Journal
Notes, essays and updates from the Academy.
- Newsletters
[machine-seed] Journal News render-check
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July 31, 2026
- Newsletters
What Is Symbiotic Design?
An introduction to a framework that treats every design relationship as alive, never neutral.
July 11, 2026
- Newsletters
Tame, Wicked, or Hybrid? The Question to Ask Before You Choose a Method
Two designers can face the same brief and need completely different approaches. Here is how to tell which one you are holding.
July 11, 2026
NewsFour Weeks Teaching the Design Framework at Henan University
Gonzalo spent four weeks teaching the Symbiotic Design Framework to first-year architecture students at Henan University, leaning on translation apps to bridge the language gap.
June 13, 2026
NewsMore Scenes Where Past Meets Future at Henan Drama Fantasy City
The Academy shares more scenes from Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City, the immersive theatrical park blending ancient history with modern stagecraft.
June 13, 2026
NewsExploring Ancient Bronze and Stone Artifacts at Henan Museum
The Academy toured Zhengzhou's Henan Museum, where Shang and Zhou bronzes sit beside stone carvings defaced in past upheavals — proof that culture lives in people, not stone.
June 13, 2026
NewsWhy Flea Markets Reveal a More Honest History
Symbiotic Design Academy explores why Beijing's Panjiayuan flea market reveals a messier, truer history than museums, home to the raw 'Proto-Design' objects from Symbiotic Design Framework.
June 13, 2026
NewsExploring History and Art in Beijing's 798 Art District
The Academy's founder wandered Beijing's 798 Art District, its Cold War-era factories now galleries, and found a quiet restaurant scene straight out of Edward Hopper.
June 13, 2026
NewsMeeting Tsinghua Professor Sai Ma to Discuss Design, AI and Ethics
The Academy's founder capped a China trip by meeting Tsinghua's Prof. Sai Ma to discuss design, AI, and ethics, and delivering copies of his book to the faculty.
June 13, 2026
NewsMeeting Zhang Jinhuan and Her Ink Shop in Zhengzhou
Gonzalo visited Madam Zhang Jinhuan's ink studio in Zhengzhou, where she hand-grinds pigments to paint devotional Buddhist scrolls and talismans.
May 31, 2026
NewsDiscovering Vintage Chinese Ink Paintings at a Market Stall
Gonzalo found two vintage Chinese ink paintings at a market stall, and a note tucked inside revealed the artist: Hao Shilin, trained at Hangzhou's elite art academy.
May 31, 2026
NewsVisiting the Shaolin Temple in China's Songshan Mountains
Gonzalo visits the Shaolin Temple in Henan's Songshan Mountains, founded in the 5th century as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu, struck by its calm, hierarchical architecture.
May 25, 2026
- News
Four Weeks Teaching the Design Framework at Henan University
Gonzalo spent four weeks teaching the Symbiotic Design Framework to first-year architecture students at Henan University, leaning on translation apps to bridge the language gap.
June 13, 2026
- News
More Scenes Where Past Meets Future at Henan Drama Fantasy City
The Academy shares more scenes from Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City, the immersive theatrical park blending ancient history with modern stagecraft.
June 13, 2026
- News
Exploring Ancient Bronze and Stone Artifacts at Henan Museum
The Academy toured Zhengzhou's Henan Museum, where Shang and Zhou bronzes sit beside stone carvings defaced in past upheavals — proof that culture lives in people, not stone.
June 13, 2026
- News
Why Flea Markets Reveal a More Honest History
Symbiotic Design Academy explores why Beijing's Panjiayuan flea market reveals a messier, truer history than museums, home to the raw 'Proto-Design' objects from Symbiotic Design Framework.
June 13, 2026
- News
Exploring History and Art in Beijing's 798 Art District
The Academy's founder wandered Beijing's 798 Art District, its Cold War-era factories now galleries, and found a quiet restaurant scene straight out of Edward Hopper.
June 13, 2026
- News
Meeting Tsinghua Professor Sai Ma to Discuss Design, AI and Ethics
The Academy's founder capped a China trip by meeting Tsinghua's Prof. Sai Ma to discuss design, AI, and ethics, and delivering copies of his book to the faculty.
June 13, 2026
- News
Meeting Zhang Jinhuan and Her Ink Shop in Zhengzhou
Gonzalo visited Madam Zhang Jinhuan's ink studio in Zhengzhou, where she hand-grinds pigments to paint devotional Buddhist scrolls and talismans.
May 31, 2026
- News
Discovering Vintage Chinese Ink Paintings at a Market Stall
Gonzalo found two vintage Chinese ink paintings at a market stall, and a note tucked inside revealed the artist: Hao Shilin, trained at Hangzhou's elite art academy.
May 31, 2026
- News
Visiting the Shaolin Temple in China's Songshan Mountains
Gonzalo visits the Shaolin Temple in Henan's Songshan Mountains, founded in the 5th century as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu, struck by its calm, hierarchical architecture.
May 25, 2026
NewsExploring the Longmen Grottoes as a Lesson in Proto-Design
While teaching the Symbiotic Design Framework in China, Gonzalo toured Luoyang's Longmen Grottoes, where thousands of Buddhist statues are carved into cliffs above the Yi River.
May 24, 2026
NewsOnly Henan Drama Fantasy City Amazes During China Trip
Gonzalo was awed by Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City, the immersive theatrical complex blending ancient Chinese history with modern staging, during his China trip.
