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HKS Global Design Fellowship Promotes Exploration and Innovation in Design

HKS Global Design Fellowship Promotes Exploration and Innovation in Design

By Amy Eagle

The HKS Global Design Fellowship invites employees from throughout the firm to apply for the annual program, which brings designers together to explore big ideas. Employees selected for the fellowship work in teams to develop projects that respond to pressing issues in architecture.

The Global Design Fellowship “gives young designers an opportunity to step away from (day-to-day) designing of documents and think more broadly,” said Rand Ekman, Chief Sustainability Officer and Partner at HKS.

“It’s about exploring and developing new ideas,” Ekman said.

Throughout the Global Design Fellowship, the teams’ “ideas are generated in a collaborative way and they receive feedback from advisors as their ideas are created,” Ekman added. He said the program models HKS’ design critique process, which encourages diverse thinking to create impactful projects.

The 2024 Global Design Fellowship recently culminated with an event at HKS Dallas, where the design fellows presented their ideas in person to the firm as well as to a panel of Dallas-Fort Worth cultural, governmental and architectural design leaders.

Flexibility and Resilience

The 2024 Global Design Fellowship class consisted of nine HKS employees who were divided into three teams:

The design fellows sought to answer the question, “Should the built environment embrace nomadic flexibility, or should it seek resilient longevity that invests in future generations?” The teams were tasked to develop design solutions to help societies manage extreme weather conditions that will force people to either shelter in place or pack up and leave.

Teams examined the problem through the lens of the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which in recent years has experienced several negative impacts of extreme weather. These include tornado damage, flooding, record-breaking heat and droughts and an arctic blast that strained the region’s energy infrastructure.

Each team of fellows met virtually for two months to research, define the problem and present their progress to a team of HKS advisors. The teams then participated in a week-long design charrette at the HKS Dallas office. During the charrette, the teams met with advisors to refine their ideas and finalize their presentations.

New Ideas

Brown, Sotudeh and Kevin Zhang (Team X) collaborated on a design to activate Dallas’ downtown pedestrian tunnel network to provide shared, shaded space for the public to enjoy. The team’s future-thinking model supports mental health by offering shelter from extreme heat and promoting social interaction.

The team reimagined the tunnel system to create welcoming entry points and spaces for activity, respite, creativity and social connection, as well as areas where users can experience nature and sunlight and connect with the world above. The team also designed a wayfinding element to guide people through the underground system and to help them understand what to expect inside.

Nyondo, Castro and Qining Zhang (Team Y) developed a phased development plan to reverse the downward spiral of economic disinvestment, cultural decay, mass vacancy and property decline experienced in neighborhoods throughout the U.S. The team’s presentation demonstrated how to acknowledge the mistakesof the past and provide tools for reclaiming beloved, vibrant spaces for future generations.

The team used The Bottom District, a once-thriving historical community adjacent to the Trinity River in Dallas, to show how a lightweight design intervention in a neighborhood can progress to semi-permanent and then permanent structures over several years. Their plan utilizes community pride in the local high school marching band to generate excitement about and involvement in the project. They created a Community Building Handbook to help make the first phase of the plan simple, low-cost and easy for community members to implement.

Roots, Terwilleger and Pierson (Team Z) showcased a method for using mushrooms to break down construction materials including drywall, plastics and wood.  

Using the former Valley View Center shopping mall in Dallas as an example, the team showed how a bamboo structural frame could be built over an abandoned structure and seeded with mushroom spores. The resulting mycelium membrane, a material composed of mushrooms growing over the bamboo framework, would provide shade, prevent spores from spreading uncontrollably and shelter mushrooms that decompose the remnants of the former building. These mushrooms could also be used to create consumer goods and new building materials.

The team proposed that over approximately 85 years, this process could reclaim the site of an abandoned building, create green space in the city and help establish a sustainable, circular building economy.

‘Opportunities to Dream Bigger’

Following the teams’ presentations, Ekman led a panel discussion that included three Dallas-Fort Worth leaders who represented unique perspectives, from performing arts to public policy.

Panelists included Lily Weiss, Executive Director, Dallas Arts District; Genesis Gavino, Chief of Staff and Resilience Officer for the City of Dallas; and Austin Allen, Associate Professor of Practice, University of Texas at Arlington College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.

Allen said that with his background in teaching landscape architecture and film, he was especially interested in how each team used media to “give other people a sense of how the built environment functions.”

Gavino said that she loved the fellows’ innovative approaches.

“That’s the future of what architecture looks like, right? It’s really introducing those thoughts and planting the seed in bureaucrats’ brains that this is the future that’s possible,” she said. “You give us these options for opportunities to dream bigger.”

Weiss said she was particularly impressed with the sculptural aspects of the Valley View Center rewilding project; the stage-like, inviting entries designed for the Dallas tunnel network; and the emphasis on community involvement in the project to reclaim The Bottom District.

The panelists agreed on the importance of soliciting community input and involvement in design projects.

“Town halls are where you’re going to get your support and you’re going to get the questions that need to be answered now” to accomplish a project, Weiss said. “You have to be ready to listen to that feedback and you have to trust the people.”

HKS’ Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship Promotes Community & Sustainability in Richmond

HKS’ Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship Promotes Community & Sustainability in Richmond

By Matt Gilmore

At HKS, nurturing discussions on design is fundamental to achieving design excellence. One avenue through which we cultivate these dialogues is our Design Fellowship program.

The Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship (MADF) initiative gathers collegiate students and HKS staff from our New York, Washington D.C. and Richmond offices to delve into significant design concepts. Suspended since 2020, the return of the MADF ignited inspiration and rekindled familiar feelings for many at HKS, highlighting the importance of limitless design thinking for all participants. This year’s design challenge focused on creating an engaging recreation center on an underutilized site in Richmond, Virginia.

Design Challenge

Richmond, Virginia, is a city steeped in history, serving as the former capital of the Confederate States during the Civil War. Its character is marked by historic landmarks and a vibrant arts scene, including theaters, galleries and music venues. The city’s diverse neighborhoods offer unique cultural experiences, while its culinary scene celebrates both Southern tradition and innovation, making Richmond a dynamic and engaging place to live and visit.

