Abstract
Despite the advancement of sustainable design, a critical paradox persists: many practices remain embedded in industrial paradigms, failing to address deep-seated socio-natural contradictions. Grounded in the Eco-Marxist "metabolic rift" framework and informed by recent Agricultural Innovation Design (AID) research, this study proposes a key path for mending these rifts. The research offers a systemic framework for intervening in complex social-ecological systems. The primary conclusions are: (1) metabolic rifts are fundamentally rooted in relational alienation, characterized by the disruption of healthy and reciprocal metabolic relationships between society and nature; (2) structural sustainability requires reshaping metabolic relationships across social, ecological, and intergenerational dimensions; (3) the proposed “restoration paradigm” shifts design logic from product-centricity to relationship restoration through a “mapping-catalyzing-consolidating” path; and (4) designers are redefined as “relationship catalysts” who synchronize community needs with natural ecological cycles to construct resilient systems.
Keywords
Metabolic Rift;Eco-Marxism;Sustainable Design; Transition Design
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1756
Citation
Yang, Y., Wang, Z., Ren, J., Ji, T., and Meng, H. (2026) Design for Mending the Rift: Rethinking Sustainable Design from an Eco-Marxist Perspective, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1756
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Design for Mending the Rift: Rethinking Sustainable Design from an Eco-Marxist Perspective
Despite the advancement of sustainable design, a critical paradox persists: many practices remain embedded in industrial paradigms, failing to address deep-seated socio-natural contradictions. Grounded in the Eco-Marxist "metabolic rift" framework and informed by recent Agricultural Innovation Design (AID) research, this study proposes a key path for mending these rifts. The research offers a systemic framework for intervening in complex social-ecological systems. The primary conclusions are: (1) metabolic rifts are fundamentally rooted in relational alienation, characterized by the disruption of healthy and reciprocal metabolic relationships between society and nature; (2) structural sustainability requires reshaping metabolic relationships across social, ecological, and intergenerational dimensions; (3) the proposed “restoration paradigm” shifts design logic from product-centricity to relationship restoration through a “mapping-catalyzing-consolidating” path; and (4) designers are redefined as “relationship catalysts” who synchronize community needs with natural ecological cycles to construct resilient systems.