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Design Currency Afterthoughts
In and amongst all the discussion at and about Design Currency - now a week and a half ago - there is one talk that stands out for me. And it is not to do with the way it was said, or its value to business, or its philosophical implications, or its parallel struggles with marketing in the corporate decision making process. It had to do with Cameron Sinclair's talk on architecture for humanity, an organization that he founded:
"Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofit design services firm founded in 1999. We are building a more sustainable future through the power of professional design."
Sounds good. But what does that mean in practice? The most recent (and current) example illustrates this well...
It would be hard not to notice the massive earthquakes in the news lately - in particular Haiti's 7.0, and Chile's 8.8. If one were to continue to follow the stories, it would also be hard not to note the difference in casualties:
Chile 8.8: 486 fatalities, 79 missing
Haiti 7.0: 92,000 - 230,000 fatalities
Cameron was pretty quick to point out that earthquakes don't generally kill people - buildings do. And poorly designed buildings at that. Since Chile experienced the incomprehensibly large 9.5 Valdivia earthquake in 1960, they had re-examined how they design buildings - requirements for seismic response changed in response to the environment. The building codes are stricter than a place such as Haiti. And so now we have a case where difference in design policy means a completely massive difference in how a country survives an earthquake. Chile was rocked by the 8.8 earthquake and ensuing tsunamis - any country would be - but Haiti's buildings were annihilated, and they came down on the people inside.
This is not a trite design discussion. Here we have an extreme example of design currency being equal to human life itself. As was pointed out at Design Week, Haiti is not waiting to rebuild. They're doing it right now. They have to.
My hat is off to Cameron Sinclair (pictured above) and those at Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Network - an organization which is making better building plans accessible to everyone who is building - or in Haiti's case - rebuilding.
Find out more about the Haiti rebuilding project on the Earthquake Reconstruction in Haiti page.
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Matt Warburton, Principal
Emdoubleyu Design
Great post, Davin. I was there at the conference and found Cameron to be completely inspiring. I think there is a real gauntlet being thrown down by a lot of designers around the world to prove that design really can make the world better and not just more attractive. I especially see it coming from the Industrial Design and Architecture fields. Now let's us graphic and web designers accept the challenge!!
Good points Davin. I agree completely. Which is why we hosted a silent auction of design items during the Design Week conference which raised nearly $5000 in support of Architecture for Humanity's work in Haiti.
If you were unable to attend the conference and donate an item, you can make a special Design Week donation by clicking on this page: http://architectureforhumanity.org/donate/form?program=ICOGRADA%20Design%20Week
Davin, I also concur with your thoughts entirely. Cameron's presentation was definitely one of my highlights from the conference, and the work that Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Network has been doing is amazing/inspiring. I agree that there definitely was a 'gauntlet' or two being thrown during the conference, but we'd readily accept the challenge... the real challenge is getting the 'client approval' and implementation. ;)
Well put, Davin. I fully agree... and I felt honoured to be able to moderate the session on "Sustainable Cities" that Cameron participated in. I remain fully convinced that it is the design professions (charged with shaping environments, objects, experiences, and communications) that have both the ability and the opportunity to orchestrate positive change for a better tomorrow.