Richmond has also shown a commitment to environmental sustainability and community growth. Initiatives aimed at enhancing green spaces and promoting eco-friendly practices have been prioritized. The RVAgreen 2050 plan is a testament to this commitment, with goals to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, while also addressing climate-related challenges such as extreme weather and flooding.

The design challenge was to imagine a new outlook for a recreation center and its surroundings in Richmond, Virginia. Fellows were asked to prioritize the development of overarching concepts and establish objectives to shape the design approach while considering each user’s experience.

Site

The Wharf Street Tunnel Building on East Main Street, historically known as Intermediate Terminal 03, is an inactive terminal building owned by the City of Richmond Department of Public Works. Located adjacent to the highly popular James River, Intermediate Terminal #3 is an iconic landmark associated with Richmond’s vital port history. Built in 1938, it was one of the first buildings in Richmond that used reinforced concrete and remains structurally sound to this day.

Redefining Resiliency

During the fellowship, teams immersed themselves in the revitalization of a historically significant yet overlooked site in Virginia’s capital. The design fellows aimed to uncover a fresh architectural approach, seamlessly blending both natural and urban surroundings. Fostering community engagement and advancing environmental sustainability, their objective was to investigate how the constructed environment could harmonize with the James River, enhancing the area’s visual appeal and ecological vitality.

Meeting in person on March 8th, each team embarked on a collaborative journey, dedicating the weekend to crafting inventive design solutions. The weekend concluded on March 11th with an in-person presentation of their ideas to the Richmond office, sparking dynamic conversations and laying the groundwork for further exploration and refinement.

The Fellows

Three HKS employees and six students were selected for the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship. The fellows were divided into three teams:

Team 1:  Armond Dai from HKS D.C., Maggie Williams from Virginia Tech, and Addie Merlo from James Madison University

Team 2:  Dandi Zhang from HKS D.C., Ian McCarthy from the Washington Alexandria Architecture Center, and Lewis Wightman from Cal Poly SLO

Team 3: Mary Campbell from HKS Richmond, Courtney Thomas from VCU, and Gonzalo Vazquez Vela Novoa from Cal Poly SLO

Natural and Built Environments

The three teams devised different strategies to tackle the design prompt. Nevertheless, they all recognized that climate change and rising sea levels would eventually impact the site, shaping each of their designs accordingly.

A Third Place

Team 01: Armond Dai, Maggie Williams, and Addie Merlo directed their efforts towards crafting a “third place” – a public space distinct from both work and home environments.

Describing their design vision, Dai expressed that it, “extends a warm invitation to the public, celebrates nature and confronts the challenges posed by climate change.”

Within their proposal, the existing terminal building evolves into a testament to the dynamic interplay between nature and architecture, while also fulfilling a vital role as a community hub through its diverse programmatic offerings.

Learn more

Paddle the Future

Team 02: Dandi Zhang, Lewis Wightman and Ian McCarthy studied the problems arising from the James River due to pollution. In the last three years, 38,000 pounds of trash and recyclables were removed from the James River. Through an innovative maker’s space program, Team 02 created a vessel to clean the James River, educate the public and create an accessible entry to the river.

Learn more

Northbank

Team 03: Mary Campbell, Gon Vazquez Vela and Courtney Thomas started their concept with studying adolescent social engagement after the COVID-19 pandemic. The James River is known as a public space for teens to hang out outside of home and school but is only accessible in a handful of entry points. Their design creates anchored floating pods with varying public/private atmospheres to serve the community as a social hub along the riverfront.

Learn more

Lasting Impression

The revival of the Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship sparked an invigorating dialogue on sustainability, flexible design and community enhancement. Collaborating closely, the fellows crafted innovative concepts aimed at tackling climate change, preserving historic architecture and fostering community involvement. Rooted in a profound grasp of Richmond’s past, present and future, each concept narrative resonated with those local to Richmond. The 2024 Mid-Atlantic Fellowship showcased how weekend design charrettes nurture design prowess, driving vital discussions and positioning HKS as a leader in design innovation.

Building Resilient Futures: 2023 HKS Detroit Design Fellowship Applications Open

Building Resilient Futures: 2023 HKS Detroit Design Fellowship Applications Open

By HKS

The HKS Detroit Design Fellowship (DDF) is a student design charrette that seeks to cultivate emerging design talent, excite and stimulate new design approaches and provide service to benefit the communities in which we live.

Since it began in 2009, the DDF has focused on the learning opportunities presented by pairing professionals with selected university students from some of the region’s top design programs.

In partnership with community organizations, DDF Fellows leverage design to solve challenges faced by Metro Detroit communities. In previous years, the DDF has worked with organizations such as Cass Community Social Services, Plymouth Coffee Bean Company and the City of Northville, Michigan.

The city of Detroit holds great significance as an historic hub of the American automotive industry and a cultural center known for its contributions to popular music. The city has endured and continues to navigate economic, social and educational challenges.

Due to population decline, suburban immigration and the emergence of charter schools, Detroit’s traditional public schools have experienced a decrease in student enrollment. This decline in enrollment has strained the finances of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, impacting available resources and educational opportunities. Additionally, the school district has struggled with low academic achievement, as evidenced by consistently below-average standardized test scores and graduation rates. Various factors, including high poverty, inadequate funding and a lack of resources, have contributed to the school district’s challenges. Detroit continues to harness the strength of its communities, embracing resilience as a fundamental value to create a better future. The heart of this year’s DDF design challenge is resilience – within, through and beyond the built environment.

Our partner this year

This year the DDF is partnering with Brilliant Detroit. This non-profit organization was founded in 2015 with the goal to provide a radically new approach to kindergarten readiness in Detroit neighborhoods. The idea was to create a unique delivery model in early childhood development by using underutilized housing stock to create early child and family centers in city neighborhoods.

