Francesco Vergani, researcher at the Politecnico di Milano and director of POLIMI DESIS Lab, is an expert in integrating valuable living agents into the ecosystem. During one week, he gave a workshop to 4th year design students with the goal of making them aware of the environmental impact of their work.

The workshop is part of the subject Project for Public Space taught by Aitor Acilu and has as reference letter the University campus . Its character is speculative and is proposed as a space for open conversation in which the future of society and design comes into play. Ethics in design or the post-AI era are some of the topics discussed during the sessions.

The projects developed by the students explore the students' relationships with the bodies of water, flora and fauna surrounding the campus. After hours of research and observation, students become aware of "the sensitivities of different species: plants, animals, bacteria, tools or objects," says Vergani.

"The students are human-oriented, and during the workshop they learn to consider others," he explains. Beyond the end result , "the richness of the exercise lies in the process. The goal is not to offer a solution, but to open up to partnership with others in their daily struggles," he confesses.