Researcher 5: Xinquan Wen: Reconnecting: social renewal and creative regeneration for just urban transitions // Malmö University

This position is affiliated with the EU project Bauhaus of the Seas Sails (https://bauhaus-seas.eu/boss/), linked to the work being undertaken as partners by Malmö University with the Marine Education Centre (https://en.smkc.se/om-oss) and to the project’s legacy in the city of Malmö. The project concerns how the city’s inhabitants and other local actors understand themselves as related to the sea, the marine environment and life under water and will work across the city to embed a more-than-human perspective.

The focus will be specifically on articulating and experimenting with cross-sector collaborations and multistakeholder processes that aim at including both humans and non-humans. The intention is to advance Participatory Design theoretical frameworks and methodologies to support these kinds of processes. During the first three years, there will be secondments outside Sweden to two organisations forming part of the Reworlding consortium: Hasselt University and Architecture Workroom Brussels

PhD candidate: Xinquan Wen

Xinquan is a PhD candidate from China, driven by a passion for ecological shifts observed through pluriversal, critical, and ethical lenses. With an MA in Collaborative and Industrial Design from Aalto University, he has embarked on a journey to unravel the complex interplay between humans and nonhumans, advocating for more-than-human design perspectives and embracing pluralist approaches to knowledge and action. His current work delves into the intricate relationship between Malmö's inhabitants and its marine environment, striving to cultivate transitions that support the flourishing of all life by fostering cultural shifts. He relishes engaging in dialogues exploring innovative ways to interact with more-than-humans, while contemplating the intricacies of temporality and scale.