Brilliant Detroit homes provide holistic services for children aged 0-8, predicated on evidence-based programs concerning health, family support and education. Brilliant Detroit was born to create kid success neighborhoods. In each of the organization’s locations, neighbors come together for activities and learning to assure school readiness and provide needed support for families. The DDF Fellows will work on a challenge that expands on this approach, exploring the power of design to build a more resilient future.

Location and Schedule

During three days of collaboration, DDF participants will investigate, iterate, and propose solutions, based on a design prompt. The workshop will begin on Friday, September 8 and culminate on Sunday, September 10.

A final review and public exhibition will be held Friday, September 15 as part of Detroit Month of Design, a citywide celebration of creativity. The exhibition will provide the community with the opportunity to learn more about the design process and actively participate in it. Registration for the final review and public exhibition will be available through the Detroit Month of Design website at www.detroitmonthofdesign.com.

Specific 2023 DDF design challenge information will be presented to students selected to participate in the fellowship one week before the in-person collaboration.

HKS Detroit Address: Main St, #102C Northville, MI 48167

This year we are part of Detroit Month of Design

If you are in Detroit, we invite you to this year’s Detroit Design Fellowship student work exhibition in the MarxModa Detroit office on September 15. This event is part of the Detroit Month of Design, which is a citywide celebration of creativity that gathers designers and the greater community to celebrate Detroit’s role as a national and global design capital. Detroit is the first city in the U.S. to be named a UNESCO City of Design.

The exhibition is free to the public and provides an opportunity to learn about the Fellow’s work and the design process behind it. You can register on the MoD website.

Address: 751 Griswold St, Detroit, MI 48226
Time: 6 pm – 9 pm

Selection

Sixteen Fellows will be chosen by the design fellowship committee. All applicants will be notified of the status of their application via email within a week following the application deadline. Those selected for the Fellowship must submit a headshot photo and brief bio (up to 200 words) upon notification for inclusion in the welcome packet and website announcement.

Application

DDF is open to college or university undergraduates, graduate students and recent graduates (up to 1 year post graduation) of architecture, interior design, industrial design and other design programs.

The 2023 application period opens July 10 and closes on August 21.

To apply, please email the following information to [email protected]

Meals will be provided to participants during the four days of the DDF. Hotel and travel arrangements will not be provided, however, and are the responsibility of the Fellows.

The decisions of the design fellowship committee are final. For any inquiries, please email: [email protected]

HKS Global Design Fellowship Cultivates Design Excellence

HKS Global Design Fellowship Cultivates Design Excellence

By Anthony Montalto

Fostering conversations about great design is foundational to design excellence at HKS. One way we support these conversations is through our annual Global Design Fellowship. This program brings together HKS employees from throughout our 26 offices worldwide to explore big ideas through design. The fellowship is an opportunity for emerging talent to explore topics that are important to us as a firm and to advance the quality of design at HKS.

“We’re a global firm for a reason – we think that’s an asset,” said Jenn Carlson, an HKS designer who serves on the Global Design Fellowship committee. “We’re better when we’re pulling from all our offices. It’s about bringing the absolute best minds from across the firm together to develop the most creative ideas.”

Hannah Shultz, who is also an HKS designer and committee member, said the fellowship gives up-and-coming HKS employees a chance to spread their wings and take ownership of a design topic that interests them, which “only gives them more courage and agency in how they want to cultivate their career.”

Investing in our people through initiatives like the Global Design Fellowship helps express how highly HKS values both beauty and inspiration in design.

A New Design Language

Eight HKS employees were selected for our 2023 Global Design Fellowship class, which was divided into three teams:

During the fellowship the teams examined how, as science and technology have advanced, buildings have shifted away from designs that respond to their context and towards artificial environments that separate people from nature.

The design fellows sought to discover a new design language that supports both the natural and artificial realm in order to enhance the human experience and reinvigorate ecosystems.

They approached this issue by exploring how the built environment can promote a positive relationship with the Texas Blackland Prairies, an endangered ecosystem heavily impacted by the recent, rapid growth of Dallas and Austin.

Each team of fellows met virtually for two months to research, define the problem and present their progress to a team of advisors. The teams then participated in a week-long design charrette at the HKS Dallas office.

The week was capped off by the recent 2023 Global Design Fellowship event at HKS Dallas, where the design fellows presented their ideas in person to the firm as well as a panel of regional design and environmental experts.

Poetry and Power

The three teams took distinct approaches to the problem, but they each married the science and poetry of design to deliver beautiful, powerful presentations.

Siyang Zhang, Johnson and Ham (Team X) collaborated on the design of a community composting project featuring contoured underground chambers that artfully reveal the soil structure to help people better understand the underground ecosystem.

The group noted that every year in the U.S., more than 35 tons of food waste are sent to landfills. By encouraging and facilitating composting, the team’s project is designed to help replenish the Texas Blackland Prairie soil. And by collecting compostable material and distributing high quality soil to organic farms or city gardens, the project would also help build a circular economy within the community.

Dandi Zhang and Shastavets (Team Y) partnered on a project to preserve bird species that are vanishing from North America. Describing the project from the perspective of a bird watcher and a scissor-tailed flycatcher, they proposed a kit of parts to transform abandoned buildings in Texas ghost towns that are located along major migratory flyways into protective environments for birds.

Beyond protecting bird species, the project would provide viewing opportunities for bird watchers, who contribute $1.8 billion annually to the Texas economy, according to research cited by the team.

Marais, Martin and Dai (Team Z) devised a strategy for creating a web of prairie corridors to connect Dallas to the Texas Blackland Prairies. The team described the history of the Blackland Prairies, including indigenous practices to encourage prairie growth and the later industrialization that reduced the Blackland Prairie ecosystem to 1 percent of its original land mass.

The team told “The Legend of the Prairie Mother” from the viewpoint of the future, looking back on the year 2023 when, according to the legend, an environmentalist, gardener and chef teamed up to reawaken human relationships with the land, in order to rewild the landscape, build community and feed people.

The team said they chose the story format for their presentation as way to honor indigenous traditions they learned about in their research, many of which were passed down from generation to generation through storytelling.

