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  • What is Social Impact Design?
    • Overview
    • Most Urgent Questions
  • About the Foundation
    • Overview
    • Initiatives
      • Community Design Agency
    • People
    • Awards
      • Overview
      • Grantees
      • Curry Stone Design Prize Winners
      • Social Design Circle Honorees
    • News
    • Connect with Us
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  • Advocacy

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Environment

These practices are working for greater ecological responsibility and the possibility that our built environment can work in harmony with the natural world. They work at all scales with the same mission: a more sustainable human future.

Related Keywords
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Community Development
  • Architecture
  • Education
  • Community Engagement
  • Advocacy
  • Civic Empowerment
  • Public Space
  • Urban Strategies
  • North America
  • Community Built Projects
  • Research

03 | The Street As a Revolution

Podcast
Should designers be outlaws? Mark Lakeman of the City Repair Project discusses motives and methods for igniting neighborhood change, street by street.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

102 | Putting Humans at the Center of Design

Podcast
Design at the Intersection of Technology and Humanity Daniel Feldman and Adam Reineck of Ideo.org join us to talk about human-centered design.
  • Community Development
  • Environment
  • Healthcare

117 | What a Great Time to Be Alive

Podcast
Crisis in Climate, Crisis in Design Eric Corey Freed award-winning American architect, author, speaker and green strategist, joins us to talk about the state of the union in green design.
  • Environment

119 | Redesigning Our Relationship with the Earth

Podcast
Crisis in Climate, Crisis in Design Starhawk is an author, activist, permaculture designer and teacher, and a prominent voice in modern earth-based spirituality and ecofeminism.
  • Environment

120 | Beyond Green Design

Podcast
Crisis in Climate, Crisis in Design Mary Ann Lazarus is an American architect and longtime leader in the field of sustainable design.
  • Environment

121 | Buildings Made of Sky

Podcast
Crisis in Climate, Crisis in Design Bruce King, PE, natural building advocate, joins us to discuss his new book “The New Carbon Architecture: Building to Cool the Planet”
  • Environment
  • Housing
  • Urban Strategies

122 | Imagining New Futures for the Planet

Podcast
Crisis in Climate, Crisis in Design Alex Steffen is an award-winning writer, speaker and foresight consultant, focused on climate change and planetary sustainability.
  • Environment

123 | Design’s Race & Rescue Mission

Podcast
Crisis in Climate, Crisis in Design Dr. Ken Yeang is a Malaysian architect, ecologist, planner and author celebrated for both his built & theoretical work in green urbanism.
  • Environment

124 | Five Things About Social Impact Design

Podcast
What Now for Social Impact Design? Our Special Projects Director Eric J. Cesal is a designer, writer, noted post-disaster expert, and podcast host.
  • Environment

17 | Mitigating Climate-Based Disaster Before it Strikes

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can design prevent disaster? Mohammed Rezwan of Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha details his designs for floating communities.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Environment

19-20 | The Trajectory of Social Design, Part 1 & 2

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
CSF Grantee
Can we design community engagement? Sergio Palleroni discusses his thirty year career in Social Impact Design
  • Community Development
  • Environment
  • Housing

26 | Making Public Space Productive

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can design reclaim public space? Chelina Odbert and Jennifer Toy of the Kounkuey Design Initiative share their thoughts on how to engage community.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

31 | Clothing, Currency and Community

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can we design a slum-friendly city? Anshu Gupta of Goonj discusses his unique methodology for community development: clothes as currency.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Environment

32 | Slum Networking, Explained.

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can we design a slum-friendly city? Himanshu Parikh discusses the evolution of cities and slums, and how a historicist read can lead us to new engineering innovations.
  • Environment
  • Healthcare
  • Housing

33-34 | Finding Plenty in a World of Scarcity, Part 1 & 2

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
How do we design with scarcity? Line Ramstad discusses the origin of Gyaw Gyaw and introduces their methods.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

37 | Finding Holistic Design Through History

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
How do we design with scarcity? Yatin Pandya discusses his philosophy of ‘holistic design’ and how he seeks new solutions for India’s future.
  • Environment
  • Housing

