john thackara 约翰·萨卡拉

The idea of "designing for life" sounds meaningful - but what jobs are available in that space? Last week, these 44 people discussed that question in a Design Harvests event near Shanghai thackara.com/urbanrural/des…

Riga State Electrotechnical Factory, Latvian SSR, 1970s.

So you want to start an Ecological Learning Centre? I talk with Shuchin Shu, an activist-educator (with a Masters in Environmental Art) who heads the Yunhe Forest School in China thackara.com/bioregioning/s…

Liminally Minded: "a 48-page exploration of craft, extraction, preservation, automation, and the fragile continuity between ancestral knowledge and contemporary systems" (pic Andreas Depauw) damnmagazine.net/liminally-mind…

The control room of the Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant in 1972.

How to manage a syntropic (dynamic) agroforestry system in a temperate climate. Guided by Renke de Vries: Dynamic Agroforestry Workshop, 4-7 June, Litoměřice, Kamýk, Czech Republic. jedlyprales.cz/en/dynamic-agr…

@johnpmerrick @dwallacewells one-way communication is not the same as an embodied relationship

A brilliant and wide-ranging conversation between @dwallacewells and Adrienne Buller on the state of climate politics, the incredible pace at which previously unthinkable catastrophes become mundane, and where we go from here. Read it below 👇

beautifully explained:

@chinascio in the not-so-distant future, an economy's energy intensity will not be considered a sign of good health

China's #economic engine is humming! Power consumption—a major barometer of economic activity—surged 6% YoY in April to 820.5B kWh. english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2026…

@down2earthindia @sanjayfuloria India's higher education students look awfully young

Comment The autonomous classroom: Is Indian higher education ready for agentic AI? The choice before Indian universities is between engaging with agentic AI on terms that serve students and institutions, or encountering it as a disruption to be contained, writes @sanjayfuloria downtoearth.org.in/science-techno…

Passive cooling is a global priority: There must be 100 potential design projects in this report efficiencyforaccess.org/publications/l…

China has established 903 national wetland parks in 20 years. Over 90 percent of them are free to the public for eco-tourism, cultural activities, and environmental education. chinadaily.com.cn/a/202505/03/WS…

"Why birth rates are falling everywhere all at once". @ft blames smart phones. I'm more inclined to blame The System ft.com/content/fba35e…

Older Brits here probably heard "Dogger Bank" mentioned on early morning shipping forecasts. Now, the wonderful Embassy of the North Sea and Doggerland Foundation are transforming public awareness. Do read their manifesto: embassyofthenorthsea.com/manifest-for-t…

What would worker-owned delivery platforms look like? Our new piece introduces OpenCourier — an open protocol for interoperable, worker-owned delivery platforms. Thanks to @PCC_Global for amplifying it platform.coop/blog/toward-wo…

@cityofsound A fresh and stimulating read as always, Dan. There's just one question I would add, namely: "how many new buildings do we actually need?" Two architects here in France won a Pritzker for their "do nothing" approach fastcompany.com/90615707/two-f…

I have some new research out, with Chris Jensen and André Bonnice. Called 'Project Circle', it's about a complete transformation of design + construction in the built environment sector (!), re-orienting around bio-based materials from regenerative sources pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/we-ca…

"Swamp Imaginaries. The Underground. Arboreal. Under Water" Green Heart Biennale, a new festival of art and design for ecological regeneration, opens on 30 May in Gouda, NL. terrestris.nl/en/