DIVYARAJSINH RANA

“We can only live the changes we wish to see; we cannot think our way to humanity. Every one of us, and every group with which we live and work, must become the model of the era which we desire to create.”

          -Ivan Illich

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Ivan Illich's quote, which offers a means for reimagining and reconstructing a desirable future by choosing a life of action over a life of consumption, resonates with me as a designer. My practice as an architect turned transition designer has evolved from crafting experiences in physical spaces to experiences in digital spaces, all while being rooted in the fact of living in a time of transition, with large-scale macro shifts occurring across natural ecosystems as well as human societies. Finishing my MDes in 2022 in Reimagining Transitions, I am currently pursuing my PhD in "Reimagining Transitional Spaces: Digitally Archiving Transitional Experiences at an intersection of Architecture and Nature in Bhal region of India.” To me, being a transition designer implies embracing multiple values, perspectives, disciplines, and narratives; thus, my research-based design practice is transdisciplinary, at the confluence of architecture, nature, archiving, and digital technology. I believe that new emerging technologies have the potential to be a change agent in establishing a new system for bringing about societal changes towards more sustainable and interconnected futures. Thus, as a transition designer, I thrive to explore digital technology for its potential to provide an alternative to the current environmental and sociocultural crises and transitions.