Leonardo Kussler. “Designing cosmic inhabiting in the Anthropocene.”
08 Oct 2025
Delft
Can we design more responsibly, grounded in Amerindian perspectives and a flat ontology?
A thought-provoking question emerged during our very first Lab Talk by Brazilian researcher Leonardo Kussler, hosted by the Justice by Design Lab on October 8: Can design enable less apocalyptic ways of living? In his talk, Leonardo reflected on the climate crisis, Amerindian philosophy, and anthropology to rethink how we inhabit the world. Leonardo challenged Western capitalist notions of productivity and progress, and advocated that indigenous perspectives for relational existence—between humans, non-humans, and the Earth—offer pathways to protect life, design for new ways of living based on co-responsibility, and postpone the “end of the world.”
Leonardo Marques Kussler, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil. Contact Leonardo directly, if you would like to know more about his work.
You can watch the full video recording of this talk here or discover other Justice by Design Lab Talks.
Don’t hesitate to contact us, if you want to learn about our future Lab Talks with designers, philosophers, policy-makers, and other experts who are passionate about designing a more just world.
Fernando Secomandi — Director of Justice by Design Lab
Dave Murray-Rust — Director of Justice by Design Lab
