I am beyond excited for 2019 and the opportunities that come with leading ASID. I am thrilled to be Looking Forward!

When I was asked in 2008 to champion a multi-disciplinary certificate program initiative at the University of Tennessee, the term “health and wellness” was not in common use. Our team hypothesized then that as we moved into the future, health and wellness would become as ubiquitous in architecture and interior design as the Americans with Disabilities Act and “green design” had become before them. A decade later, that tipping point has been reached.

Now and into the future, building performance will be a common element in design, and human performance will take center stage as research provides insights into the science behind design. As design professionals, we own the user experience within a space, and that responsibility brings added value to our clients, additional revenue for our business and growth opportunities for our profession.

Rapid changes in our surroundings are pushing the need for repurposing and redefining environments, and as we move into the future, design will improve well-being for all ages and those with diverse abilities. The 2018 ASID Foundation Transform Grants were awarded to fund research on repurposing distressed urban malls for mixed-use dementia friendly city centers (Oklahoma State University) and on redefining the modern healthcare model and venue (University of Texas, Austin). HKS and its nonprofit research arm, CADRE, created a prototype environment equipped with environmental and human behavior sensors (funded by 2016 ASID Foundation Transform Grant A) and further developed this into a sensory well-being hub to test the environment for adolescents with development disorders (funded by 2017 ASID Foundation Transform Grant B).

Armed with the research garnered from these forward-thinking projects and many like them, designers will have an increasingly important role in impacting lives through design well into the future. The data will help all designers make more informed decisions on enhanced quality of life and human performance, and to create forward-thinking projects focused on generative space. In March of next year, ASID will honor the finalists and winners of a brand-new initiative—the Outcome of Design Awards. In line with the trajectory of the design industry, the Awards will honor projects that embrace and realize the ASID motto, “Design Impacts Lives.” Evaluating the design details, occupant experience and datadriven
results of each project, the Awards provide a blueprint for the next generation of humancentric, impactful environments.

As we move into 2019 and beyond, our desire and drive to create generative space, accounting for both physical and social needs of occupants as well as a holistic sense of the larger community impact, will become increasingly important. By combining the dedication and vision of architects, designers and their clients with today’s leading technology and research, the future
of design is limitless.

Read the Future Issue on interiors+sources here.