The Designers Accord http://www.designersaccord.org The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders, working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:14:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 FabCab Builds Universal Design Prefabs for “Aging in Place” http://www.designersaccord.org/fabcab-builds-universal-design-prefabs-for-aging-in-place/ http://www.designersaccord.org/fabcab-builds-universal-design-prefabs-for-aging-in-place/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:13:54 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1386 As Baby Boomers slowly inch towards retirement, the United States will see a unique housing boom as more Americans than ever will be in need of residences that respond to their changing needs. In the next 15 to 20 years, the number of residents aged 65 and over will double in the U.S. And in the same period, the number of residents aged 85 and over will triple. Increasingly, this demographic will need places to live that are accessible to a range of abilities and convenient to their families and caretakers, but homes that still help them retain their all-important autonomy. FabCab is a company that specializes in creating affordable, modern prefab homes for our graying population, yet designs them in a way that appeals to people of all ages and abilities.

Read the entire case study on Fast Company

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/fabcab-builds-universal-design-prefabs-for-aging-in-place/feed/ 0 From Ideas to Action: Advancing Sustainable Design at the 2010 Greenermind Summit http://www.designersaccord.org/pilot-handwriting-break-out-that-pen-to-create-your-self-font-good-uses-for-tarps-to-protect-and-to-surf-from-ideas-to-action-advancing-sustainable-design-at-the-2010-greenermind-summit/ http://www.designersaccord.org/pilot-handwriting-break-out-that-pen-to-create-your-self-font-good-uses-for-tarps-to-protect-and-to-surf-from-ideas-to-action-advancing-sustainable-design-at-the-2010-greenermind-summit/#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:19:10 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1374 There’s no shortage of good ideas about sustainability and sustainable design, but many of these ideas never come to life. That challenge was one of the inspirations behind the creation of the GreenerMind Summit, an unconference for designers, activists, and other sustainability professionals in the Bay Area. The GreenerMind Summit’s motto: just f*cking do it. We have good ideas, and now it’s time to act.

Read the entire event recap on Core77

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/pilot-handwriting-break-out-that-pen-to-create-your-self-font-good-uses-for-tarps-to-protect-and-to-surf-from-ideas-to-action-advancing-sustainable-design-at-the-2010-greenermind-summit/feed/ 0 Could Biomimicry Build a Better Company Than Your Boss? http://www.designersaccord.org/could-biomimicry-build-a-better-company-than-your-boss/ http://www.designersaccord.org/could-biomimicry-build-a-better-company-than-your-boss/#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:57:52 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1362 A few weeks ago we published the three case studies in our Ask Nature Biomimicry Challenge, where teams from Taller de Operaciones Ambientales (TOA), IDEO and Smart Design tackled design problems for real-world clients alongside biologists from the Biomimicry Institute. We’ve covered the solutions, but we wanted to check in with the clients as well: Did they see biomimicry as a new tool that could help advance their businesses?

Read the full article on the new Fast Company Design site!

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/could-biomimicry-build-a-better-company-than-your-boss/feed/ 0 Myoo Uses Crowdsourcing for Sustainability Solutions http://www.designersaccord.org/myoo-uses-crowdsourcing-for-sustainability-solutions/ http://www.designersaccord.org/myoo-uses-crowdsourcing-for-sustainability-solutions/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:40:35 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1354 A windmill, a solar-powered dome, and dryer hidden behind a piece of art are just some of the dozens of ideas that people have for air-drying their clothes instead of tossing them in the dryer. These ideas have been uploaded as part of a new crowdsourcing contest: The winner takes home $4,500 in prizes and corporate sponsor Levi’s gets new insight into how its consumers think about saving water and energy. Behind the challenge is Myoo Create, a new company that works with brands to launching sustainability-focused crowdsourcing challenges that engage consumers and spur innovation.

Read the entire case study in sustainability on Fast Company

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/myoo-uses-crowdsourcing-for-sustainability-solutions/feed/ 0 The Hub Bay Area: Where Change Agents Share Space and Ideas http://www.designersaccord.org/the-hub-bay-area-where-change-agents-share-space-and-ideas/ http://www.designersaccord.org/the-hub-bay-area-where-change-agents-share-space-and-ideas/#comments Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:47:36 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1321 Gathered around a large, sun-drenched table in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco on a Friday afternoon are financial advisers, activists, marketers, designers, coders, lawyers, and a half-dozen more local entrepreneurs. There are representatives from the microlending empire Kiva, social justice organization MercyCorps, and a solar-energy company based in India. At the table’s head is David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, widely considered to be the bible of social entrepreneurship, who casually addresses the group as they tuck into deli sandwiches and takeout sushi.

This is not some kind of exclusive golden-circle conference. This is a typical day at Hub SoMa, a 8600-square-foot shared workspace for socially focused enterprises, where a visitor at any hour of the day will witness similar exchanges between the several dozen startups, business incubators, and non-profits that inhabit the space.