May 23, 2026
NewsReflections on Reaching and Growing New Design Communities
Gonzalo reflects on the challenge and reward of introducing symbiotic design thinking to communities encountering it for the first time.
May 18, 2026
- Videos
New Design Book Born from Decades of Research
Symbiotic Design Academy unveiled a book distilling eight years of research and 360 designer interviews into a personal, sometimes provocative take on design's ethics and future.
December 17, 2025
- Videos
Symbiotic Design Academy Presented at CV+i Circular Day
Gonzalo presented the Symbiotic Design Academy project at CV+i's Circular Day, an event centered on circular economy and systemic design.
September 28, 2023
- Videos
Symbiotic Design Academy Launches First Course on Earth Day
Gonzalo marked Earth Day by launching the Academy's first course, teaching a design framework centered on sustainability and interconnectedness.
April 23, 2023
- Videos
Explaining the Symbiotic Design Framework and Free Course
Gonzalo explains the Symbiotic Design Framework, an approach centered on the interconnections within design processes, and points viewers to the Academy's free introductory course.
April 21, 2023
- Videos
Congress of Design Policies Explores Design's Broader Role
Gonzalo poses the questions behind the Congress of Design Policies: if design solves problems so well, why isn't it used more broadly as a cornerstone for a better future.
November 3, 2022
- Videos
Founder Shares a Lovely Day in Saint-Cyprien
A brief, sunny moment Gonzalo shared from Saint-Cyprien, a seaside town on France's Mediterranean coast.
August 11, 2022
- Videos
Streets Are Alive: A Look at Public Spaces
A brief video capturing the energy of public space, with Gonzalo simply noting that the streets are alive with everyday activity.
August 8, 2022
- Videos
Home Studio Set Up for a Lockdown Design Project
During lockdown, Gonzalo rigged up a makeshift home studio, using a Sony A7III and iMac setup to keep a new project moving.
May 29, 2020
- Videos
Live Music and Murals Mark Return Trip to Buenos Aires
Gonzalo caught live music from Amor Elefante against a backdrop of Juan Molinet murals on a fourth visit to Buenos Aires, just before the final stretch of his PhD.
July 15, 2018
- Videos
Tomás Saraceno's Spider-Web Installation Featured in Buenos Aires
Gonzalo shares Tomás Saraceno's installation How to Entangle the Universe in a Spider Web, built over six months by roughly 7,000 Parawixia bistriata spiders, on view in Buenos Aires.
March 11, 2018
- Videos
Leon Ferrari's 'Opus 113' Concrete Art Sculpture
A look at Opus 113 by Argentine concrete artist León Ferrari, whose kinetic sculpture work Gonzalo photographs in Buenos Aires.
March 4, 2018
NewsFounder Joins Cumulus Internationalisation Discussion Group
Gonzalo joined the Cumulus Association's 'X Files' discussion group on internationalisation, part of an ongoing conversation among design educators worldwide.
June 18, 2020
NewsFounder's PhD Thesis Finished, Awaiting Final Committee Review
Gonzalo's PhD thesis was finished six weeks ago and now awaits final notes from his advisor before heading to committee for evaluation.
June 15, 2020
NewsNew Video Explores What Design Is Amid Paradigm Shift
Gonzalo's second video takes on the question 'What is Design?', making the case that the field needs a paradigm shift without ceasing to be design.
June 12, 2020
NewsFounder Launches YouTube Channel on Sustainability and Design
Gonzalo launched a YouTube channel on design and sustainability, aiming to bring overlooked research to a mainstream audience, with videos subtitled in English and Spanish.
June 5, 2020
- Videos
Home Studio Set Up for a Lockdown Design Project
During lockdown, Gonzalo rigged up a makeshift home studio, using a Sony A7III and iMac setup to keep a new project moving.
May 29, 2020
NewsCentro Cultural Alameda Burns Amid Chile's Protests
Gonzalo mourned the burning of Santiago's Centro Cultural Alameda amid Chile's protests, a space he had known since 1995 that had sheltered people injured in the unrest.
December 28, 2019
NewsMapuche Flag Atop Baquedano Statue Sparks Historical Reflection
A photo Gonzalo shares shows a Mapuche flag atop the statue of Manuel Baquedano, who annexed Araucanía as Chile's 19th-century president, recalling the Mapuche's former status as a recognized nation.
October 26, 2019
NewsReflecting on Chile's Former State-Owned Public Transport
Gonzalo looks back on Chile's earlier era of state-owned public transport, a wistful nod to a system since privatized.
October 19, 2019
NewsFounder to Join Panel on Design Education for 2030
Gonzalo joins a panel at the Universidad de Chile's Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism on 'Educating and Designing for 2030: Responsibility and Sustainable Awareness.'
October 6, 2019
NewsFounder Calls for Climate Protest to Protect Children's Future
Gonzalo urged people to join Friday's climate protests in their own cities, aligning with Fridays for Future and Greenpeace to demand action for children's future.
September 25, 2019
NewsFounder Joins Climate Strike Protest, Urges More Action
Gonzalo joined a Fridays for Future climate strike in Chile over the weekend, urging others to get out and protest rather than wait for change.
September 24, 2019
NewsExploring the 34 Possible Forms of a Heptahedron
Gonzalo explored the geometry of the heptahedron, a seven-faced solid with 34 possible forms, through the lens of systemic design.
September 21, 2019