Designing Resilient Communities
Tuesday, October 11, 9:30 am – 11:00 am
Organized by Sunny Fischer, executive director, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Peter Handler, program director, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Ellen Rudolph, program director, Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation.
Presented by Bryan Bell, founder and executive director, Design Corps; Thomas Fisher, dean, College of Design, University of Minnesota; Theaster Gates Jr., artist and founder, The Rebuild Foundation.
Growing numbers of architects and architecture and design students are determined to wed their professional practice to the design needs of disadvantaged communities, and to make that work central to their practice. Simultaneously, community leaders are demanding good and responsive design as part of the creation of vibrant neighborhoods. As the field develops, practitioners also are developing promising evaluation tools. This movement, into which artists also figure prominently, has been featured in recent museum exhibitions such as the Cooper Hewitt's “Designs for the Other 90%” and the Museum of Modern Art's “Small Scale Big Change.” In both urban and rural areas, it has the potential to support and build resilient communities.