Bridging the Dichotomy

Following the teams’ presentations, Heath May, Global Practice Director of HKS’ Laboratory for Intensive Exploration (LINE), moderated a panel discussion that included Lisa Casey, Associate with Dallas-based landscape architecture and urban design firm Studio Outside; Dr. Oswald Jenewein, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington; and Brett Johnson, an Urban Biologist with the Dallas Park & Recreation Department.

The panelists discussed the presentations, shared their personal career paths and talked about how their work is, as May said, “bridging the dichotomy between architecture and landscape.”

Casey explained how her professional interests intersect with the ideas expressed by the design fellows.

“I’m looking at how we tie into the native ecoregion, bringing native plant material into projects so that there’s a sense of rootedness to the work I do,” Casey said.

She praised the design fellows for bringing visibility to topics that are “central to moving things forward” in landscape architecture and urban design.

Dr. Jenewein talked about helping cities develop comprehensive plans for future development that incorporate climate adaptation and environmental topics. “I feel like we’re making significant impact,” he said. He complimented the teams for the compelling storytelling they brought to their presentations.

Johnson described how aspects of the local ecosystem, like grasslands, are aligned with human needs, such as stormwater management or open space where children can play.

He said that because his job entails considering the broader effects of different elements of the environment, he especially appreciated the idea of revealing the soil in order to increase people’s understanding of soil’s importance.

“You’re taking something that’s been subliminal…and you’re bringing it beyond the surface, so we can actually experience it and talk through it,” Johnson said.

May noted that over the next several decades, geographies in Texas are likely to undergo a process of transformation. He said that projects like those presented by the design fellows “are so valuable in showing what the role of the architect could be in all of this, as kind of a mastermind that is allowed to invent and experiment.”

Lasting Impression

As Chief Design Officer here at HKS, one of the most exciting things about the design profession to me is the opportunity we have to make a clear and lasting impression on people’s lives.

The HKS 2023 design fellows demonstrated that design excellence requires a deep understanding of what shapes a community and place. Places don’t exist in one time, one generation, one decade. As designers, we need to consider how we create the future without losing the sense of what makes a place special.

We want our environments and spaces to inspire people. I applaud this year’s design fellows for elevating the work that we do.

2022 HKS Design Fellowship Focuses on Making Cities More Equitable

2022 HKS Design Fellowship Focuses on Making Cities More Equitable

By HKS

Designing public spaces is typically a top-down approach where those in power wield the most influence over the process.

With an estimated 300 people moving to Dallas every day, it’s time for the city to incorporate as many voices as possible in its planning – not just those with the most resources and influence on the public sector.

This concept of shared agency among all constituents can help growing cities pivot from decades of unfair development and better engage communities that have historically been left behind in city planning decisions.

The 2022 HKS Design Fellowship event recently showcased how major cities like Dallas can serve their residents more equitably. The event included a panel discussion hosted by HKS President and CEO, Dan Noble, and presentations from this year’s Design Fellows on ways to improve Dallas’ public spaces.

“Those with authority, capital, and influence have long driven the form of our built environment, skewing spaces to be designed for like-minded individuals,” said HKS Architect Kay Curtis, who is part of the Design Fellowship planning team. “Designers have influence over these decisions, and it’s important for us to understand how those decisions impact those who don’t currently have a seat at the table – and how we can facilitate those voices being a part of the conversation.”

Designers have influence over these decisions, and it’s important for us to understand how those decisions impact those who don’t currently have a seat at the table.

Leading the Change

Panelists LaTosha Herron-Bruff, Senior Vice President of the Dallas Regional Chamber; Darren L. James, President of KAI Enterprises; and Patrick Todd, Managing Partner of Todd Interests Group, are all longtime advocates for Dallas through their respective professions.

During their panel discussion, they shared what inspired them to become involved in their communities and what they believe are areas of opportunity for Dallas.

Herron-Bruff said her dedication to Dallas came from her mother, who was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame for the African American Museum for Educations, and her father, who has owned a real estate company in southern Dallas for more than 50 years.

“Their leadership in those areas have always inspired me and my brother to think about communities and how we help propel others to reach their fullest potential, through education or how people become economically mobile,” Herron-Bruff said.

She has found that her position at the Dallas Regional Chamber helps her to “not just work on one leg of the stool but all three legs of the stool” when it comes to community development.

James said his inspiration also came from his childhood, where he noticed while growing up in St. Louis that the affluent part of the city had nice, open areas while the less-resourced side of the city had community centers that “looked like bunkers.” When he became an architect and moved to Dallas, James saw a similar dichotomy between the city’s affluent and lower-income communities.

“Community engagement is not about having group meetings, it’s about actually going out into the community and recognizing the people that don’t have a voice or may not show up to some of those meetings,” James said.

When Noble asked about barriers in Dallas to “getting things done,” the speakers shared that the city is in a crucial moment of its history with an influx of new residents.

“One of the barriers is that making sure new ideas don’t die on the vine because someone has told you that you can’t do this, or we haven’t done that in Dallas before,” James said. “You’ve got to be persistent, and you’ve got to push.”

Todd said that making the city more equitable doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money. Adding well-lit, ADA-accessible sidewalks that connect different parts of Dallas could improve resident mobility. Activating existing dead spaces could also bring life to neighborhoods facing decline.

But a renaissance is happening in Dallas, Herron-Bruff said, with new design projects intended to give a voice to residents who have historically gone unheard in city planning decisions.

The Southern Gateway Park, for example, will re-connect a neighborhood that for decades has been divided by an interstate highway and differences in resources. The HKS-designed park will include an educational component that showcases the stories of freed slaves who once made Dallas their home.

Another way to enable equity would be to devise new policies that would incentivize developers to take on projects in underrepresented neighborhoods like southern Dallas County, Herron-Bruff said.

“We always say we need to bring the community to the table, but it’s their table and we need the business community at their table,” she said. “Part of the problem is making sure we’re understanding and we’re listening to the community and letting them guide what happens in their community.”