Read the full case study in sustainability on Fast Company

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/the-hub-bay-area-where-change-agents-share-space-and-ideas/feed/ 0 Attend the Greenermind Summit! http://www.designersaccord.org/attend-the-greenermind-summit/ http://www.designersaccord.org/attend-the-greenermind-summit/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:15:57 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1307 THE SUSTAINABILITY UNCONFERENCE

The Greenermind Summit is an unconference co-hosted by Net Impact SF and IDSA-SF on June 11-13th to bring together Bay Area sustainability professionals in a fun, engaging, and interactive weekend of discussion and collaboration.

Location: Mendocino Woodlands Cabins

Cost: $150 for non-members, $140 for members of IDSA-SF, Net Impact, YWSE, Designers Accord, or the HUB. Cost includes lodging, lunches, and dinners. (Yes – it’s a bargain).

Dates: Friday June 11th through Sunday June 13th

Learn more at www.greenermindsummit.com

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/attend-the-greenermind-summit/feed/ 0 Biomimicry Challenge: For IBM, Smart Design Draws Water Conservation Inspiration From Ecosystems http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-for-ibm-smart-design-draws-water-conservation-inspiration-from-ecosystems/ http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-for-ibm-smart-design-draws-water-conservation-inspiration-from-ecosystems/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 22:52:51 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1286 You’ve probably seen ads for IBM’s SmarterCity initiative, a program that uses the company’s information technology to help municipal governments create healthier, more intelligent urban environments for their residents. Using their ability to collect and analyze data, IBM is able to provide information about elements of daily city life ranging from weather and traffic to water usage and air quality. But what they’ve done with that data has largely been used to make policy and economic decisions. IBM appealed to our What Would You Ask Nature? biomimicry challenge, asking how they could use nature to understand how these overlays of information could help guide residents toward making better personal decisions for the good of the city. A New York-based team at Smart Design accepted their challenge.

Read the entire case study on Fast Company

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-for-ibm-smart-design-draws-water-conservation-inspiration-from-ecosystems/feed/ 0 Biomimicry Challenge: IDEO Taps Octopi and Flamingos to Reorganize the USGBC http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-ideo-taps-octopi-and-flamingos-to-reorganize-the-usgbc/ http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-ideo-taps-octopi-and-flamingos-to-reorganize-the-usgbc/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 22:50:28 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1282 No matter how lofty their mission, most large organizations are not designed for agility, and therefore many have the same big issues that come with dispersed growth. The United States Green Building Council, who most notably founded the LEED certification system that rates structures by sustainability, is no different: With 80 local chapters nationwide, they struggle with challenges like making group decisions and the ability to keep members motivated and involved. But the USGBC wanted to investigate redesigning their organization in a way that was more closely aligned with their mission to protect and celebrate nature. In their words, they wanted to be more “resilient and organic” in how their organization communicates with stakeholders.

For our What Would You Ask Nature? biomimicry challenge, IDEO’s Boston office took on this hefty problem from the USGBC, which would essentially require a system-wide redesign for the way that their members communicate.

Read the entire case study on Fast Company

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-ideo-taps-octopi-and-flamingos-to-reorganize-the-usgbc/feed/ 0 Biomimicry Challenge: TOA Uses Fungi to Reimagine Sustainable Neighborhoods http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-toa-uses-fungi-to-reimagine-sustainable-neighborhoods/ http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-toa-uses-fungi-to-reimagine-sustainable-neighborhoods/#comments Thu, 06 May 2010 23:27:25 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1256 As cities redevelop to provide greener, more efficient living and working environments for their residents, the greatest innovation happens in ecodistricts, small pockets of a city where planners can experiment with more sustainable practices. Portland-based Brightworks, a sustainable development company, has been helping neighborhoods create long-term plans so that they can receive funding under the City of Portland’s EcoDistricts Initiative, a new program that hopes to accelerate sustainable neighborhood development throughout the city.

In this first case study in our biomimicry challenge What Would You Ask Nature?, see how Mexico City-based architectural firm Taller de Operaciones Ambientales explored how to create connections between Portland’s many ecodistricts. How do borders actually function in nature? How do independent beings come together to form a bigger entity?

]]> http://www.designersaccord.org/biomimicry-challenge-toa-uses-fungi-to-reimagine-sustainable-neighborhoods/feed/ 0 Designers Accord Tokyo Town Hall: Reflections and Photographs http://www.designersaccord.org/designers-accord-tokyo-town-hall-reflections-and-photographs/ http://www.designersaccord.org/designers-accord-tokyo-town-hall-reflections-and-photographs/#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:12:41 +0000 valeriecasey http://www.designersaccord.org/?p=1235 On Friday March 12th, 2010, the first Designers Accord Town Hall meeting in Asia was held in Tokyo, Japan. Hosted by The 4th International Conference of Design for Sustainability and greenz.jp, there were five speakers and 80 guests representing educators, business leaders, and students that came together to participate in the sustainability dialogue.

The Design Hub was an ideal venue for the Town Hall where its purpose is to connect and foster Japanese design amongst the local design community. Yoshihiro (Yosh) Kanematsu, creative director at greenz.jp, introduced the evening’s theme “Design x Sustainability x Open Source,” and explained how the four Japanese speakers are pioneers in adapting to the open source movement and implementing their creativity in actual projects.

Read the entire post on Core77

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