#commonize studio : Commons-making through studio experimentalism

Sacks, Justin and Coulton, Paul and Cooper, Rachel (2025) #commonize studio : Commons-making through studio experimentalism. PhD thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Commons are shared resources governed by the communities that depend on them and are arguably the most ancient and enduring form of economy in human civilisation. Yet, we know little about the practicalities of making them. To address this challenge, I collaborated with several design researchers engaged in commons-making and began answering the question: What do communities need to make commons? While the commons literature presents robust concepts that describe how successful commons operate, few of these concepts are used by design researchers. Part A of this thesis seeks to answer the question: What does the commons literature offer commons-making researchers? Studio, the signature pedagogy of design, provides the epistemological foundation for commons-making research, yet studio pedagogy remains poorly documented. Part B of this thesis seeks to answer the question: What does the design research literature offer commons-making researchers? I named my practice #commonize studio, a studio that designs commons, as a bridge between these questions. ‘Commonize’ defines a proactive process of commons-making; ‘studio’ treats economics as a design subject, economy design. #commonize studio translates the theoretical foundation developed in Parts A and B into reflective practice in Part C of this thesis, responding to the question: How can these two literatures support commons-makers? This empirical research layers several methodologies together, primarily action research performed through the lens of diverse economies, into a methodology called studio experiments for commons-making. Performing #commonize studio generated multiple insights for commons-making researchers, in particular the role of scaffolding, coaching, and infrastructuring. Finally, I argue for making the ‘generative turn’ in commons research, a transition from purely analytical research of existing commons to generative research about commons-making. Future research may further expand the two fields opened up by this research, which are studio experimentalism as a design methodology and commons-making as a distinct research approach.