Design Solutions for the Future

The 2022 HKS Design Fellowship allowed nine HKS employees – the most diverse fellow class since the program launched in 2006 – to brainstorm how Dallas can address some of the challenges mentioned by  the panel so that residents can have a stronger sense of shared agency.

“While architects and designers don’t usually have the capital or authority to implement change at a large scale, we can use our influence to plant seeds in those who do,” Curtis said.

This year’s fellows collaborated over a two-month virtual research phase that culminated with a one-week charette at the HKS Dallas office – the firm’s largest – as well as the 2022 Design Fellowship event, where they pitched three ideas to help Dallas become a more equitable city.

Gee Yang Tan from HKS Singapore and Jaya Tolefree from HKS Chicago came up with a game called Metafarms where Dallas residents would work on community gardens in exchange for points that would unlock rewards for their contributions.

The Metafarms team said they created the mobile app to encourage residents to physically leave their home to explore their community and meet new people while adding to the city’s green spaces.

Another project, Jubilant Forestry, would focus on multigenerational impact in a Dallas neighborhood where 46 percent of residents live below the poverty line and have historically been left out of Dallas’ development plans.

Bonaventura Satria from HKS Singapore, Hannah Shultz from HKS Dallas, and Shreya Jasrapuria from HKS Chicago said Jubilant Forestry would add to the neighborhood’s ongoing efforts to improve their quality of life by bringing residents into the conversation.

Jubilant Forestry would build an urban forest in Jubilee Park to promote its residents’ well-being, impacting generations to come as the trees mature over time.

The third team of fellows found that 25 percent of households in downtown Dallas are families where the parents are 25 to 36 years old who are learning to navigate city life with young children.

Joey Tan from HKS Singapore, Jiming Chen from HKS Houston, and Zach Orig from HKS Atlanta said their project – which they called Slowspace – would activate an underutilized plaza in downtown Dallas with play areas for families and create a coloring book for young children to explore what’s in store for them in that plaza.

Curtis described all three ideas as “easy-to-implement, small-scale instigators” that have the potential to leave a big impact on the city as a whole. And although they are theoretical solutions for now, they propose actionable steps for changing our society for the better, she said.

“The Design Fellowship gives up-and-coming innovators in our firm the chance to push boundaries on social and environmental issues without being constrained by a client or budget – while still working within the theoretical world of the plausible,” Curtis said. “This allows them the opportunity to explore their own voices and passions along with similarly ambitious colleagues to see how impactful design can be in achieving these goals.”

How Design Can Enhance the Brain Health of a Rapidly Aging Population

How Design Can Enhance the Brain Health of a Rapidly Aging Population

By Kathleen M. O’Donnell

By 2050, an estimated 2.1 billion people worldwide will be over 60 — a staggering number more than double the current population of older adults. In a rapidly aging society, we face major challenges of rising senior care and housing costs, not to mention the effects of physical and mental illness that increase as we get older.

Mitigating the tolls aging takes on the body and mind is increasingly a collective responsibility.

Cognitive decline — often evidenced by confusion, memory loss, or difficulty concentrating and learning new things — is among the most widely feared aspects of aging, according to Dr. Upali Nanda, HKS Principal and Director of Research.

“When we think of the aging brain, our first connotations are negative. At some point, aging stops being a positive thing,” Nanda said. “We become worried about what’s going to happen to our brain as we get older.”

To better understand the science behind cognitive decline and learn how designers can attempt to counteract it, HKS recently conducted research in partnership with Hume, a UK-based design practice that relies on behavioral neuroscience to inform its work.

“Science-informed design helps us understand the deep influence our environments have on our day-to-day cognitive experience,” said Hume’s director, Itai Palti, who noted that our physical surroundings have numerous effects on our brains — effects that accumulate over time to shape both development and decline.

Science-informed design helps us understand the deep influence our environments have on our day-to-day cognitive experience.

The HKS and Hume research illuminates biological and cultural inhibitors to healthy brain development over the course of a person’s life. For example, physiological conditions like sensitivity to stress can impede the brain’s ability to age healthfully. But cognitive decline is not just a physical concern, it’s a social concern as well. It exacerbates negative stereotypes of ageism and counteracts positive associations of growing old such as wisdom and intelligence. When elders are perceived as unwell or incoherent, their opinions are more likely to be dismissed, their voices less likely to be heard. Often, even with good intentions regarding their safety, caretakers and family members grant elders less influence over where and how they can live their lives.

Contradicting common perceptions of what aging does to the mind and body, research shows that the brain itself is capable of growing and changing at all stages of life. The prospects of neurogenesis (the brain’s process of creating new neurons) and neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to reorganize and develop neural networks) do not completely diminish as we age.

“If our brain has the capacity to grow and generate new connections, then we have to shift our thinking from preventing cognitive decline to promoting brain health,” said Nanda, who encourages designers to create spaces that may be used by seniors to start from a perspective of positivity and development instead of deterioration.

If our brain has the capacity to grow and generate new connections, then we have to shift our thinking from preventing cognitive decline to promoting brain health.

Enriched Environments Support Brain Health

But how exactly can the built environment promote brain health and enhance the lives of older adults?

According to our research, environmental enrichment — the stimulation of the brain by its physical and social surroundings — can stem the tide of cognitive decline and increase the likelihood of neurogenesis. When people encounter complex environments that offer a variety of activities for various personality types, cognitive abilities, and ages, brain function and neuroplasticity flourish.

“We tend to think that we need to make things really simple for older adults. But this isn’t always true. Environments that have a certain level of complexity – not too much or too little— actually help cognitive function,” Nanda said. “When your brain engages with stimuli, it stays healthier. One great way of engaging the brain is through art and creative activities.”

Elders suffering from the most detrimental form of cognitive impairment — dementia — have much to gain from enriched environments.

One of the hurdles preventing wide adoption of enriched environments for seniors is a lack of understanding about what actually happens to their brains as they age. Dementia patients’ behavior is often logical even though their ability to perceive the world and their memory may be impaired. HKS Senior Living designers incorporate sensory experiences — including visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile elements — all in an attempt to support cognitive abilities and corresponding behaviors.

