W O R K .

About

Markus Wernli

MARKUS WERNLI works on bioregioning communities—the prototyping of pluriversal, social arrangements, that explore more regenerative, ecologically entangled ways of living, householding and designing. His ongoing research in Design Commons draws connections between food systems and ecosystems on social, cultural, and communal level to forge healthier relationships between what we breathe, eat, expel, wear, and grow.
He currently works as Research Assistant Professor at PolyU School of Design (Hong Kong). Prior assignments included the Dutch Design Week (Eindhoven), Proef Eating & Food Design (Amsterdam), Rooftop Farm at Hong Kong University, Utopiana Gardens (Genève), and Cheng-Long Wetlands International Environmental Art Project (Taiwan).
Markus taught on tertiary level for a diverse range of students at School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2015–), College of Asia and the Pacific at Australian National University in Canberra (2012-14), and Zokei School of Art and Design in Kyoto (2005-07).

Contact: mswernli@gmail.com

Curriculum vitæ: → PDF (175 KB)

Portfolio: → PDF (6.9 MB)

Engagements

O N G O I N G . / . U P C O M I N G . / . R E C E N T

2 Dec, 2024 (16:30-18:00 HKT). Environment and Interior Design (EID) Lecture: Vernacular Eco-Sanitation? Unsewered Coastal Dwellings as Opportunity (hosted by Daniel Elkin, Chi-Yuen Leung and Micheal Chan) at Stilt Housing in Tai O Village: Results from an ethnographic digital cultural heritage study, PolyU Design.

27 Nov, 2024 (9:45 HKT). PhD Seminar: Design with/from the past: Implementation-based inquiry and the long tail of research (hosted by Gerhard Bruyns) at Winter School 2024, PolyU School of Design.

15 Nov, 2024 (9:00-10:30 US/PT). Laureate panel guest: Humanity-Centered Award Projects (moderated by Rao Machiraju) at Don Norman Design Award 2024 Summit (DNDA24), San Diego, USA.

1 Oct, 2024 (9:00-11:00 JKT). Guest lecturer: Designing for Change: Exploring Community-Centered Pathways with the Pre-Designed. Student Seminar at Design Center, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), West Java, Indonesia.

5 July, 2024. Scenario design workshop: From (Food) Waste to Urban Carbon Sponge by Design. Public Seminar: Advancing Food Waste Circularity in Hong Kong, Chinese University Hong Kong, Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability.

27 June, 2024 (13:15-14:15 US/ET). Conference presentation: Rendering Soil Care Across Hotel, Retailer, And Farm With A Mutuality Service Blueprint. Design Research Society (DRS'2024) Boston, Track 28: Sustainability in Retail, Hospitality and Service Design. Northeastern University, College of Arts, Media, and Design (classroom 32-144).

21 June, 2024. Guest lecturer with Susanne Trumpf: Soil-to-Soil Economies by Design with Feces, Foodwaste, and Fermentation. Common Core Microcredential Course: Material Ecologies: Local Practices and Global Impacts. The Hong Kong University, Faculty of Architecture, Division of Landscape Architecture.

12 Jan, 2024. Guest lecturer with Dr. Deniz Kucukusta: ESGs (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) for value creation in local environment and community? The case of SoilFeeder. PolyU School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM), Hong Kong.

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29 June, 2023. Presenter at RAP Forum 2023 with: Post-capitalist Composting: Reverse Supply Chains for Organic Waste and Designing for Diverse Economies. School of Design, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

9 June, 2023. Presenter at 6th Nordic STS (Science Technology Society) Conference 2023 (Disruption and Repair in and beyond STS) open panel: Soils Repair: Recuperating Human-Soil Relationships with: Soil Trust: Social pilot connecting food wastes, landscapes, livelihoods. TIK Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.

1 May 2023: Presenter with Kam-fai Chan and Jonathan Yu The farm as quasi-object in design education: Living-learning towards pluriversal forms of sustenance for Conceptual Practice: Research and Pedagogy in Art, Design, Creative Industries, and Cultural Heritage International Conference. The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hang Shin Link, Siu Lek Yuen, Shatin.

18 Mar 2023: Film Screening/Panel Discussion Prototyping Economies for the Ecologically Regenerative City (「回歸田嘢」) with discussants: Wai-Fung Danny LAM (HKU Center for Civil Society and Governance), Shawn CHENG (FoodCycle+), Connie HON (NTMS Rice Cooperative), Iron CHAN (One Farmily Studio), Celeste SHAI (HKU General Edu), Henry YEUNG (Rooftop Republic) and Ho-ying MAK (Greenfield Organic), at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 3/F, Rm HJ303 Lecture Theatre, Shirley Ho Building.

24 Feb 2023: Presenter at Waste/Economy/Ecology Symposium (WEES) in Session 3: Design: Materialising Economies and Ecologies (chaired by Ruth Lane) with Provocation Soil Trust: Designing economies inside an interspecies world of feeders, at Institute for Culture and Society, building EM in the Parramatta South campus of Western Sydney University.

15 Feb 2023: Speaker at Webinar Design Commons – Practices, Processes and Crossovers of Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Conference (ACSA111 Annual Meeting) at Washington University in St. Louis, Sam Fox School of Design, Missouri, USA.

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12 October 2022: Panelist with Britta Boyer and Tanja Latussek at Institute of Advanced Studies' (IAS) Annual Theme Launch for Breathe, introducing Breathful Design in Breathless Times. at Loughborough University, London, Stewart Mason Building (SMB.0.17) and on Zoom (free of charge).

7 October 2022: Speaker at Fall 2022 Discussion Series with lecture titled Designing with Sustainment (D x S). The Hong Kong University, Department of Architecture, Knowles Building (KB419).

30 August 2022: Workshop co-organiser with Justin Sacks at Participatory Design Conference (PDC) 2022: Embracing Cosmologies, Expanding Worlds of Participatory Design titled: Co-design of a pluriversal Commons Model Canvas. New Castle University, Urban Sciences Building, Newcastle upon Tyne and Zoom.

7 April 2022: Speaker at the Urban Edible Spaces ForumCommunity Composting for Waste Reduction and Soil Regeneration. Hong Kong University, General Education Programme (GE2021-39) with Hermia Chung from Foodcycle+. Moderation by Celeste Shai.

24 March 2022: Guest lecturer for Fermenting the city: What if urban soil care was a priority? at Strategic Approaches to the City master’s class of Dr. Sunny Choi at Urban Environment Department of PolyU School of Design, Hong Kong.

22 March 2022: Speaker at the Design Making: Advanced Colloquia Series II (Making | Unmaking | Remaking)Starting a soil commons in Hong Kong: Manifested translations of human-soil relationships. School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics, University of Cape Town, South Africa convened by Michael Louw and Daniel Elkin.

8 March 2022: Guest lecturer for Technological innovation from below: Human engagement with Soil at Technology and Cultural Change bachelor’s class of Dr. Daren Leung at Cultural Studies Department of Lingnan University, Hong Kong.