42-43 | A Green Vision for the Future of Cities Part 1 & 2

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can a city work as an ecosystem? Gail Vittori and Pliny Fisk introduce our hosts to their work, thinking at multiple scales about how to live & work ecologically.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment

44 | The Blue Economy of the Future

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can a city work as an ecosystem? Jan Jongert of Superuse Studios shares experiences in designing new forms of ecology within the city.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

45 | Finding Nature Beneath our Feet

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can a city work as an ecosystem? Nance Klehm shares her experiences as a ‘radical ecologist’ and her strategies for helping cities connect with nature.
  • Environment

46 | Gardening as Urban Action

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Can a city work as an ecosystem? Marco Clausen of Prinzessinnengärten discusses how they came to pioneer a form of mobile gardening, and the positive impacts it has had on their city.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

48 | Nurturing Collective Imagination in Rome

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
Does design create politics or vice versa? Lorenzo Romito of Stalker discusses the ‘territory’ of architecture and how it can be expanded.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment
  • Urban Strategies

55-56 | Designing for the Future, Part 1 & 2

Podcast
Social Design Circle Honoree
How do we democratize design? Diébédo Francis Kéré discusses the origins of his practice, and how good design builds community.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

75 | New Forms of Design Education for New Forms of Cities

Podcast
Can design education promote social justice? Christian Benimana is a senior principal and managing director at Mass Design. He also is the founder of the African Design Center.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment
  • Urban Strategies

81 | The Resiliency of Right Now

Podcast
Is Resilience Still Relevant? Zander Rose of the Long Now Foundation speaks with us about how designers can design better by thinking differently about time.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment
  • Resilience

91 | Designing with Love

Podcast
Who Designs the Designers? Katie Swenson is a nationally recognized design leader, researcher, writer, and educator. Her work explores how critical design practice can and should promote economic and social equity, environmental sustainability, and healthy communities.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Environment
  • Healthcare
  • Housing

97 | 2018 Year in Review

Podcast
Who Designs the Designers? Emiliano Gandolfi and Eric Cesal reflect on a full year of Social Design Insights.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Conflict and Disaster
  • Environment
  • Healthcare
  • Housing

Alliance of Community Trainers

CSF Grantee
Can design increase civic engagement? The Alliance of Community Trainers works with communities to create a shared vision and to empower communities with tools for problem solving, conflict resolution, alternative technology, environmental sustainability and more.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Conflict and Disaster
  • Environment
  • Resilience
  • Urban Strategies

Antonio Scarponi

2008 Prize Winner
Video
Are you ready to co-opt mass consumerism? Dr. Antonio Scarponi is an architect, designer, educator, and the founder of Conceptual Devices, a Zurich-based office with the mission to develop design strategies with social, economic, and poetic impact.
  • Environment

Auroville Earth Institute

Social Design Circle Honoree
Can traditional building techniques serve modern needs? Auroville Earth Institute (AVEI) is a pioneering organization that has led in research and implementation of earth-based & sustainable building.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Blue Star Integrative Studio

CSF Grantee
How can design support community development? Blue Star Integrative Studio (BSIS) is a Tribally Owned, Indigenous American professional services firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma offering feasibility studies, planning, and design services. It illuminates opportunities through collaboration to support the sustainability of people, places, and the planet.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment
  • Housing

BuildX Studio (formerly Orkidstudio)

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
How do we design with scarcity? BuildX Studio (formerly Orkidstudio) is a Nairobi-based architectural, engineering, and construction company creating real estate projects for positive social and environmental impact.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment

Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
How is consideration of the full life cycle of products a means to achieve sustainability? The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems designs systems that identify and utilize the full life cycle of products, buildings and regions, resulting in smarter and more sustainable practices.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment

City Repair Project

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
How can public space be reclaimed to forge stronger communities? Portland, Oregon-based City Repair Project (CRP) seeks to address America’s lack of community gathering spaces by empowering neighborhoods to reclaim public spaces and creatively repurpose them to bring people together.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Coloco

Social Design Circle Honoree
Can a city work as an ecosystem? Coloco is a collective of landscapers, artists, urban planners, and botanists working in a variety of mediums including mapping, physical gardening, and advocacy.
  • Community Development
  • Environment
  • Urban Strategies

