Dr Wendy Fountain

With a teaching and research background in social-ecological systems design, I joined The Open University in October 2023 to contribute to the development of a new design qualification with an expanding design team. I hold a PhD in Urban Design from the University of Tasmania (lutruwita / Tasmania) and continue my design research via one of its key outcomes: a living lab dubbed 'the house that feeds' that supports experiments with ecological living.

My design work spans design for resilience, regenerative practices in housing, food systems, energy and community action, and the design of cross-cutting learning opportunities. As a design educator and learning designer, I’ve held varied roles in Australia, Sweden, New Zealand and the UK for over two decades – highlighting the potential versatility of a design education!

During the past five years I’ve been co-teaching and co-researching Design Processes - Resilience in the Design + Change program at Linnaeus University, Sweden. My related research interests include:

• Systems, complexity and uncertainty in design processes
• Design agency in movement building and activism, and
• Learning ecologies for planetary health.