Design for Good: Architecture for Everyone

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) announces its upcoming exhibition Design for Good: Architecture for Everyone curated by John Cary, architect, speaker, and author of Design for Good: A New Era of Architecture for Everyone, opening Sunday, September 23, 2018.

MODA’s exhibition, Design for Good: Architecture for Everyone, offers people-driven, real-world stories about buildings designed to solve problems at scale.

Central to Design for Good is the idea that everyone deserves good design. Almost nothing influences the quality of our lives more than the design of our homes, our schools, our workplaces, and our public spaces. Spaces can enliven. They can excite the soul, fill us with a sense of wonder, and bring us comfort and reprieve. When planned with the ultimate users in mind, spaces become more than bricks and mortar and glass and steel; they become incubators for serving, working, learning, and loving. This is what architecture is all about—providing spaces that empower people to live their best lives.

This exhibition documents projects across the globe that fosters a sense of belonging and dignity. It’s not about designers. It’s about the lives we lead, inextricably shaped by the spaces and places we inhabit. For too long design has been seen as a luxury, the province of the rich, not the poor, who often need it most. That can no longer be acceptable to the design field, nor to those affected by the field, which is to say, absolutely everybody.

“We are honored to work with John Cary to bring Design for Good to Atlanta,” says Laura Flusche, Executive Director of MODA. “The projects he documents in this exhibition clearly demonstrate design’s power to inspire change, transform lives, and make the world a better place—an idea that reflects the mission of MODA.”

The exhibition focuses on architectural projects that are making a social impact across the globe, including:
The Cottages at Hickory Crossing in Dallas, TX by [bc] workshop
Lakeside Senior Apartments in Oakland, CA by David Baker Architects
Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh by Marina Tabassum Architects
Welcome Health Clinic in Fayetteville, AR by Marlon Blackwell Architects
Butaro District Hospital in Northern Province, Rwanda; the GHESKIO Cholera Treatment Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti;  the Maternity Waiting Village in Malawi by MASS Design Group
Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL by the Equal Justice Initiative and MASS Design Group
Star Apartments in Los Angeles, CA by Michael Maltzan Architecture
St. Jerome’s Centre in Nakuru, Kenya by Orkidstudio
Angdong Hospital by Rural Urban Frameworks (RUF) in the Hunan Province of China
the Women’s Opportunity Center in Kayonza, Rwanda by Sharon Davis Design
Atlanta BeltLine by Ryan Gravel
Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, MI by Studio Gang
MOD Furniture, a brand of Actual Architecture Co. + Min Design.

Exhibition sponsors
MODA is grateful these generous exhibition sponsors: Interface, the Fulton County Arts Council, Wells Fargo Foundation, Jamestown Charitable Foundation, Ponce City Market, Shaw Contract, and The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs’ for their support.

About John Cary
John is the author of Design for Good: A New Era of Architecture for Everyone (2017) and The Power of Pro Bono (2010). His writing has appeared in an array of publications as diverse as The New York Times, CNN.com, dwell, and Fast Company.

In addition to his TED talk and other speaking, John frequently curates and hosts events for TED, The Aspen Institute, and other entities. A Senior Program Officer of The Audacious Project at TED, he is also a philanthropic advisor to foundations and nonprofits around the world. John is a co-founder of FRESH Speakers, Inc., a next generation speakers bureau, focused on diversifying thought leadership.

A native of Milwaukee, WS, John lives in a co-housing community in Oakland, CA, with his partner and wife, author Courtney E. Martin, and their two daughters

About Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)
MODA believes that design is a creative process that can solve problems, transform lives, and make the world a better place. The museum’s exhibitions and programs exemplify this belief. Located within the Midtown Arts Corridor since 2011, MODA is the only museum in the Southeast devoted exclusively to the study and celebration of all things design. 

MODA advances the understanding and appreciation of design as the convergence of creativity and functionality through exhibitions, education and programming for visitors of all ages.

MODA’s vision is of a world that celebrates design as a creative force that inspires change, transforms lives and makes the world a better place. MODA regularly features exhibitions of architecture, industrial and product design, interiors and furniture, graphics, fashion, and more.