Ctrl+Z

Social Design Circle Honoree
Is architecture more about community participation than materials? Ctrl+Z Architecture practices collaborative, participatory, self-construction initiatives throughout the world. It believes that at its heart, architecture is more about interaction with communities than specific materials or approaches.
  • Community Development
  • Environment
  • Urban Strategies

Earth Activist Training

CSF Grantee
Can we design education for environmental sustainability? Author, activist and founder Starhawk offers Earth Activist Training in permaculture, nature awareness, earth based spirituality and more for individuals, teachers and community groups.
  • Community Development
  • Environment
  • Resilience
  • Urban Strategies

Fallen Fruit

Social Design Circle Honoree
What if our cities become places that grow natural resources for anyone to share? The art collective Fallen Fruit plants fruit trees in public spaces for everyone to share. They invite citizens to re-imagine public participation, urban space and the meaning of community.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Francis Kéré

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
Can an architect truly straddle both first world success and community development in the developing world? Diébédo Francis Kéré is a Burkinabe architect based in Berlin, Germany, whose work straddles community development in the developing world and award-winning architecture in the first world.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Goonj

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
How can donated clothing be translated into community renewal? Goonj is a non-­governmental organization based in Delhi since 1998 which undertakes poverty alleviation work, using the city's discard as material to fuel widespread development work across village India.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Gyaw Gyaw

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
Can architecture help stateless people put down roots? Gyaw Gyaw is a community development non-profit that works with the Karen people at the border between Myanmar and Thailand. The organization combines low-cost, sustainable building techniques with community input to ensure designs are appropriate to the customs and culture of each village.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Himanshu Parikh

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
What happens when gravity replaces modern technology as a tool to design urban infrastructure? Himanshu Parikh is an Indian engineer who developed of the concept of ‘slum networking,’ which stems from how the traditional organization of cities was based on natural features such as topography and gravity.
  • Environment
  • Healthcare
  • Housing

Hsieh Ying-Chun

2011 Prize Winner
Video
How can a community contribute to a post-disaster rebuilding process? Hsieh Ying-Chun is a Taiwanese architect who works throughout Asia training villagers to build locally-appropriate dwellings in response to earthquake devastation.
  • Community Development
  • Conflict and Disaster
  • Environment

Hunnarshala

2013 Prize Winner
Video
How can artisans build a resilient community? Hunnarshala works with artisans to combine traditional building techniques with innovation. They are also engaged in training and empowering artisan entrepreneurs, bringing them into the mainstream of construction.
  • Conflict and Disaster
  • Environment
  • Housing

Kounkuey Design Initiative

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
How can conversation with residents and deep engagement lead to community empowerment? The non-profit Kounkuey Design Initiative is based in Los Angeles, CA and Nairobi, Kenya. Using extensive community engagement, it reveals systemic needs and enlists the community in constructing solutions.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

L’Oeuf

Social Design Circle Honoree
What is the definition of sustainability? Montreal-based L’Oeuf is known for sustainable architecture, urban housing and renovation. It emphasizes building community over building buildings; the interplay between building, occupant and environment inspires innovation.
  • Environment
  • Housing

Lorenzo Romito

Does design create politics or vice versa? Lorenzo Romito of Stalker discusses the ‘territory’ of architecture and how it can be expanded.
  • Environment
  • Urban Strategies

Marjetica Potrč

2008 Prize Winner
Video
Can participatory design inspire sustainable prosperity? Marjetica Potrč is an artist and architect who works on community-based projects characterized by participatory design and a concern for sustainability.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Mohammed Rezwan

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
How can design help flood prone communities to function when facilities and resources are under water? Founded by Mohammed Rezwan, Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha is a nonprofit that works to support the environment and people affected by climate change-induced flooding in Bangladesh by transforming waterways into pathways for education, information, and technology.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Nance Klehm

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
Can a city work as an ecosystem? “Radical ecologist” Nance Klehm fosters awareness of how plants and animals coexist. She is an ecological systems designer, landscaper, horticultural consultant and permacultural grower focused on soil, ecology and community.
  • Environment

