EXPLORE OUR DIGITAL SOCIAL DESIGN DIRECTORY
LEARN ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND PRACTICES WHO USE DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Cité Manifeste, Mulhouse, 2005. Image Credit: Philippe Ruault Lacaton & Vassal Is it better to refurbish and reuse than rebuild? Run by the duo it is named for, Lacaton & Vassal is an award-winning architecture firm using innovative design to promote social justice, sustainability, and the repurposing of materials. Is it better to refurbish and reuse than rebuild? Sustainable Health Enterprises {SHE} Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) Can menstrual pads contribute to economic opportunities for women? Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) has designed a menstrual pad made from banana tree fibers—a local, renewable resource that SHE sources from two (largely female) farming co-ops in the eastern region of the country. Can menstrual pads contribute to economic opportunities for women? Sergio Palleroni and Jane Anderson offer a history of the collective effort to establish a global network of social design teachers and practitioners Design for the Common Good Can design education promote social justice? Sergio Palleroni and Jane Anderson offer a history of the collective effort to establish a global network of social design teachers and practitioners. Can design education promote social justice? Colombo, Sri Lanka, Spring 2003: Students engage in collaborative construction projects which in turn provide a setting for cultural exchange Wes Janz How can designers address poverty in American cities? Dr. Wesley Janz is a Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Ball State University, Indiana and the founder of OneSmallProject. Currently, he is working to draw attention to the issues central to the U.S. prison system. How can designers address poverty in American cities? Aerial View of Project Row Houses during Round 41. Image Credit: Peter Molick Project Row Houses Can artists create solutions instead of just social commentary? Project Row Houses (PRH) is a community platform that enriches lives through art with an emphasis on cultural identity and its impact on the urban landscape. They engage neighbors, artists, and enterprises in collective creative action to help materialize sustainable opportunities in marginalized communities. Can artists create solutions instead of just social commentary?
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Prize Winners

Learn about our Prize Winners, Grantees, and Design Circle.

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Podcasts

Social Design Insights podcast. Conversations with the leading voices of the social design movement.

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Videos

Short, inspiring films about social design pioneers around the globe.

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Initiatives

Supporting inspiring work around the world

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CSF’s Mission is to empower the practice of community-driven social design

The Curry Stone Design Foundation supports groups and individuals using design to build healthier, more vital communities. Over time, this support has taken the form of an annual prize, a podcast, grants, and an honorary circle.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CSF

Social Design Insights is a weekly podcast of conversations with leading designers who discuss innovative projects and practices that use design to address pressing social justice issues.

Hosted by Eric Cesal, Produced by Baruch Zeichner.

Listen to the latest episode of Social Design Insights here.

IN MEMORIAM

Jockin Arputham dedicated his life to working with slum dwellers to build representative organizations into powerful partnerships with governments and international agencies for the betterment of urban living.

Mr. Jockin Arputham

We are saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend, colleague and incredible humanitarian Mr. Jockin Arputham.

Jockin dedicated his life to working with slum dwellers to build representative organizations into powerful partnerships with governments and international agencies for the betterment of urban living. Arputham was the president of the National Slum Dwellers Federation which he founded in the 70s and of Slum Dwellers International which is now a network of slum and shack dweller organizations and federations from over twenty countries across the world.

The National Slum Dwellers Federation works closely with Mahila Milan, a collective of savings groups formed by homeless women and women living in slums across India, and with SPARC, a Mumbai-based NGO that was awarded the Curry Stone Design Prize for their instrumental work in supporting tens of thousands of the urban poor access housing and sanitation throughout India.