Reconnect with Community at the 2021 Seattle Design Festival

Sponsored by Design in Public, a strategic initiative by AIA Seattle, the Seattle Design Festival was founded to “celebrate all the ways design improves life in Seattle”. (Credit: Design in Public)

The annual event takes place on Saturday and Sunday 21-22. August, 10am to 7pm at Lake Union Park.

What world do we want to enter when the shared experience of the Covid pandemic wears off? According to the organizers of the event, what we want to emerge from and not what we want to emerge from is central to why EMERGE was chosen as the theme of the Seattle Design Festival for 2021.

“I want people to think about this festival as we move up to something else,” said Annalee Shum, senior programs manager for Design in Public, the nonprofit that sponsors the Seattle Design Festival (SDF). “People have been dealing with isolation and the ubiquitous connection of a shared traumatic experience for the past eighteen months … The focus of the festival is not on looking back at that past, but instead looking at what we can emerge to – to heal.” and to gain new perspectives. “

As one of the largest and longest running design events in the Pacific Northwest, SDF is trying to figure out how we can use design in new ways to “explore the possibilities of adaptation and change”. The festival itself has also adapted to the changed times. In 2020 the festival swiveled to an online and socially distant format; This year, however, the organizers decided to turn the festival into a two-day street fair in Lake Union Park.

“We wanted the congregation to be able to gather outdoors in a safe way,” Shum said. “I’m glad we’re not losing the Seattle Design Festival. It’s a community-generated event – we really just offer one space where designers come together. “

Architectural firm Olson Kundig has teamed up with Camp United We Stand to create an affordable, portable tiny house for people who live unprotected. Check out a prototype and learn more about the design at the Seattle Design Festival 2021. (Image: Olsen Kundig)

For more than a decade, 120 community partners took part in the event by building installations, moderating speakers and developing practical activities – including to inspire the public with design. Here’s a snapshot of some of the 2021 festival highlights that may be of particular interest to readers of The Urbanist. A full festival guide is available online on the Design in Public website.

Saturday & Sunday, August 21-22

• 24th Seattle Architecture Foundation Model Show From 10am to 5pm, view architectural models that have been created around the theme of breathing. (Please note that this exhibit is located in the Center for Architecture and Design on Western Ave.)
• Latinx Placemaking in Seattle View an installation that tells the story of Latinx placemaking in Seattle through traditional crafts and found objects, 10 am-7pm
• What do you need to thrive? Learn about ecoTHRIVE Housing’s plans to create beautiful, affordable, resident-owned villages by bringing together two forms of joint equity: Limited Equity Cooperative & Community Land Trust, 10 am-7pm
• Seats Vacant in Seattle Take part in an installation that encourages you to re-imagine how we can fill vacancies in Seattle, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• LiteHouse Shelters View prototypes and learn how structurally insulated panels can be used to assemble modular backyard tiny houses with a few simple tools. 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Homebase View prototypes and learn about the partnership between the Olsen Kundig architecture firm and Camp United We Stand to create an affordable and portable tiny house for people who live unprotected from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Join the AIA Seattle Urban Design Forum’s efforts to collect a map of Seattle’s small neighborhood centers at the Seattle Design Festival. (Source: AIA Seattle Urban Design Forum)

Saturday, August 21st, only

• South Lake Union (SLU) Walking Tour Titled “Tech, Tech & More Tech”, this Seattle Architecture Foundation-led walking tour of the SLU will examine key ingredients for urban revitalization and discuss design and architectural strategies in the neighborhood. 10 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
• Build Your Best Seattle Youth and families are encouraged to share their ideas for Seattle common spaces between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm
• Where are you performing? Join the AIA Seattle Urban Design Forum’s efforts to crowdsource a map of Seattle’s small neighborhood centers to make Seattle become a 15-minute city, 1: 30-3: 30pm

Sunday, August 22nd, only

• Seattle Happy Hunts Share the places you love with fellow Seattle residents on a scavenger hunt activity. 10.30 a.m.-12.30 p.m.
• Seamless Seattle Visit Applied and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to learn more about the Seamless Seattle pedestrian guidance system, from design to implementation. 13:00 ‘O clock
• Emergent Community Identify your design preferences and practice creating new interior and urban designs with graduates from the Cornish College of the Arts, 1:00 PM
• Recycling with Recology Learn recycling tips and how to turn recyclable materials into art. 2.30pm-4.30pm

Natalie Bicknell is a senior reporter at The Urbanist. She is a community college writer and lecturer who lives in the Central District with her husband and two dogs. In her research and writing, she is always looking for better ways to create sustainable, diverse and vibrant cities. Email to natalie [at] theurbanist [dot] org.