Design is Everywhere

How can designers integrate material transparency into their designs? In this episode, Sam is joined by Business Development Manager at the International Living Future Institute Ren DeCherney, to learn how designers are revolutionizing the way that buildings are built to make them healthier for communities and the environment. Later on in the show, Sam and Ren interview Lona Rerick, an Associate Principal at ZGF Architects. Together, they discuss how designers can incorporate tools like Declare to make healthier and more sustainable products in their designs and the future of sustainable practices for businesses and communities.  

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

Building Material Transparency

How do we bring real world problems to the classroom to enrich the student experience? In this episode, Sam is joined by Principal Design Strategist and Health Suite Labs Engagement Lead at Philips, Matt Templeton, to learn how design students can interact with real problems in the classroom. Matt has incorporated his own lessons as a professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Later on in the show, Sam and Matt interview the President of ArtCenter College of Design, Lorne Buchman. Together, they discuss how to bring industry in for sponsored projects, how students confront social dilemmas in their work, and the value of interpersonal connections in design education. 

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

Making Design Problems Real in the Classroom 

How can we shape the field of architecture to be more inclusive? In this episode, we’re joined by Elyse Ayoung of Gensler and BosNOMA, and Wentworth Institute of Technology architecture student and NOMAS chapter leader Xavier Fernandes. Together, they discuss the importance of building a community of architects that is inclusive, relaxed and whole. They explain their journeys into architecture and how the field must evolve to better serve practitioners, make the built environment more inclusive and build equity in the overall community.

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

Reimagining the Architecture Profession, with BosNOMA

What does the future of play look like in a socially distanced world? In this episode, Sam is joined by Cheri Ruane to dive into the world of play design. Cheri is the Vice President and Landscape Architecture Practice Leader at Weston and Sampson, a design and engineering firm committed to improving the natural and built environment. Their guest is Michael Laris, the VP of Global Innovation at PlayPower, the world's largest playground and recreational equipment manufacturer. Together they discuss the unique design behind playful environments, how to build more playful experiences into our cities, and the effect COVID has on outdoor play.

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

How Play is Evolving

As we approach Design Museum’s Workplace Innovation Summit (December 7-11), on this week’s episode we’re talking about designing healthy workspaces in these unprecedented times — and what lessons we can learn from healthcare environments that can be applied to the workspaces. While many office workers are still working at home — healthcare workers don’t have a choice; they’ve have had to quickly adapt their environments to make them even safer for folks during the pandemic. For the work-from-home crowd, the shine might be wearing off purely remote work as we seek connection with our colleagues and customers. We’re physical beings, and collaboration is just easier in-person. Work environments are and will (probably) always be part of our lives, so we can connect in person, share ideas, and develop new ideas. We have two design leaders from HOK, a global design, architecture, engineering, and planning firm, to discuss the future of the workplace and how they design healthy workplaces. Our guest co-host is Donald Cremers — he’s a Principal and Senior Project Interior Designer in HOK’s San Francisco studio. And then we’re joined by Donald’s colleague in the New York office, Christine Vandover — she’s an Interior Design Principal at HOK. Plus, we’ll have our weekly dose of good design.

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.

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.

Racial and Environmental Justice in the Built Environment, and the New NOMA President

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

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.

Designing the Voter Experience for Accessibility and Engagement

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.

How to Freelance Without Losing Your Mind