Design Studios as Method for Exploring Complex Challenges in the Pearl River Delta

Abstract

This chapter draws on three different design studios that focus on the Pearl River Delta to discuss what kind of knowledge has been generated within them, and how they can be used systematically as a method to address the region’s complex challenges. The three studios differ in their objectives, duration and structure, but are linked by a research-through-design approach. A selection of some illustrative outcomes is presented and structured around three types of knowledge—project based, form based and idea based—which is typically produced in the design process. This knowledge refers to four main aspects through which it is possible to describe the complexity of the urban landscape, namely time, space, causality and materiality and can be either contextual or generic. Nonetheless, within a design studio, it can be systematically employed to support research activities, speeding up the development of research programmes dealing with complex issues, such as adaptation of fast urbanising deltas.