Design is Everywhere

Fix Room 16! Designing Healthcare Facilities to be More Resilient & Equitable

As cases of COVID-19 spike, hospitals are simply running out of space and beds for people who need them. This is one of the main reasons we’re quarantined, not just to keep ourselves safe from the virus but also to “flatten the curve,” and help our hospitals keep up with a growing number of cases. On this episode we talk about how hospitals are designing solutions for surge capacity and what lessons there are for the future of hospital architecture. Those lessons could be very important as we may see new spikes in COVID-19 and as we must adapt facilities to be equitable for all patients, healthcare workers, and staff. We’re joined by Dr. Diana Anderson, a doctor architect, or Dochitect, currently a geriatric medicine fellow at the University of California, San Francisco; and Dr. Esther Choo, she’s an emergency medicine physician and health services researcher based in Portland, Oregon at Oregon Health & Science University, and she’s the chief medical advisor for a startup called Jupe, which is creating pop-up medical facilities. Plus our weekly dose of good design.

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:

https://designmuseumfoundation.org/006-fix-room-16/

#COVIDStreets, How Cities are Re-Designing Streets for Safety and Livability

COVID-19 is necessitating rapid change in our cities. As many stay-at-home orders are lifting, people are getting outside, but we still need to stay 6 feet apart, so citizens and cities are stepping up in some interesting ways. How do you stay 6 feet apart when many sidewalks aren’t even 6 feet wide? The answer might just be rethinking the design of our streets and our cities overall. From tactical urbanism to open streets to changing the very notion of what a shared street is: we discuss with Jonathan Berk, placemaking advocate and a Director at Patronicity; and Jeff Speck, city planner, author, and long-time advocate for more walkable cities. 

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page: 

https://designmuseumfoundation.org/005-covidstreets/

The Future of Design Education is Flexibility

With pretty much every design student in the world learning remotely, it’s a good moment to talk about the state of design education at the college and university level. To train a well-rounded designer, the number of things students need to learn increases every year, but the amount of time in class stays the same. How do professors and administrators plan to teach the next generation of designers to enter an ever-changing industry and world? And then, how can design be taught remotely? We speak with Derek Cascio, newly appointed Chair of the Industrial Design department at Wentworth Institute of Technology; and Jason Schupbach, Director of the Design School at Arizona State University. Derek and Jason agree the future of design education is flexibility. Design has the proverbial “seat at the table,” so, in Jason’s words, “We must prepare students to be in that room.” Plus, our Weekly Dose of Good Design.

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page:

https://designmuseumfoundation.org/004-the-future-of-design-education/

The Big Reset on Production & Consumption Practices

This year is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and it just so happens to coincide with a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. There’s an interesting phenomenon happening while the majority of the world’s human population is staying at home: we’re driving less, flying less, and consuming less; and as a result the earth is getting cleaner. This may be the first time in our lives that we can see how action on a massive scale can have an immediate, real impact on our environment. Perhaps COVID-19 presents an opportunity to hit the reset button on production and consumption practices that cause damage to the planet. One way designers can make an impact is by helping us move to a circular economy — an economy where our resources are in a closed loop, so we take materials once, make and consume, and then those resources are repurposed, then repurposed again and again in a closed loop. To discuss we’re joined by Bergen Hubert, Manager for Built Environment at the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, a global nonprofit that certifies products within a circular economy; and Roxane Spears, VP of Sustainability in North America at Tarkett, and innovative flooring manufacturer with a number of Cradle to Cradle certified products.

https://designmuseumfoundation.org/003-the-big-reset-on-production/

Working Remotely During and After a Pandemic

Unless you’re an essential worker (thank you), you’re likely working from home right now. And for many of us, this is a whole new reality. With stay-at-home orders across the world, companies, and individuals are shifting to work remotely, at a scale we’re never seen before. How are they handling the challenges of this transition? Is the cat out of the bag on remote work, will we see more companies shift now that we’re all experiencing this paradigm? We discuss the challenges and ways forward with two experts: Tracy Brower, Ph.D. sociologist, and principal within Steelcase’s Applied Research + Consulting Group; and Richard Banfield, Vice President of Design Transformation at InVision, one of the largest, full distributed companies in the world. Plus our Weekly Dose of Good Design.

 

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page: 

https://designmuseumfoundation.org/002-remote-work

The Design Community Steps Up During COVID-19

COVID-19 is straining our frontline healthcare workers and systems. As designers often do, they see a problem and they jump in with creativity, and they start making things. We are seeing individual designers, collectives, and 3D-printing factories all springing into action to help. We discuss the global design relief response with George White, Chief Innovation Officer at Cantina, and interview Gustavo Fontana, Founder and Creative Director at Fresco Design who is leading an effort called UShield.us to mass-produce face shields and distribute them to hospitals around the country. Plus our Weekly Dose of Good Design.

For links to resources we discuss on this episode, visit our show page: The Design Community Steps Up During COVID-19

 

Design is Everywhere Preview

In this preview episode, hosts Sam Aquillano and Liz Pawlak introduce each other and discuss their vision for Design is Everywhere — the new podcast from Design Museum Everywhere.