This social networking event follows an association forum (AF8) on challenges /solutions in the design industry during this economic downturn. Meet the presenters and discuss new strategies for developing your business or career. Light hors d’oeuvres and complimentary white wines will be served. Entry is free for AF8 forum attendees, or $5.00 at the door.



To register contact Gwen Williams, board member, Project Osmosis eclecticdzinr@yahoo.com. Registration also accepted at the door.

A thought provoking forum on Haitii with some experts from the fields of design, planning, international development and cultural anthropology. The forum will involve critical thinking about shelter and disaster with a focus on planning, cause and effect, and risk management after a disaster. 



This session will be followed by an interactive discussion and networking hour for potential collaborations and partnerships from 4–5 p.m. Sponsored by IIDA, FocusOnDesign, Designers for the 21st Century (D421), Project Osmosis, and The Black Design News Network

Speakers:  Kerl LaJeune - architect, founder and principal, Atelier AzaraRenee Kemp-Rotan - urban designer and co-founder, Black Design News Network; Atim Annette Oton, architectural designer and co-founder, Black Design News Network; Bryan Hudson, architect, principal, SOMA Design Consultants Inc.; and Lee Bey, writer and architectural critic, African American writer/architectural critic. 



To register contact Atim Oton, director of the Black Design News Network atimoton@yahoo.com. Registration also accepted at the door.

Article by Yuka Yoneda, 02/28/10

Photo: Reuters/Eduardo Munoz, via Flickr

Currently, Cameron Sinclair and Architecture for Humanity are leading the way in reconstruction planning, wisely eschewing a build-now, plan-later approach in favor of a long-term initiative. You can read AFH’s seven-point reconstruction plan here.

Long-term planning is essential, but so is short-term relief. Here is a look at some of the more immediate initiatives proposed by the architecture and design community. (If you know of any important programs we missed, please leave a comment below or send us an e-mail with the details.)

Article 25 is a UK based charity organization that believes that all people deserve adequate housing and shelter. It designs and delivers architectural solutions worldwide to those in need. Article 25 vowed to monitor the international response effort to determine the coordination between key agencies to ensure success in the reconstruction of Haiti.

The USGBC pledged its support to “rescue and rebuild” Haiti. In the past, the organization has worked in similar natural disaster zones in New Orleans and Greensburg and now promises similar long-term assistance. In the meantime for immediate aid, those interested are asked to donate through the Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief Fund.

http://www.habitat.org/ is working to address the problem of immediate shelter in Haiti. The organization is removing the rubble of fallen buildings to begin the rebuilding process. Habitat is also working to provide transitional housing for families displaced by the disaster.

http://www.ewb-usa.org/haiti.php is not providing direct relief. But it is rallying support for the cause by seeking out French and/or Creole speaking volunteer engineers to assist in the rebuilding process. Since EWB has several ongoing projects in Haiti, it is also possible to donate through its Web site.

Partners in Health and the Solar Electric Light Fund are joining forces to bring solar-powered lighting to the temporary hospitals that serve the earthquake survivors.
In terms of proposed shelter solutions, a research group from Clemson University – SEED – utilizes shipping containers for housing in the time of disaster. The containers can be cut to provide light and windows, and can withstand hurricanes and other natural disasters. SEED chose shipping containers because there are 30 million unused in the world today. The surplus containers can be utilized immediately. SEED is working to make their project a reality in Haiti.

ShelterBox is a relief organization that immediately responds to disasters by shipping survival boxes to the disaster site. Each is equipped with a tent, tools and supplies to support a family of ten.

For most of the design community, however, the best thing that can be done to help is to raise money for the relief effort. Here is a short list of larger organizations in need of immediate donations: the American Red Cross; UNICEF; Doctors Without Borders; Partners in Health; the William J. Clinton Foundation; the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund; and the Yele Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

By Natalie Balthrop
Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:37 am
Original Content: Metropolis Magazine

So what is it about Latino design that makes it so fun and beautiful to wear?

Young Latino design students at The Art Institute of New York City say it’s their culture that is their muse, rich with inspiration in everything from music, dance, language and even bullfights.

Bonnie Assing, a fashion design student, is a mixture of many cultures — Costa Rican, Native American, Caribbean, and Chinese. In her approach to fashion design, she feels the Hispanic influence is the strongest. Bonnie leans toward ruffles and frills, and strong colors, such as red and black. “I think the Spanish influence is sexy, seductive, clingy.” She is sure that some of her background will find its way into her the clothes she will eventually design. “Bullfights, festivals, parades, the swirl of colors will always influence me,” says Bonnie.

Another student, Ivette Fuentes, whose family is from the Dominican Republic, sees a significant difference between mainstream and Hispanic cultures. She points out that Hispanic women are not obsessed with being thin. People accept that women are curvy. Designers work around the curves, emphasizing clothes

African Design Now is the brainchild of Nigerian-American designer, cultural writer/publisher and entrepreneur, Atim Annette Oton who resides in Brooklyn, New York in collaboration with South African award-winning profile writer, cultural, music and social critic, Bongani Madondo, who resides in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Please feel to email me at atimoton@yahoo.com

You may also want to read his paper entitled African-American Designers in Chicago: Some Preliminary Findings.

Highlights: This interactive session will share the successful launch of D421, a growing cross-cultural, interdisciplinary network of leaders in design practice and education who are dedicated to building professional and community relationships and activities that support the interests of, and connections to, minority designers. Come learn about the development of the network and how you can benefit from and contribute to D421 initiatives. There will be plenty of insightful dialogue about the needs of the minority design community and opportunities for collaboration and growth.

Speakers: Eric Anderson, President IDSA, and associate professor of Industrial Design, Carnegie Mellon University; Joi Roberts, design ambassador, Motorola Consumer Experience Design.

For more information on this design forum and other activities for designers of color at NeoCon East, click here.

How do you . . . Set your compass toward success under adverse conditions?

Summary: Finding success is a talent minority- and women-owned firms have honed in the past quarter century, argues Curtis Moody, FAIA, name principal of the largest minority-owned firm in the country. And it is not a matter of prevailing alone, he says. It requires developing collaboration, trust, perseverance, and self confidence. For more on this article go to: http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek09/0320/0320rc_face.cfm