Is there room in the Architecture Profession for the Socio - Political Architect?
Latent Design - Katherine Darnstadt - Tactical Leverage
Located in Wicker Park / East Village
(Katherine Darnstadt works at her desk in her office. (Credit: Latent Design) )
https://nextcity.org/features/view/latent-design-katherine-darnstadt-social-impact-architecture
Katherine Darnstadt is owner of Latent Design, and an architect working to make an impact on the Chicago community. Initially Katherine worked at a traditional architecture firm, that specializes in affordable housing. Once the recession hit she was laid off from her position, but took it as the perfect opportunity to make a way for herself; within five years of starting her firm she made Crain’s list 40 under 40 in 2014. (http://www.chicagobusiness.com/section/40-under-40-2014?recipient=Darnstadt)
In our class she mentioned that she wears multiple hats, and works at least two jobs outside of architecture to stay afloat. She states:
“It is important to have side hustles that are creative and necessary outlets.”
Latent Design is Firm is a combination of Art - Architecture - Urban Design; due to their relatively small size, only hires licensed architects.
Katherine shared this quote from the reviewers of a competition submitted by Latent Design:
“A beautiful project, but might be too sociopolitical”
- Alexandre Gautheir
“As a profession it’s like saying: we like the object, not the people or the systems.”
- Katherine Darnstadt
In architecture school we are taught that as architects we are licensed by the government because we are responsible for the Health, Safety and Welfare of the general public. However, we rarely speak about social issues, within our studios and electives, because our focus lies in the design. I believe that the social aspect can drive a design.
Ad·vo·cate
/ˈadvəkət/ | noun
a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.
There is a growing trend of architects becoming advocates, becoming more involved in community development, public interest design, and even in public policies. A major concern for many architecture firms, in deciding to take a stand on being an advocate, is how to respond when a particular project does not lend the outcome predicted/ conceived. Not knowing if the design will truly be successful and support community development, did not stop Katherine Darnstadt from pursuing public interest design.
“Fresh Moves” was one of the first public interest based projects that stood out to me. In this Latent Design took an urban bus model and converted it into a mobile produce market; that carried fresh foods and provided education about healthy eating to address the problem of food deserts in communities. While this was not a physical building, it was a great representation of how design and designers can make an impact.
Photos Courtesy of Latent Design (http://www.latentdesign.net/fresh-moves/?rq=fresh%20moves)
Boombox Chicago - Startup to Storefront, is another example of a great project that took a lot of risks, with the possibility of very little in return for the risk. This is a great example of micro retail & shipping container architecture. CDOT (the Chicago Department of Transportation) partnered with Latent Design for the placement on the project on the plaza and many of the legal aspects of the project.
A New Municipal Ordinance was required in making this project come to life. Below are a list of a few of the steps taken for this:
Listed as a temporary venue (it is a structure, it isn’t mobile and cant have a concession)
Micro enterprise (make less than half a million)
This project took a lot of risks
Kept the language as open-ended as possible
Spent time reading publicly available contracts about objects on public space
Contacted other municipalities
Object sits for a short period of time
“Our spaces are as profound as we allow them to be.”
- Candy Chang
One of my personal goals as an architect is to engage in public interest design, and specialize in projects such as: affordable housing, primary public schools, healthcare systems in under-served communities, libraries and community centers. Katherine Darnstadt serves a perfect example for someone like me searching for avenues to achieve this goal.
If you are interested in staying involved in the work of Latent Design please visit: http://www.latentdesign.net/
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