WHAT BLOOMS IN THE CRACKS: SITUATED DESIGN PRACTICES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ANTHROPOCENE.

O QUE FLORESCE NAS FISSURAS: PRÁTICAS DE DESIGN SITUADAS NO CONTEXTO DO ANTROPOCENO

Abstract

This article offers a critical reflection on the role of design in the context of the Anthropocene, understood not only as a geological era but as a regime of thought shaped by extractivist, productivist, and anthropocentric logics. Drawing on the metaphor of the flower that breaks through asphalt, inspired by Carlos Drummond de Andrade’s poem The Flower and the Nausea, the study investigates how situated design practices can emerge from the cracks of this system, articulating circularity, biomaterials, and traditional knowledge as forces of socio-environmental transition. Grounded in the works of Escobar, Fry, Tsing, Haraway, Stengers, and Ailton Krenak, the research understands design as a cultural, political, and relational practice capable of mediating alternative forms of coexistence between humans and non-humans. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative, exploratory, and interpretative approach, based on the analysis of two case studies developed in the community of Moita Redonda (Ceará, Brazil), linked to the Social Design Laboratory of the Federal University of Ceará. The analyzed projects reveal collaborative practices that value clay materiality, local making processes, artisanal temporalities, and relational dynamics among diverse agents. The findings suggest that circularity and the use of biomaterials.