The digital transformation of cultural heritage has expanded the availability of data while revealing structural forms of incompleteness. This study investigates how missing data are conceptualised in the scientific and design literature on digital cultural heritage and how Advanced Design can transform absence into a resource. The research combines a critical thematic review of peer-reviewed publications from 2010 to 2025 with Research through Design practices and case studies developed within the PNRR CHANGES project. The analysis identifies three main configurations of absence: processual gaps arising along the data lifecycle, epistemic exclusions embedded in standards and knowledge models, and projectual shortcomings related to governance and participation. Based on these findings, a design taxonomy and an operational model are proposed, linking each form of absence to specific levers of intervention, such as transparency of workflows, community-grounded annotation and narration, collaborative metadata writing, and long-term maintenance practices. The results show that Advanced Design provides an infrastructural and reflective framework capable of connecting technical processes, cultural interpretation, and community involvement. The study concludes that incompleteness, rather than a defect, can act as a generative condition for digital heritage, fostering more inclusive, situated, and transformative design practices.

The aim of the paper is to present a focus on the relationship between Design and Territory, framing it in the contemporary debate about the Anthropocene and orienting the discussion in the direction of emergencies and conflicts concerning the evolution of our artificial world. After an overview about typical issues regarding the relationship between design and territory, the authors propose to interpret it through the concept of “time”, which is the, often underestimate, paradigm at the base of Advanced Design studies. This reasoning will be developed in three phases: how design relates itself with the past of territories and with the forms inherited; how contemporary design deals with the current issues of the territory, in terms of emergences and conflicts; how design anticipates visions of sharable future themes and solutions.

The aim of this work is to analyse the topic of professional associationism in the fi eld of design. This is a phenomenon which has contributed in defining several aspects, not just in regulatory terms, of the “trade” of designer, encouraging its rapid dissemination in the contemporary society and making it one of today’s most appealing professions at international level. Its priority is to see whether there is a Latin tradition which has historically marked the evolution of associationism. We will also try to understand whether the contamination between the sphere of design and the world of art and craft can be considered among those constants that can be used to interpret the issue. Lastly, but equally important, we will analyse the possibility of creating a system of shared connection based upon current information and communication technology, in order to build up a relationship between many subjects. We think that the use of an “institutional” tool (such as university research) to read and understand the phenomenon, can help to shed light on the different aspects of the discipline. Key words: design associations, profession, tradition, identity, knowledge network, ICT.

Design is often viewed as an activity focused on shaping futures or, more precisely, on creating ‘better’ futures. However, an important yet often overlooked reality is that the future is uncertain, unpredictable, and fundamentally unknown. Based on this premise, the Open Debate section seeks to explore the relationship between Design and Unknowns. By examining its philosophical, ethical, cosmological, practical, and pedagogical implications, it offers new perspectives for design research: slowness, as a way to approach the encounter with the unknown, as well as a way to design it; problematization, as a rethinking of what we know; possible, as potential realities to be shaped by the unknowns, that also deals with non-linearity; de-scripting, as a way to de-colonise futures; inevitabilism, that strips potential from the unknown. These concepts introduce the voices that populated the section, exploring different dimensions of the relationships between Design and Unknowns.

The article presents a definition of the concept of SWaT (Small Walled Town), identifying them as a paradigm to test and verify design driven approaches to enhance cultural heritage. It starts with a critical literature review to highlight the development of a research field that led to theoretical and applied outcomes, with a specific focus on the Italian design community and context. In doing so, a possible synthesis of the most recurrent approaches is proposed to arrive at the most advanced of recent years. The main theme of the research is then presented, defining SWaT as a specific form of cultural heritage within which reactivation and valorisation measures can be implemented, using the typical approach of design cultures. Finally, the most comprehensive interpretation of the wall concept inherent in the concept of SWaT is proposed, understanding its metaphorical and cultural dimensions as design challenges.

The article presents the results of the debate that emerged during the 8^th International Forum of Design as a Process, organized in Bologna by the design units of three partner institutions: the University of Bologna, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the Tecnológico de Monterrey (20-22 June 2022). In particular, the Authors were chairs of the New Education Pathways for Future Designers in a Changing World theme track. It focused on two complementary perspectives. First, how designers can apply their peculiar “productive thinking” to educational spheres or other forms of organizations; second, how a non-hegemonic approach to design education could introduce new perspectives on future experiences. After an introduction about the overall theorical background, five themes have been created to frame the papers by international scholars. The conclusion outlines some elements that can be considered in a process of continuous research and discussion.