At The Vista at CC Young, a high-rise senior living community in Dallas, a stationary automobile provides rehabilitation support, triggers sense memory to boost cognitive activity and encourages positive interactions and educational moments among residents.

By digging into the science of the aging brain, we discovered new insights that have major implications for the future of design. We learned that as the brain ages, some parts degenerate faster than others. Verbal abilities and comprehension decline slower than abilities related to speed of processing, memory, spatial ability and reasoning.

“These nuanced insights remind us that spaces we design need to have spatial coherence — an ability for elderly persons to understand how different elements go together in a space,” Nanda said.

From Neuroscientific Evidence to Design Solutions: A New Approach

A crucial part of a science-informed design approach is when creative minds engage directly with research to generate new ideas. HKS developed a research-based workbook with exercises meant to serve as catalysts for designers and collaborators to create environments capable of supporting brain health in a workshop setting.

Putting this process to test, HKS invited ten young designers to explore how enriched environments can be designed and incorporated in the public realm during our 2021 Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship (MADF). Now in its 10th year, MADF unites students and recent graduates with HKS designers from the Washington D.C., Richmond and New York City offices in an intensive weekend-long design charrette.

The 2021 MADF took place in a virtual think tank environment where Nanda and HKS colleagues facilitated an immersive workshop focused on the combined lenses of science and empathy. Following informed brainstorming, they tasked fellows to develop hypothetical design solutions that foster brain health among aging people and increase quality of life for all members of a community. The HKS and HUME research findings and projects from HKS’ Senior Living practice served as a foundation for the fellows’ work.

In three teams, formed to address small, medium, and large-scale solutions, MADF participants designed theoretical public parks that, if built, could support brain health and create positive connections across generations.

The fellows explored everyday design strategies and analyzed their effectiveness to contribute to an enriched environment. They addressed design prompts not only from physical and spatial points of view, but also from an experiential or emotional perspective.

Working on an individualized scale, “Team Small” considered user interactions, landscape integration and materiality in their design. Comprised of two overlapping circles for passive and active engagement, their park provides visually compelling sculptural seating areas and low-impact exercise equipment along a circular path made of soft blue paving-like material.

“Team Small’s” innovative circular layout aligns with best practices for designing for elders who suffer from cognitive decline. It promotes exercise and the soft ground coverings the team selected are particularly good in the event of falls. The project also promotes the notion that environments designed for both physical and mental health in conjunction, are ideal.

MADF Team Small’s circular park design caters to active and passive adults with low-impact exercise equipment and visually interesting seating options.

Rising to the challenge of a slightly broader scale that needed to consider site layout and adjacencies, “Team Medium” designed an environment that could support individual choices and collective experiences at the same time.

Inspired to create spaces for reflection as well as energy and activity, the team’s design solutions included an overlook offering visual connections and shading as well as a marketplace or pavilion. Other mid-scale community areas — a pond, a garden and a skate park — connect to one another via diverse pathways.

“Team Medium’s” idea to feature a skate park in an environment that caters to the elderly may seem unexpected, but it was an intentional choice to promote joy and positive associations — two key contributors to brain health.

HKS Senior Living designers often put playrooms and playgrounds in the senior communities they designs, as they spark creativity and excitement among residents who enjoy watching children play and laugh. Incorporating elements of play into environments for people of all ages enhances quality of life.

“Play is so essential,” Nanda said. “It’s why intergenerational environments really work— you can do the same thing for grandkids and grandparents and they both benefit but in completely different ways.”

MADF “Team Large’s” streetscape design encourages way-learning and sensory exploration so people can navigate safely to a park and have fun along the way.

Expanding beyond the boundaries of a single park, “Team Large” set out to design an arrival journey, considering entry points and the network of streets and green spaces people encounter along the way.

The team’s design mapped a section of a hypothetical city activated with a series of porches and sensory kiosks that could play music or show pictures. Streetscapes along the journey engage people of all ages while sidewalk cafés and interstitial spaces cater to older adults who may need water breaks or shade as they make their way to the park. In this instance, way-learning took shape in “Team Large’s” design with colored curbs to visually validate that pedestrians are moving in the right direction and color-matched park entrances to signify arrival.

The concept of way-learning improves upon traditional wayfinding in design, according to Nanda. When those experiencing cognitive decline are provided with visual cues in the form of repeating colors or objects rather than just words or numbers, they are more likely to remember the journey to their destination, whether it be their bedroom or a public space.

“With aging populations, you need to give anchors to help learn their way, not just find it,” Nanda said, noting that developing new memories and retaining old ones are crucial signifiers of a healthy brain and can be aided by design interventions.

With aging populations, you need to give anchors to help learn their way, not just find it.

An Urgent Social and Health Concern

In 2020, the global pandemic noticeably hit seniors hardest, compounding issues of isolation, declining health and ageism. For the first time in recent memory, elders’ health and housing needs were front and center.

As the pandemic demonstrated, seniors are often overlooked. In order to provide dignified environments and care for the steadily rising population of elders, we must pay more attention. By embracing science-informed design and introducing enriching, intergenerational environments in our communities, we can combat cognitive decline and improve quality of life for everyone, especially older adults.

“That’s the best thing about being a designer,” Nanda said. “Every problem is your opportunity to come up with ways of addressing it and making it better.”

Learn more

Interested in learning more about how design can support brain health or conducting a science-informed design workshop with your team? Reach out to Upali Nanda.

Julie Hutchison

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2020 HKS Design Fellowship Mid-Atlantic

2020 HKS Design Fellowship Mid-Atlantic

By HKS

2020 marks the 10th installation of the HKS Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship (MADF). This annual event is one of three regional charrettes presented by HKS. Unique design fellowships will be hosted this year by HKS offices in Richmond (Mid-Atlantic DF), Miami (Southeast DF) and Los Angeles (Pacific DF).

The HKS Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship is an intense, three-day charrette. The key drivers behind the MADF are DESIGN, SUSTAINABILITY, and COMMUNITY. Each year, an original design prompt challenges the Fellows to consider a complex issue affecting the urban metropolis.

