June 29, 2026
When we think of design, we often imagine elegant objects, innovative furniture, or carefully crafted everyday products. Yet design is, above all, a discipline focused on the relationships between people and their environment—whether physical or digital. It is a discipline that can help improve the quality of life for the community, provided it is integrated from the very beginning of projects.
“Design is at the crossroads of three dimensions,” explains ÉTS Professor Caroline Gagnon. First, the technical dimension—relating to the creation of an image, an object, a layout, or a service. Second, the human dimension—encompassing psychological, social, cultural, and political realities. Finally, the creative dimension—drawing on theories of creation to imagine new possibilities.
But unlike art, design remains deeply rooted in real needs. Its goal is to transform the human experience in everyday life.
Understanding before acting
Caroline Gagnon’s research has evolved through a variety of projects. One of the most significant projects focused on the aesthetic evaluation of power transmission towers as part of a research contract with the Chair in Landscape and Environmental Design at University of Montreal (CPEUM).
The question seemed simple: how to assess the integration of newly designed transmission towers into different living environments and their relationship to the landscape? And yet, to answer this, the team had to develop a methodology to understand the characteristics of the environment around the towers, the physical nature of the infrastructure project and the tower design, as well as the social and cultural perceptions of the infrastructure and the surrounding areas.
This experience had a lasting impact on Caroline Gagnon’s research approach.
“It wasn’t just about formal aesthetics,” she emphasizes.
Since then, even though her projects focus on more modest objects or spaces, the logic remains the same: conducting an in-depth assessment before proposing solutions.
When the built environment influences learning
The same methodology was applied to a project focused on school furniture.
The research team began by conducting a detailed inventory in several classrooms across some twenty schools. Each object was catalogued, classified, and analyzed to understand how teachers and students interact with their environment.
Interviews were then conducted to explore the significance of these spaces and the furniture for the users. These observations were cross-referenced with findings from the scientific literature on education to develop specific recommendations.
The goal was not simply to design new desks or chairs, but to reflect on the overall classroom experience. Which elements are suited to different teaching and learning styles? What obstacles could be eliminated? What compromises are acceptable when financial resources are limited?
A solution that is ideal from a human perspective can sometimes cost more than the status quo. In this context, the role of design is also to identify collective decisions and highlight the benefits of certain investments.
Considering social acceptability from the start
This line of thinking also applies to major infrastructure projects.
At ÉTS, many researchers approach infrastructure from the perspective of technical or economic optimization. Design offers a complementary perspective by focusing on the social and political dimensions of projects. It is often preferable to incorporate these considerations from the outset rather than attempting to correct problems after decisions have been made.
When a project faces strong public opposition, the consequences can be significant. Delays mount, costs rise, and social tensions escalate. In some cases, communities are weakened as a result, or projects may even be abandoned altogether.
Conversely, a better understanding of social realities from the very beginning often helps avoid costly mistakes and develop solutions better suited to people’s actual needs.
This approach may seem more complex at first glance, but it generally helps reduce risks in the long term.
Designing for the common good
Most of Caroline Gagnon’s work takes place in public settings: schools, community facilities, public spaces, and hospitals.
In hospitals, for example, her research focuses on how spaces, objects, and services impact the work of healthcare providers and the patient experience. Observing the relationships between people and their physical environment helps identify obstacles that may seem invisible but that increase cognitive load or complicate daily tasks.
For the researcher, the designer’s role consists precisely in bridging the gap between people and their physical environment. In collaboration with other specialists, this role helps develop products, spaces, or services that meet technical requirements while taking human experiences and needs into account.
This vision of design is inseparable from a concern for the common good. Unlike certain sectors where design primarily targets specific markets, public design seeks to create solutions that benefit the entire population.
When sufficiency challenges the role of the designer
This concern is also reflected in a new research project focused on environmental sufficiency.
Together with her colleagues, Caroline Gagnon is exploring what they call “impeded sufficiency:” the obstacles that prevent the integration of sufficiency principles into professional design practices.
Initial analyses have revealed that this concept is still rarely addressed in professional literature. The team is currently conducting in-depth interviews with designers to understand the tensions they face.
After all, promoting sufficiency as design principle often means doing less rather than more. This idea challenges the very foundations of a discipline traditionally associated with innovation, creativity, and the development of new products or designs.
Sometimes, the best course of action might be to slightly modify an existing object rather than replace it entirely—or even to preserve what already exists. This approach challenges certain professional habits, but it also brings new ways of designing.
The research team is also interested in issues of material justice and the gaps between public discourse on the socio-ecological transition and the realities on the ground. Do citizens truly have the necessary means to adopt more sustainable practices? What mechanisms stand in the way of desired changes?
These questions remain largely unanswered.
Envisioning the futures of artificial intelligence
Caroline Gagnon also wishes to explore the physical and territorial consequences of the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Even though the government of Québec plans to boost electricity production, data centers and digital infrastructure dedicated to AI are expected to consume vast amounts of energy.
This situation raises many issues. How can we reconcile calls to reduce energy consumption with the expansion of new energy-intensive infrastructure? What will be the impacts on the landscapes, territories, and communities crossed by new power transmission lines?
In collaboration with other researchers at ÉTS, Professor Gagnon hopes to use the tools of design fiction as prospective scenarios to make these issues more tangible for decision-makers and citizens.
The goal is not to predict the future, but to better understand the potential consequences of current choices.
Making design a key player in public debates
Whether the topic is schools, hospitals, energy infrastructure, or the ecological transition, a common thread runs through all of Caroline Gagnon’s work: the decisions that shape our environment should be discussed before they become irreversible.
Design tools (visualization, materialization, prototyping, scenario-building) can help make these discussions more pragmatic and inclusive.
At the heart of this approach is a constant ethical reflection. How can we ensure territorial equity? How can we avoid excluding certain groups of citizens? How can we design spaces or services that are truly accessible to all?
For Caroline Gagnon, public design bears precisely this responsibility. It is not about designing for market segments, but for society as a whole. This is why she wants design researchers at ÉTS to participate more actively in public and political discussions surrounding major technological, environmental, or urban planning decisions.
Because it is often at the very beginning of projects—when options are still on the table—that their expertise can have the greatest impact.
Caroline Gagnon is a member of itechsanté, the ÉTS research institute for innovation in health technologies. To learn more about the institute, its mission, themes, flagship projects, and more, visit itechsanté
