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

University students sketching buildings for a Riwaq competition. Organized by Riwaq, the Tom Kay Award supports Palestinian engineering students with the aim of encouraging them to spend less time in front of computer screens, and to carry their sketchbooks and pencils to explore, appreciate, draw, and document Palestinian architectural heritage. Image Credit: Riwaq Photo Archive RIWAQ Can restoration work in Palestine reinforce cultural identity? Founded in 1991 by Dr. Suad Amiry and a group of fellow architects and intellectuals, RIWAQ is a Ramallah-based non-profit organization that protects and develops architectural heritage in Palestine. Can restoration work in Palestine reinforce cultural identity? Semillas para el Desarrollo Sostenible Can schools address development challenges? Semillas para el Desarrollo Sostenible (“Seeds for Sustainable Development”) is a Peruvian NGO providing service to public and private entities in the design of educational, residential, and exhibition spaces, community centers, and spaces of public, cultural and heritage interest. Can schools address development challenges? Refugee Academy Refugee Academy Can refugees be a national asset? Berlin’s The Refugee Academy responds to the influx of refugees into Germany. Their work is about designing new ways to think about migration. Can refugees be a national asset? Participatory intervention developed in partnership with Bucharest Metropolitan Library within “Urban Spaces in Action” project, coordinated by Komunitas Association. Image Credit: Bucharest Metropolitan Library, Bucharest 2016 studioBASAR Can design reconcile the legacy of brutal authoritarianism and the new forces of the market? studioBASAR is an architectural office and a “Search and Rescue” team conducting urban observation and intervention. It searches for overlooked urban conditions. Then the ‘rescue’ encompasses architectural interventions. Can design reconcile the legacy of brutal authoritarianism and the new forces of the market? The Butaro Hospital in Rwanda’s Burera District has 140 beds and serves 400,000 people. MASS Design Group Why invest in architecture in resource-limited settings? Model of Architecture Serving Society (MASS Design) is a Boston-based architectural practice focusing on advocacy, the education of the next generation of architects, and the impacts of architecture on human lives. Why invest in architecture in resource-limited settings?
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Prize Winners

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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.

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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.