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Design is Everywhere features stories of people and organizations using design to make an impact and change the world. Host Sam Aquillano discusses topics with guests across the Design Museum’s 12 Impact Areas: Vibrant Cities, Healthcare, Social Impact, Workplace Innovation, Play, Sustainability, Education, Data Visualization, Entrepreneurship, Diversity, Business, and Civic Innovation.
Episodes
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Mass Timber Buildings Help the Planet, Create Jobs, and Make People Happy
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Thursday Oct 29, 2020
Today we’re talking about building buildings out of wood — sounds pretty normal, but no we’re talking about building tall, high-rise buildings out of wood instead of steel and concrete, using a concept known as mass timber and construction products like cross-laminated timber. There’s a wood revolution happening in real estate, architecture, and construction — mass timber is a term for a relatively new group of engineering wood products that rival the strength and durability of traditional construction methods. There are roughly 400 large mass timber buildings in the US and many hundreds more on the way. There are huge environmental benefits to using wood instead of steel and concrete, as well as new jobs and a rebirth of the lumber industry, plus people love living and working in predominately wood buildings. Our expert guests give us all the details. Guest co-hosting this week is Judith Sheine, the Director of Design at the TallWood Design Institute, a collaboration between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon focused on the research and advancement of mass timber and structural wood building solutions. And we interview Emily Dawson, an architect and Partner at Kaiser + Path, a real estate and architecture firm in Portland, Oregon, and a leader in mass timber design and development. And as always, we share our weekly dose of good design.
For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:
Mass Timber Buildings Help the Planet, Create Jobs, and Make People Happy
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
Thursday Oct 22, 2020
This week, we have an important topic — we’ll be discussing how designers can infuse equity into the built environment. We’re in a racial inequity pandemic that has lasted for centuries, the impacts of which are felt by communities of color in the form of racism, inaccessibility of resources, and under-investment. This pandemic spills into the built environment where for centuries, the design of our cities, neighborhoods, and public spaces has added to and truly made physical this racial injustice. When designers create the built environment in collaboration with real estate developers and civic leaders, every design element sends a signal about what space is for and who it’s for — and too often, urban designs exclude rather than include. So designing the built environment needs to change so that our communities, neighborhoods, and resources are accessible and shared by all, now and into the future — because designs for the built environment usually last a very long time. Our guest co-host this week is Atianna Cordova, a native of New Orleans, an urban designer and founder of Water Block and Waterblock Kids. She works to advance racial and environmental justice in the built environment through design, community-driven practices, and planning. Sam and Atianna talk about her work in advocacy, design, and education to ensure an equitable future. Then Atianna leads our interview of Jason Pugh, a licensed architect & certified planner with over 15 years of experience serving both the public & private sector — and he’s the incoming president of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). Atianna and Jason discuss NOMA’s mission and his agenda for the year ahead to make diversity and representation in design a priority. Plus, we share our weekly dose of good design.
For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:
Racial and Environmental Justice in the Built Environment, and the New NOMA President
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Visions for a Future Food System that’s Sustainable and Equitable by Design
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
Thursday Oct 15, 2020
The food system is massive — it’s the largest industry in the world. Think about what it takes to feed 8 billion people… and it’ll be 10 billion people in 2050, so there are some big challenges around sustainability for our planet and for equity and accessibility as well. Upwards of 50% of the earth’s habitable land is used for food production, and the food system utilizes 70% of our fresh water. The current outcomes seem dire around pollution, sustainability, and the infrastructure and economics that support and drive the system — it’s a huge design challenge. In this episode, we learn all about it all from two experts. Our guest co-host is Lauren Abda, CEO of Branchfood, the largest community of food entrepreneurs and startups in New England. She’s also Co-founder at Branch Venture Group, an angel network for investment in early-stage food startups. Lauren schools us on the food system overall and shares how entrepreneurs turn our biggest food challenges into smart business opportunities that support people and planet. Then we’re joined by Matthew Ridenour, Senior Portfolio Lead at IDEO. Matt is part of the team, along with others from OpenIDEO, The Rockefeller Foundation, and SecondMuseum, who recently announced the 10 finalists for the Food System Vision Prize, an effort to move toward a more regenerative and nourishing food future for 2050. The finalists will share in $2 million and join an accelerator program to make their visions a reality and create a collective vision on how we can improve the overall food system. Matt shares stories of some of the finalists and how design plays a role in shaping a positive future. And as always, we have our weekly dose of good design.
For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:
Visions for a Future Food System that’s Sustainable and Equitable by Design
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Designing the Voter Experience for Accessibility and Engagement
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
There’s a presidential election coming up in less than a month, in an unprecedented time. Today we’ll be discussing the intersection of design and voting; how to make voting a good experience and make it accessible and equitable for all. Every election’s stakes are high, yet roughly 60% of Americans don’t turn out to vote. As one of our guests wrote: The real problem is that voting in America is just hard. Like anything, voting is an experience that should be designed to maximize participation. This week’s guest co-host is an expert on design and voting; Dana Chisnell is the Director of Project ReDesign at the National Conference on Citizenship. Prior to her current role, she was instrumental in developing the Field Guides to Ensuring Voter Intent. We talk to Dana about her career in civic design and how design plays a role in making voting easier for everyone involved. And our guest is Beth Huang. She’s the Director of Massachusetts Voter Table, where she works with community organizations to increase voter turnout and civic leadership in communities of color and working-class people in the state. We chat with Beth about her strategies for engaging new voters, not just for the 2020 presidential election, but for local and state elections as well as for ongoing political participation. Plus, we have our weekly dose of good design for you.
For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:
Designing the Voter Experience for Accessibility and Engagement
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
How to Freelance Without Losing Your Mind
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
Thursday Oct 01, 2020
In medieval times, a free lance was a medieval mercenary who would fight for whichever nation or person paid them the most. So goes the etymology of the word “freelance” from Merriam Webster — the joke being that freelance has literally always been a battle. With the economy in recession because of COVID-19, some organizations are hiring, but many are holding off and instead hiring freelancers to fill gaps as the economy slowly starts to improve. Becoming a freelancer can seem daunting because it’s so different than having a structured job. Our guests this week offer their advice from over 10 years each in the freelance and consulting business. Trish Fontanilla, aka Trish of All Trades, joins us as guest co-host and helps us understand what freelancing means and how she navigates opportunities while remaining true to her values. Then we’re joined by Sydney Janey, who founded her solo graphic and communication design practice in 2007 — we all discuss the design-sides and non-design sides of freelancing, including business development and… yes, taxes. Plus, we all share our weekly dose of good design.
For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page: