Kristen Baumlier

Last night I attended the first Designers Accord Town Hall meeting in Cleveland.  Hosted by  SmartShape Design, CIA, IDSA Northeast Ohio Chapter and AIGA Cleveland Chapter at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the event was intended to create discussion on how design can create positive environmental and social impact in the local community and beyond.

There were several presentations by designers in Cleveland which included David Levine of Wireless Environment ( a company focusing on off the grid LED lighting), King Heiple of Recharge Power (a company which produces products that are for recharging electric cars), PJ Doran, of APOC ( a group which rescues and upcycles good wood from houses) and F*SHO Collective (annual furniture show in the Cleveland area), and Doug Paige, from the Cleveland Institute of Art.

The presentations focused on presenting an overview of what the companies and groups did – and each presenter would end the presentation by framing  some key questions for discussion – which were to be discussed in later breakout sessions.

Some of the highlights of the night:

David Levine summary which included the questions, “ What if a light could go on and off the grid – like a laptop?  What can be wireless in 2015?  What if lights would store up power at night, when the cost of power is cheaper, and go off the grid during the day?”

PJ Doran presented about his current project in microtecture, trying to make small 150-200 square feet living spaces that are affordable, low-maintainance, that have a low impact on the land,  and can be moved.  His presentation was the most engaging of the night – and he showed several interesting examples of microtecture and presented the question, “How can we create creative sustainable, small living solutions?”

Doug Paige, who I work with at the Cleveland Institute of Art,  talked about a current group project he is a part of which is using biomimiciry o create solutions to the challenges of desalination of water.  (biomiciry is a process where models, systems and process of nature are examined to solve human problems.)   The project addresses the question of, “ How can we crate efficient, modular desalination systems that work with the principles or “rules” of nature?”

This was the first event organized by the Cleveland group of The Designers Accord – which is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact.  The group has a Design Education toolkit that you can view on the  site or download as a PDF.

I had to leave before the breakout and discussions began – but the information will be posted online at a later date- on the Designer Accord website  – presenting ideas about Cleveland, design, and sustainability and social impact.

LINKS:

The Designers Accord Site

IDSA Northeast Ohio Chapter

AIGA Cleveland Chapter

A Piece of Cleveland (APOC)

F*Sho Cleveland