The Goal 

Important Dates

The Location 

MADF 2020 will be hosted by the HKS Richmond office at the following address:

2100 E Cary St,
Richmond, VA 23223

The Application

Any full-time undergraduate/graduate university student enrolled in an architecture, urban planning, interior design, landscape architecture, industrial design, or other design program is invited to apply for the design fellowship.

Any HKS professional from the New York, Richmond or Washington, D.C. office is eligible to apply.

Fellows are chosen by the design fellowship committee via a blind review of the submitted materials.

To apply, send an email to [email protected] with a single PDF attachment using the file naming convention MADF2020_student/professional_LastName-FirstName.pdf comprised of:

Candidates will be notified of acceptance via email within one week following the deadline.

There is no application fee or cost to participate in the Design Fellowship. Meals throughout the charrette will be provided at no cost to participants. However, please note that Fellows are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements and expenses.

The Fellows

Typically, six to eight students and three to four professionals are selected each year. The selected Fellows are then divided into three teams with two or three students and one or two professionals per team.

The Schedule 

Fellows arrive on Friday evening for an introductory presentation and preliminary research. Over the course of the weekend they participate in site visits, work sessions, and informal critiques. As teams respond to the prompt, they learn about the history and character of a place / site, investigate the underlying complex relationships causing the problem, develop imaginative solutions, and produce sketches, diagrams, models, drawings, and renderings. On Monday morning, the resulting proposals are shared in front of a diverse panel of critics to spark a dialogue about the agency of the design of the built environment.

The Archives (2011-2019)

To date, the Mid-Atlantic Design Fellowship has worked throughout the District of Columbia and has explored several issues facing our nation’s capital, including:

The Outcomes 

Since its inception, the design fellowship has produced novel and fascinating projects that push design forward. The collaboration that occurs over such a short period of time, across multiple offices in the firm and between various disciplines and backgrounds, has led to compelling and thoughtful work year after year. In some cases there was a direct influence, but in all cases there was an enlightening conversation and a renewed sense of possibility that design has the power to create spaces and shape experiences that can shift paradigms.

 We believe our design fellowship has provided tremendous value. We continue this tradition because it inspires us to constantly improve our practice to deliver services, environments and experiences that have the greatest meaningful impact.

Questions

Send Inquiries to: [email protected]

Thank you to everyone who has made MADF a success over the years. We’re excited about what’s in store for 2020!

2020 HKS Design Fellowship Southeast

2020 HKS Design Fellowship Southeast

By HKS

The Design Fellowship is an annual exercise that brings together designers from across the firm and the surrounding student community to explore big ideas, stimulate new thinking, and enhance methodology. The purpose of the Design Fellowship is to use design as an instrument for change in our communities to enhance the quality of design at HKS and cultivate emerging talent.  

Considered one of the least affordable housing markets in the U.S., Miami is facing a lack of viable housing that has caused a ripple effect, resulting in high poverty neighborhoods. Ironically, Miami was one of the first cities in the south to offer affordable housing but unfortunately it no longer does so. The current housing crisis has led to a condition of concentrated poverty that has been linked to higher crime as well as impaired mental and physical health for the lifetime of current residents and their children. Access to housing is only becoming scarcer with large developments pushing out current residents to produce luxury condominiums. The intent of the 2020 Southeast Design Fellowship is to offer our time and talent to Carrfour Supportive Housing to help tackle the issue of concentrated poverty by providing much needed housing, as well as supportive services as a pathway to self-sufficiency.  Our goal is to engage and enable emerging talent in the profession to develop design solutions that focus on community and resiliency in a sub-tropic climate.   

What does mixed-income housing look like in Miami Dade County’s oversaturation of luxury apartments? How can the community of Little Haiti become better integrated into the city fabric through means of inclusion and on-site supportive services? These are some of the questions the fellows will have to think about throughout their design explorations. 

Important Dates 

The Location  

The Southeast Design Fellowship 2020 will be hosted by the HKS Miami office at the following address:  

2020 Salzedo St, 4th Floor  
Coral Gables, Florida 33134  

The Application (Student)  

Full-time undergraduate or graduate students in architecture, interior design or other design programs.  

Entry Materials:  

The Application (HKS)  

HKS professionals working in one of the southeast region’s offices (Atlanta, Miami, or Orlando).  

Entry Materials:  

Submission  

Please send the application form and all entry materials, in PDF format, as well as any inquiries to: [email protected]  

Selection

Candidates will be chosen by the design fellowship committee. All applicants will be notified via email within a week following the deadline. Fellows will be required to submit a headshot photo and brief bio upon notification for inclusion in the welcome packet and website announcement.  

DR/EDGE: HKS’ Award Winning Concept to Revive One of the World’s Most Polluted Rivers

DR/EDGE: HKS’ Award Winning Concept to Revive One of the World’s Most Polluted Rivers

By HKS

Bangladesh’s Buriganga River in South Asia wends through the country’s capital of Dhaka, home to more than 20 million people. Like many waterways that support massive populations around the world, the Buriganga is the lifeblood of Dhaka’s economy, teeming with passenger boats, barges hauling food and goods and heavy industrial production. Yet the river and its surrounding ecosystem are dying.

Extreme environmental degradation from tanneries (hundreds are unregulated), brick kilns, mills, textile production, pharmaceuticals and more choke the river. According to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Environment, about 5.7 million gallons of heavy metals and untreated chemical waste is dumped into the river each day, just from the leather tanneries alone. Most of the nine major industries lining the riverbanks don’t have sewage treatment or effluent treatment systems. The City of Dhaka releases about 4,500 tons of solid waste into the river every day – about 80 percent is untreated.

The pollution crisis promotes the uncontrolled growth of water hyacinth, which in turn obstructs and reduces the river’s flow. The Buriganga, starved of oxygen, has decimated all fisheries and every other form of marine life. Yet many citizens fish, bathe, play and wash their clothes in the blackened, contaminated waterway.

