Workshop • PYNT Innovation Hub of Nikken Sekkei
Deaa Bataineh, alongside Carlos Teixeira and Kazumasa (Kevin) Yamada, delivered a one-day seminar and applied workshop in Tokyo focused on Systems Design as a practice for addressing complex societal challenges. Hosted at PYNT Innovation Hub of Nikken Sekkei and organized in collaboration with BIOTOPE, Jordan University of Science and Technology, and the Institute of Design, the session brought together professionals from business, government, and design to engage with systems-level thinking in practice.
The workshop condensed core elements of systems design into an intensive format—combining a lecture on complex problems, complex adaptive systems, and emerging frameworks such as Strategic Choice-Making©, with a hands-on sprint workshop. Participants worked through real-world challenges—ranging from workplace wellbeing to urban mobility—using tools such as system mapping, the Anatomy of Infrastructure, and multi-capital frameworks to identify intervention points and prototype systemic change.
At its core, the session emphasized a fundamental shift: from designing isolated solutions to designing systems as interconnected infrastructures—where social, technological, environmental, and institutional forces are deeply entangled. Rather than optimizing individual components, participants were guided to understand as-is system conditions and design to-be futures through intentional interventions across agents, relationships, and value structures.
This workshop marks part of a broader effort to expand systems design as a global capability—equipping organizations and leaders to navigate complexity, align long-term purpose, and design more resilient and equitable futures.