Designing experimental places and spaces
A bioregional experience journey from the Mediterranean basin of the Venice Lagoon up the Po River to its headwaters, crossing the Alpine ridge to follow the Rhone river down to its delta reconnecting with the Mediterranean
Dates and places
In-person course phase is 10-18 May 2025
A virtual theory and preparatory meeting about two weeks before (date to be announced)
10 May, Saturday, arrival by train in Venice at noon. 10-11 May at Experience Lab/Camping Ca’Savio near Venice, Italy (1) (two nights).
12 May, morning departure and late noon arrival by train via Turin in Pinerolo, car pick-up to Ostana, Italy. 12-14 May at MonViso Institute (2) (three nights)
15 May, morning departure and late noon arrival by train in Annecy, France (3). Tour of municipal projects and a bike/boat “zoom out” practice discussion with the vice mayor (one night)
16 May, morning departure and late noon arrival by train in Arles, France(4).
17 May, Systemic Cycles ride downstream the Rhone into the Camargue, France. Course finish in Arles with dinner. (Two nights in Arles)
18 May in the morning: individual departure via Marseilles.
Co-create a better reality: prototype your own lab type through decades of experience
How to design experimental places and spaces? What differentiates the various formats, i.e. living labs, real-world labs, bioregional learning centers or weaving labs, eco-villages, living systems labs, and others? What are design criteria? How to finance, launch, and manage a real-world lab, bioregional learning/weaving center, or any such category? What can we learn from practice, and what mistakes can we avoid? What are business models, ways of community integration, types of experimental research and design activities? How does such engagement affect one’s lifestyle, personal and professional development?
In this journey, we'll visit four very different lab types and engage with the founders/hosts/managers/communities in personal dialogues to learn about creating one’s own potential lab space—while diving deep into the cutting-edge science behind these experiential places.
Learning journey: firsthand experience backed by systems science
This course will equip you with highly valuable firsthand experience from embodied practice on designing and maintaining experimental places and spaces. You will learn about the latest state of science on transdisciplinary research, systemic intervention, systemic design, transitions and transformations, and bioregional learning/weaving, and reflect on what roles experimental places and spaces take.
We will deep-dive into practice, and benefit from 10 years of building the MonViso Institute and its system—with firsthand sharing of gain and pain. Architecture, landscaping, community integration, bioregional weaving, cross-scale governance, resilience building, course development, lifestyle changes, financing, business opportunities… anything will be openly shared.
We will learn about a set of diverse approaches and experiences, like the VR lab in the Experience Lab sprouting from within the large campsite Ca’Savio, and various bioregional activities emerging around it, like the first DRRS Bioregional Sensing unconference and the Systemic Cycles tour by bike and sea kayak.
Unique program: holistic and project-based learning
The program is a hybrid of coaching and learning. Each participant is invited to bring their own specific quest or project, creating a foundation for highly applicable, project-based learning. Deep theoretical and practical insights unfold through a structure built on four verticals and four horizontals, supported by embodied, experience-based practices. These elements are woven together to provide a holistic and lasting understanding.
Following a systemic approach—one that embraces the entangled, interwoven, and complex nature of systems—we explore each vertical through a unique lens: business, governance, and art & culture. At the heart of the program lies the MVI, which synthesizes these three domains to offer insights into how to build an ever-evolving, living systems lab.
This journey takes us deep into the fabric of design, examining the practical implications of new ways of learning and co-creating. Alongside the verticals, our horizontal threads include:
– an ongoing visual mapping process,
– the study of bioregional thinking (based on a systemic governance framework across eight scales),
– lectures and practices in systems thinking, and
– continuous sharing and reflection to support each participant’s individual project.
Visits: embodied experience in four different places and spaces
You will visit four experimental place types and engage in deep dialogue with the local hosts and place-familiar guides. The group will travel by train on an Interrail ticket to Venice and meet local host Folef Hooft Graafland there, then travel from Venice to Ostana and meet the MVI team around Tobias Luthe. You’ll then travel to Annecy to meet Benjamin Marias, who then guides you to Arles.
Start: Re-designing economic prospects
10.05. – 12.05 (2 nights): Experience lab in the Venice Lagoon
After arriving at Ca’Savio, you will walk the campsite’s stepping stones system, experience the multimedia and dialogue in the Experience Lab, and set the tone for a lab exploring new ways of business, and rethinking hospitality. On the first night, we will witness the opening of the Architecture Biennale—starting the journey with cultural inspiration that will accompany the whole trip, sparking discussions and dialogue on what is possible as well as necessary.
