We might look to government to solve the problems facing our city, but three different projects featured in Cooper Hewitt convey just how effective the work of citizens are in improving the future of America. Inventive design has the power to transform a room, a building and entire communities and in turn, change lives for[…]
From Cooper Hewitt site, courtesy of Moorhead & Moorhead/Mikiko Kikuyama
By The People: Designing a Better America, showing at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, is an insightful look into a variety of design-based projects which seek to address an issue at hand in the communities which they are centered in around the nation. By highlighting the combined effectiveness and efficiency of design-based solutions, this exhibition encourages audience members to think critically about issues in their own communities, and question how thoughtful design might make an impact. […]
Front to the Future
Time traveling cars may just be a Hollywood creation, but they’re not the only way to move into the future at light speed. The Cooper Hewitt museum’s By The People exhibit suggests new ways to look at everything from the how we run probation offices, to run down gas stations, and (of course) the cars we drive.
“The Orbit,” a car of the future. [photo by Lucien Formichella]
Across the country, forward-thinking brains combine innovative design with civic participation to create projects that provide solutions for local and statewide issues. From Chinatown to Toronto to Pine Ridge, designs in Cooper Hewitt’s By the People: Designing a Better America show that placing local concerns at the forefront for project planning build communities that nurture its residents.[…]
There is more to a city than tall buildings, bright lights, and a rushed pace. There are millions of people and millions of separate lives navigating the intricate city simultaneously. There is beauty and there is adversity. There are no doubt difficulties, but there are also innovative people striving to overcome them.
Underpass Park, 2007-14, in Toronto, Canada. Credit: Erica Fu
How do we address the issues our city has? By the People: Designing a Better America at the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, displays projects that strive to answer those issues through innovative projects. From an Underpass Park to human-powered vehicles, some of these projects can be adapted for use in New York City. […]
People across the country have been making efforts to improve the future of America. Their ideas consist of encouraging equality across cultural groups, creating energy efficient ways of living, helping the homeless, and providing affordable housing, amongst others. Although these innovative ideas are now being implemented in single cities and states, they have the ability[…]