The HKS’ Dallas Design Fellowship team – Jason Fleming (HKS Houston), Lawrence Kam (HKS Singapore) and Divya Nautiyal (HKS Richmond, Virginia) – created a concept to reverse the Buriganga’s toxic course, proposing a cleaner, alternative future for the river ecosystem, the local economy and its people.

DR/EDGE is an innovative example of circular economy design at urban scale. Not only is the river’s waste, sludge and silt material being reused, recycled and remade into bricks, the existing brick kiln factory is reimagined and adapted as a waste collecting apparatus, housing, and community gathering spaces.

This Design Fellowship project was presented at the Architecture Exchange East Conference 2019. It has been recognized as a 2019 Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Design Awards winner and secured the first award at the 2019 Global Architecture + Design Awards in the conceptual Mixed Use category.

The Design Fellowship team focused on water — oceans, seas, lake, and rivers —a significant force for community organization since the dawn of civilization. Rivers are unique in that their constant flow means any point along their banks can be affected by changes upstream and can create changes downstream. Rapid urbanization, industrialization and increasing encroachment of the river’s edge have disrupted the balance of many rivers in the form of pollution, reduction of flow, and loss of riparian and aquatic habitats, imperiling the environment and human settlements across rivers’ entire length.

In Dhaka and the surrounding region, brick making is one of the most prominent industries, producing 3.5 billion bricks annually and employing a half million people. But it is also one of its biggest polluters and impediments to river flow. The region changes dramatically with the annual monsoon season, making brickmaking impossible and leaving migrant workers jobless for half the year. Short-term financial incentives entice farmers to sell topsoil from productive farmland, cutting long-term crop yields and exacerbating runoff and sedimentation.

The production of bricks and the challenges that face the city have a real and tangible impact on people and the river. The HKS design team gauged its design response through the eyes of stakeholders at each end of the brickmaking economy.

A Waste-to-Energy Process

As it currently exists in Dhaka, the brick making process is one-directional. At the same time, the river is laced with trash and silt, both considered undesirable and worthless. HKS proposes to leverage these undesirables, capturing the sediment to replace topsoil and collecting the waste to be used in a modern Waste-to-Energy process. This reimagined system is a springboard to imagine a performative apparatus that captures raw material and serves as the foundation for programmatic layers atop and creates new landscapes for human occupation.

DR/EDGE operates in two intertwined modes: as an industrial machine that sustainably remakes the regional brickmaking industry; and a civic framework that creates new environments for community members to thrive.

DR/EDGE’s geometry scrapes garbage from the river and utilizes eddies that trap silt during monsoon season. When the water recedes, the kiln owners are left with free raw material, improving the system’s economics and incentivizing future investment. The Waste-to-Energy plant sits atop the base structure, providing employment opportunities for workers during the wet season when brickmaking goes on hiatus.

Silt and garbage also replace existing unsustainable inputs (silt in place of topsoil taken from productive farmland; Waste-to-Energy in place of coal) and reduce air and water pollution, affecting positive environmental change at the local and regional scale. 

As an urban intervention, DR/EDGE is a series of performative edges that flip the problems of flow, pollution and encroachment into opportunities. But more than that, HKS created spaces for community to happen. The once-polluted river now becomes accessible and active, repairing the relationship between water and community, turning an endangered wetland into a testament to sustainability.

The introduction of civic programming and housing set in motion a transformation from seasonal migrant work to permanent, stable and secure communities. These re-imagined societies can exist on a more equitable footing with factory owners, with fellow Dhakaites and with the Buriganga River itself.

“We realized that our intervention has to be a bottom-up approach, with direct benefits to the local community and its citizens,” said HKS Design Fellowship team members Fleming, Kam and Nautiyal. “While considering the broad global applications, we focused on specific responses which not only tackles a problem but is intrinsically tied to the local economy.”

While the DR/EDGE concept is intimately tailored to Dhaka and its culture, HKS’ ambition is to tease out strategies that are broadly applicable in places that face similar challenges.

Josh Tooill

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2019 HKS Design Fellowship Applications Are Open

2019 HKS Design Fellowship Applications Are Open

By HKS

The HKS Design Fellowship is an annual exercise that brings together creatives from HKS and universities to explore big ideas and stimulate new thinking with the goal of cultivating emerging design talent as we enrich the quality of our work at HKS. We connect students, emerging design professionals and community leaders in conversations around real-world conditions that could benefit from design and creative dialogue. This year, fellowships will be hosted by HKS offices in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Atlanta.

The HKS Design Fellowship has the power to shape experiences that can shift paradigms by encouraging exploration beyond the boundaries of what’s been done before or what is conventional. This tradition continues because it inspires us to continually improve our ability to deliver services, environments and experiences that have a meaningful impact in the lives of the communities we serve. The 2018 Fellows explored how to breathe new life into a dilapidated stadium and designed a memorial to the victims of one of America’s most painful mass shootings.

Fellows are chosen by the Design Fellowship’s committee via a blind review of submitted materials. There is no application fee or cost to participate in the Design Fellowship. Meals throughout the charrette are provided at no cost. However, please note that Fellows are responsible for their own travel and accommodations. Selected applicants will be notified of their acceptance after the application deadline.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?  

Any undergraduate students, graduate students and recent graduates (six months post-graduation) are eligible to apply. Students in architecture, urban planning, interior design, industrial design/designed objects, landscape architecture and the fine arts are particularly encouraged to apply.

HKS employees may apply if they work in one of the offices listed in the description for each Fellowship below.

How to Apply:

Mid-Atlantic Fellowship

March 1-4 in Washington D.C.
Deadline for applications is Jan.25.
HKS applicants are accepted from New York, Richmond and Washington, D.C. offices.

1250 I (Eye) Street NW, Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20005

Southeast Fellowship

March 15-18 in Atlanta, GA
Deadline for applications is Feb. 7.
HKS applicants are accepted from Miami, Orlando and Atlanta offices.

191 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 5000
Atlanta, Georgia 30303

Los Angeles Fellowship

March 22-25 in Los Angeles, CA
Deadline for applications is Feb. 6.
HKS applicants are accepted from the Los Angeles office.

10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1850
Los Angeles, CA 90024

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