I Wanna Be Soil
By Toban Shadlyn I Want to Be Earth[1] Barcelona is nestled between two rivers, the Besòs to the northeast and the Llobregat to the southwest. For most residents, these rivers represent boundaries—areas where metro lines thin out, where graffiti becomes more prevalent, where the city gives way to industrial parks. And yet, these rivers, along with the mountain reservoirs and underground aquifers
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Toban Shadlyn
Sobre Toban
Toban Shadlyn is a strategic designer and educator. Toban’s work explores the role of design in navigating complexity, enabling systemic transitions and promoting cross-sector collaboration. Over the past decade, Toban has led large-scale initiatives in health, education, public policy and climate change, working with governments, philanthropic foundations and community organizations. Toban currently runs an independent studio and is director of the Master’s in Strategic Design in Complexity at ELISAVA School of Design and Engineering in Barcelona. Originally trained as an interior architect, Toban’s design practice evolved toward addressing systemic challenges that drive social change. Toban was previously a founding member of the Center for Complexity at the Rhode Island School of Design and a partner at Field States, a strategic design studio focused on civic value and territorial transformation. As an educator, Toban has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Michigan, and continues to participate as a guest lecturer and critic at institutions such as the Royal College of Art in London and the Istituto Europeo di Design in Barcelona. Toban’s work has been presented in various academic and professional forums, and Toban continues to contribute to global conversations on design, systemic innovation and education.