At the headwaters: Learnings from a Living Systems Lab in the Alpine
12.05. – 15.05 (3 nights): MonViso Institute, Upper Po Valley
After a scenic train ride through northern Italy from the sea up the Po River basin, with guided conversations, we’ll arrive by late noon at MVI with time to explore the mountain campus at 1500m asl near the spring of the Po River.
The next two full days will allow us to deep dive into ten years of experience in building an experimental place, full of hands-on practice, with life-changing personal impacts, creating a micro-economy that supports a team, and the co-offering of a global teaching program together with ETH Zurich. We will explore evidence for systemic interventions across governance scales, discuss the latest science on designing experiential and experimental places, and learn from the gains and pains of engaging in such an endeavor.
Embodied practices like hiking with a “view-from-above” mountain perspective to understand the valley and bioregional context at the source of the Po River will be included, along with talks with the local community and small group sessions on governance and design frameworks. We'll gather around the fire and engage in physical activity-based dialogues outdoors, exchanging narratives of embodied practices and what this could mean for your plans of place-specfic experimentation.
Liminary: Re-Thinking governance
15.05. – 16.05 (1 night): Annecy
In Annecy, Vice Mayor Benjamin Marias will host us. Together, we will walk and cycle through the city and along the lake, sharing multi-level governance experiences from city, community, and regional perspectives, with a special focus on policy-making.
Closing: Bicycle tour combined with a regional exploration
16.05. – 18.05 (2 nights): Arles
We'll experience the Systemic Cycles approach from Arles down the Rhône River into the bioregional activities of the Camargue, and end the trip with an inspirational dinner in the historic center. Departure is from Marseille on 18.05.
Liminal space: The journey is framed by a tailored integration program that weaves together reflection, dialogue, and co-creation. Through firsthand experiences, exchanges with founders, owners, and managers, participants will capture, digest, and deepen their understanding of the insights each place and person has to offer.
Meet DEPS team, MVI Design Associates:
From the left:
Benjamin Marias, Vice-mayor of Annecy, DEPS Guide
Tobias Luthe, MVI Founding Director, ETH DRRS Program Director, Systemic Cycles Co-founder
Sylwia Orczykowska, ETH DRRS Communication and Art Designer, Founder of Art Now
Folef Hooft Graafland, Local Host, Camping Ca'Savio / Experience Lab, Venice Lagoon, DRRS Alumni
Florian Uthoff-Erfort, DEPS Accompanying Guide, DRRS Alumni
Martin Schütz, Engineering Design lecturer ETH and Zurich Art School, Systemic Cycles Co-founder
For whom?
As part of a dedicated group of researchers and handpicked professionals, you’ll meet the makers and doers behind four experimental places – and gain access to a vibrant global network of the DRRS program, committed to healthier ways of living and working, while contributing to some of society’s most pressing challenges.
Spanning backgrounds in academia, NGOs, startups, and public institutions, participants bring a rich tapestry of insights that deepen the embodied learning on site. This diversity not only enriches the experience but also helps expand your personal network and broaden your understanding of systemic transformation in practice.
DRRS elective?
Yes, counting for 2 ECTS if pre-conditioned MOOC#1 has been finished and if accompanied by a written-graphical report with a potential selection as a DRRS blog publication, plus your personal learning reflection, to be submitted after the course.
Preconditions
ETH DRRS MOOC#1. Ideally also MOOC#2, at least having read this article:
Living Systems Labs by T. Luthe
Proof of accident insurance.
Pricing
Regular course price - 1750€
DRRS CAS alumni price - 1450€
Bike and kayak rental, and taxi pickup are included in the price.
Financial support may be available on a case-by-case basis (upon request).
Additional costs:
• Interrail train ticket: 383€ (valid 7 out of 30 days across Europe)
• food half-pension (breakfast and dinner) and accommodation single room: 900€
• lunches, snacks and alcoholic drinks: various price, dependent on individual choices
Application to participate
The application period is closed.
Please apply by April 25, 2025 using this form with:
– a short statement of motivation,
– a brief résumé of your education and work experience,
– your age,
– proof of ETH DRRS MOOC#1 participation for the DRRS alumni conditions,
– your expectations.
Do you have questions? Please email to apply@monviso-institute.org.
Download the course teaser: here