DESIGN FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION

“ Humanity has some thousands of years of cumulative experience tabulating activities in the next columns of a financial ledger. If it’s hard to figure out how to measure the impact of social, emotional, non-human, or environmental impacts (just to name a few alternative priorities), this should not come as a surprise. Rather, it’s an opportunity for continued, careful innovation with as much creativity as is applied to the projects detailed here.”

- Mariana Amarillo, Bryan Boyer, Jennifer May, Andrew Shea, Core Editors of Design for Social Innovation: Case Studies from Around the World

SOFT CITY

“We should recognize that every detail in the physical composition of the built environment has the potential to deliver comfort, convenience, and connection to others. The subtle balance of private and public needs, and the colocation of different activities in the same place make it possible to live well without having to travel so much… In this way, neighborhood is not a place, it is a state of mind. ”

— David Sim, Author of Soft City

COOL IS EVERYWHERE

“I hope this book will modestly elicit a positive answer: Yes, cool is everywhere. You just need to be curious enough to look around and discover the signs of new sensibilities and attitudes that are reinventing the past to create a present full of possibilities and opportunities — another window on the American Dream. ”

— Michel Arnaud, Author of Cool is Everywhere

PIET OUDOLF: LANDSCAPES IN LANDSCAPES

“ With Oudolf, it’s not just about flowers. Plants are prized for their flowers, yes, but also for their height and the gradual pace pursued to achieve their eventual statures - for their foliage’s texture and color in spring and summer as well as fall and winter, for their fruit or seed-head, and even for the color of their stems. Whether the plants are ascendant or in decline, all of their features have roles to play, through the year. ”

— Robert Hammond, Foreword for the Landscapes in Landscapes

HOUSES FOR SALE

“For us, no project ever ends… After a while, it becomes impossible to look at anything as a child would; looking at this book now, we see only decisions. In such moments, we would place drafts of the book in front of two clients, our children Alice and James, who like all good clients would offer incredible insight and suggestions, and just enough disinterest to keep us motivated and moving forward. They are our constant reminder to keep the wonder of childhood present in both our work and life, and the ultimate reason for this book.”

— Michael Meredith & Hilary Sample (MOS Architects), Author of Houses for Sale

CREATIVE ACTS FOR CURIOUS PEOPLE

“You may choose to channel your creative energies in many different ways, but one thing will be true no matter your context: feelings count. Learning to observe and register feelings in others is crucial to Widening Your Lens (page 119), because it helps you connect to how the world might appear through others’ eyes and kindles your imagination for what you could create.…. Design is a wonderful, scary, tremendous roller coaster, just about every time.”

- Sarah Stein Greenberg, Stanford d.school, Author of Creative Acts for Curious People: How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways

IGGY PECK ARCHITECT

Iggy has one passion: building. This book is for anyone (kids or grown ups) who is creative, independent, and not afraid to express themselves.

Author: Andrea Beaty
Illustrator: David Roberts

INVISIBLE CITIES by Italo Calvino

A all-time master piece explores imagination and the imaginable through the descriptions of cities by an explorer, Marco Polo.

ARCHITECTURE IS A SOCIAL ACT

“I like to think of architecture as a living, breathing organism that plays a significant role in how we interact with the world. I believe that architecture needs to be understood as a social act, as a tool with which we can connect to politics, economics, and aesthetics and to ideas around smart growth. In this way, it can promote social equity, human interaction, and cultural evolution. ”

— Foreword by Lorcan O’Herlihy/Lorcan O’Herlihy Arhcitects

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