Markus Wernli

PolyU Scholars Hub

Research Assistant Professor

Member of Internationalisation Task Force

V602d
+852 2766 5460
marku.s.wernli@polyu.edu.hk
Expertise: Regenerative design, intersectoral collaboration; community/industry alliances; participatory citizen science; bioregioning; collectivized fermentation; food agency; eco-sanitation.

PolyU Scholars Hub

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Biography

Markus Wernli is a design researcher, educator, and practitioner of societal formats and collectivizing capabilities that support eco-socially regenerative practices and economies. Markus works on bioregioning design and localized soil-to-soil (food) economies that contribute to integrative land care, social cohesion and relational validations. Applied bioregioning focuses on developing the internal capabilities in local households and industries becomes. In this approach, every community can implement land-based responses to changing climates and environments within the given constraints and resource base.

Education and Academic Qualifications

PhD in Design, Urban Design Lab, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Masters of Fine Arts in New Media, Danube University Krems, Austria
Bachelors of Visual Design, Zurich School of Applied Art
Bachelors of Jewellery Design, Zurich School of Applied Art

Professional Qualifications

Swiss professional certificate in Graphic Design
Swiss professional certificate in Jewellery Engraving

Academic and Professional Experience

Guest lecturer at Royal Danish Academy (Architecture, Design, Conservation), Institut Teknologi Bandung (Faculty of Art and Design), University of Arts London (Central Saint Martins), University of New South Wales (Arts, Design and Architecture).
Lecturer in communication design, Zokei University of Art & Design, Kyoto.
Adjunct Instructor, San Francisco State University, Multimedia Studies Program.

Teaching Area

Design Research & Analysis
Social Design
Communication Design
Art Direction
Information Design

Research Outputs

Wernli, M., & Koskinen, I. (2025). Growers Without Borders: Community and remote sensing of encounters with nature. CoDesign, “Remote Data Collection Methods” special issue (Gera, K. & Evans, S., eds).https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2024.2447851

Wernli, M., & Chan, K.F. (2024). Rendering soil care across hotel, retailer, and farm, with a Mutuality Service Blueprint. Design Research Society (DRS 2024), Resistance, Reflection, Recovery, Reimagination. Boston.https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.415

Wernli, M., & Chan, K. F. (2023). Are we repairing soils and each other here? Exploring design cosmotechnics in the Waste Age. In: Kalantidou, E., Keulemans, G., Mellick Lopes, A., Rubenis, N., Gill, A. (eds) Design/Repair. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-46862-9_6

Wernli, M., & Chan, K.F. (2023). Cosmotechnic encounters: Designing with foodwaste, landscapes, and livelihoods. Contexts: Journal for Systemic Design, 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58279/v2001

Wernli, M., & Chan, K.F. (2023). Provocation Soil Trust: designing economies inside an interspecies world of feeders. Journal of Cultural Economy, 16(4), 594–603.https://doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2023.2239823

Sacks, J. & Wernli, M. (2022) Co-design of the pluriversal Commons Model Canvas.
PDC ‘22: Proceedings of the Participatory Design Conference 2022 (2):227–230 https://doi.org/10.1145/3537797.3537840

Boyer, B., Wernli, M., Koria, M., & Santamaria, L. (2022). Our Own Metaphor: Tomorrow is Not for Sale. World Futures, 78(8), 524–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2021.2014751

Wernli, M. (2021). Collective wondering: enabling productive uncertainty in agroecological codesign. CoDesign, 18(1), 95–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/15710882.2021.2001534

Projects

Soil Trust (泥玩): Piloting Local Soil-to Soil Food Economies

From Bowel to Tidal Movements「便便」船

Anthroponix: Pilot for Reusing Fermented Urine in Indoor Water-Based Plant Growing System

Awards

British Council’s ‘Connections Through Culture’ grant, for research on upcycling rice by-products) in Begawan, Bali, Indonesia.
Cross-sector R&D grant by Zero Foodprint Asia Hong Kong for ‘Soil-Care Hospitality’ program.
Internationalization Grant, Stimulerings Fond by Creative Industries NL, for project Anthroponix.
Times Higher Education Awards Asia: Shortlisted among top eight finalists “Outstanding Contribution to Regional Development” for ‘Soil Trust: Piloting Local Soil-to Soil Food Economies’
Don Norman Design Award (“Promising”) for ‘Soil Trust Codesigning Local Soil-to Soil Food Economies,’ at International Summit on Humanity-Centred Design, San Diego.
Faculty Award in Knowledge Transfer (Society) relating to ‘Soil Trust: Piloting Soil-to-Soil Food Economies’, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Exhibition Grant, Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council.