Jan Jongert (Amsterdam 1971) is architect and co-founder of Superuse Studios. With his collective he designs and realizes concrete projects that stimulate local exchange and production. This is an alternative to transporting raw materials, products and parts around the world, where a lot of value is unnecessarily lost. Jan works on tactics and tools to enable the transition to architecture for a responsible society. He was curator of the Dutch contribution to the 18th architecture Biennial in Venice in 2023 and currently visiting professor on circularity in the built environment at the Faculty of Architecture at TU Delft.

Circularity for Educators

The platform is intended to provide with content on either circularity or pedagogy for and about circularity. It is one of the outcomes of the Circular Impulse Initiative (CII), a project intending to enhance the integration of circularity in the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment education. The platform mainly aims to help tutors get better acquainted with circularity in the built environment by providing a series of resources on this subject that they can either view to get better informed or directly share with their students in class or online. A large number of the Faculty's professors and researchers have contributed substantially both in creating a coherent narrative for circularity in the built environment as well as further elaborating on different aspects of it. Besides this one, a new platform for interaction and direct exchange was also established in parallel that we call ‘Educators for Circularity‘. This one offers the opportunity for all of us to meet and share our experiences and learn from one another.

Visit Educators for Circularity