Structures for Inclusion 10

Introductory Remarks, SFI 10 Conference, March 27, 2010

by Bryan Bell

Architecture has so much unrealized potential.

The benefits of design could do so much more for so many more.

Design can play a role in addressing the critical social, economic and environmental issues we face.

We can do much more to help communities and individuals. We can help them reshape their existence, whether in recovering from disasters or meeting daily needs. This is an exciting time for designers as well as for those who would benefit from our greater role.

Architects have been absorbed in what we can accomplish technically, structurally, and aesthetically. We are making progress in what we can accomplish environmentally. Where we have failed is to show what we can accomplish socially and economically.

We need to change our vision of ourselves first, in the goals we set for ourselves. We need to change the public perception of what we can contribute to the greater common good.

This is not something proposed for the future. What you will see this weekend is that this is already happening. The work you will see shoes that we are moving from our current limited role to realize our greater potential. Our SFI committee has worked hard to select these great projects as evidence of progress and success.

With this growing evidence, the collective consciousness of design is starting to change. This gives us an opportunity to do some good work, and to make a permanent change in our collective futures. But this massive shift we need is not going to happen by supernatural forces. It will only happen by many of us becoming activists; by the design community becoming advocates for the human community

When we started planning our tenth anniversary conference, we wanted to do something big. I am very glad that the Social Economic Environmental Design Network (SEED) and the introduction here of the SEED Evaluator are an important part of this conference. These are certainly the biggest things that I have been a part of.

SEED® is a common standard to guide, evaluate and certify the social, economic and environmental impact of design projects. SEED is a tool for developing design projects, evaluating them as they progress, and assessing them when completed. It can be of critical value to communities, designers and architects who want to ensure they are developing responsible projects that are transparent and accountable to the public. In addition to being a guide through the design process, it also can provide a “stamp of approval,” a third-party certification that the community’s goals are being met. Resulting projects maximize the positive impact of a community’s limited resources.

The mission statement of the SEED Network reads: “Every person has the right to live in a socially, economically and environmentally healthy community.” The SEED evaluation process and certification are intended to help designers embody this principle in their projects. SEED gives people a clear process to follow in pursuing design that effectively contributes to the critical needs of communities. And at the end of the process, the projects will be certified by a well-respected independent organization. The resulting projects will show that design can make a meaningful difference.

We started these conferences ten years ago because there were several activities going on that shared the spirit of community service through design. One hundred of us assembled and shared the best ideas and our mistakes. Now we need to take that same idea, gathering those with this shared spirit for support and sharing.

This new network and web-based too have the potential to take this through the exponential growth of this movement that has already clearly happening. But in the end, this is not a movement. It is the permanent change in the practices of architecture and all design disciplines towards addressing -- through design -- the most critical issues that are being faced in the world today.

Our potential is waiting to be realized.

The need is undeniable.

The only thing stopping us, is us. Let’s get to work.

Welcome to Structures for Inclusion 10.

Major funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

SFI10 PAGE LINKS