Designing for Future Heritage: Reframing Sustainability through Cultural and Temporal Value
Abstract
This PhD explores how design practice can integrate principles of future heritage — viewing today's artefacts, systems and services as tomorrow's cultural and planetary legacy. It investigates how rethinking time and value can move design beyond sustainability's short-term horizons toward long-term cultural and planetary significance. Depending on the candidate's interests, the project may focus on designing with plural temporalities, building frameworks for what makes value endure across generations, or developing shared vocabularies and imaginaries for intergenerational design. Through design-led research and interdisciplinary collaboration, the candidate will help establish future heritage as a new paradigm for responsible innovation.
How to Apply
Please contact Dr Leila Sheldrick if you are interested in applying for this project.
For more information on submitting a PhD application, please consult our application pages here. When you submit your application, please cite this project title in the 'how you are planning to fund your PhD' section.
The deadline for submitting your application is 11 January 2027.