Open Source Ecology

Social Design Circle Honoree
What are the fifty machines essential to modern life—and can their designs be open-sourced? Open Source Ecology is dedicated to an open-source economy. At their core are plans for fifty fundamental machines; what is required to create a small, modern civilization.
  • Environment

Plan Selva

Social Design Circle Honoree
How can design address the problem of education for internally neglected communities? Plan Selva is the Peruvian Education Ministry’s plan to bring quality education to remote regions. The result self-empowers indigenous people to cultivate their knowledge and live productively in the Amazon.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Prinzessinnengärten

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
Why should citizens and activists reclaim public space? Prinzessinnengärten is a bottom-up community garden in Berlin notable for both its scale and its ingenuity in starting a public conversation about the democratic use of public space.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Sanergy

Social Design Circle Honoree
Can waste management create jobs and improve hygiene? Launched in Nairobi’s slums, Sanergy is a business and sanitation initiative. Low-cost pay toilets are run by locals as a business. Waste is processed into fertilizer and sold to commercial farms.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Sergio Palleroni

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
CSF Grantee
Can social impact design be taught? Sergio Palleroni is a leader, practitioner and educator in social impact design. In 1995, Palleroni founded the BASIC Initiative, a program that moved students from the design studio into communities.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Shawn Frayne

2008 Prize Winner
Video
Can wind energy be harnessed with a handheld device? Shawn Frayne invented a nonturbine wind-powered generator that [could] help people in poor communities power lamps, keep small vaccine refrigerators cool and charge cell phones for relatively little cost.
  • Environment

Stalker

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
Does design create politics or vice versa? Stalker is a collective of artists, architects, activists and others whose work focuses on the margins of the city.
  • Advocacy
  • Community Development
  • Environment
  • Urban Strategies

Superuse Studios

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
Can a “blue” economy be created where one business' waste is raw materials for another? Rotterdam based Superuse Studios is at the leading edge of ecological thought. Their work pioneers ideas around an economy where the waste of one business becomes raw materials for another.
  • Environment

TAMassociati/Emergency

2013 Prize Winner
Video
How can architecture bring dignity in war-torn regions? Studio TAMassociati is a nonprofit architecture firm that specializes in designing healthcare facilities in war-torn areas, highlighting the connection between the built environment and the basic needs of life.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Transition Network

2009 Prize Winner
Video
Can your neighborhood become a self-sufficient community? The Transition Network is an organization whose role is to inspire, encourage, connect, support, and train communities as they create initiatives that rebuild resilience and reduce CO2 emissions.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Wes Janz

2008 Prize Winner
Video
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.
  • Advocacy
  • Environment
  • Housing
  • Urban Strategies

YA + K

Social Design Circle Honoree
Can design free the public from hierarchical constraints in society? YA + K is a French collective that seeks new ways of understanding and defining public space. Their projects focus on low-tech innovation and the creation of new economies.
  • Community Development
  • Environment

Yatin Pandya

Social Design Circle Honoree
Podcast
How do we design with scarcity? Yatin Pandya is the founder and executive director of Footprints E.A.R.T.H. (Environment, Architecture, Research, Technology, Housing), an Indian professional services organization focused on research, design and the promotion of more sustainable urban futures.
  • Environment
  • Housing

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      The Curry Stone Foundation (CSF) is the brainchild of architect, urban planner and developer Clifford Curry, FAIA, and the historical archeologist Dr. Delight Stone, RPA. It was inspired by a shared conviction that design thinking and design actions can—and should, serve those wishing to contribute to community vitality and human dignity. Most of all, we believe that design should be available to those most in need.

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      The deaths, the illnesses, millions unemployed, millions in quarantine, borders closed and the disruption of normalcy.

      Curry Stone Foundation is receiving numerous unsolicited requests for support in light of this crisis. Many of these have significant merit, and we understand the need is great.

      Prior the Pandemic, our budget for 2020 and 2021 was committed to projects still in process, in India and elsewhere. Now, as a direct result of the crisis, we anticipate that these will need supplemental funds to reach completion. As these projects impact fragile, marginalized populations, we need to reserve emergency funds for that purpose.

      For these reasons, we will not be able to assist financially with any immediate requests for funds.

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