What is design? Is it structural? Artistic? Societal? Does it occupy physical space? Is it theoretical? Is it all, and also none? Ask anyone at the Seattle Design Festival, and you’ll arrive at the same answer: “yes.” For over a decade, Seattle’s largest outdoor design gathering has pondered these questions alongside a growing local community—from top architecture firms, to students, to independent creatives and volunteers. Every August, this free festival, hosted in conjunction with non-profit AIA Seattle, transforms South Lake Union Park into a cornucopia of interactive installations, speakers, and events, inviting the public to experience design firsthand. “Design touches everybody,” explains Bray Hayden, Senior Communications Manager at SDF and AIA Seattle. “I feel like the [Seattle] public is very open to that, and the [festival] is community driven… [and] a container for the community to come together.”
SDF will celebrate its 14th year this August in South Lake Union park.
Presenters will create exhibitions built around the question of “What If?”—a theme chosen by the general public in February earlier this year. “We really want people to think from the standpoint of making things better,” explains Hayden. “It’s reimagining and re-augmenting…continuing in a positive, open, and curious way to think about some of our hardest issues today.” It’s through these types of conversations that Hayden hopes design-minded individuals—veteran or not— can inspire actual community-informed solutions. In years past, she has watched festival participants construct innovative green parklets, tackle systemic racism, and even create the tiny home blueprint which was later adopted by the City of Seattle to shelter unhoused individuals.
SDF has attracted over 3,000 curiosity seekers and featured close to 40 installations. Like many events and cultural happenings in the city, during the pandemic this festival incorporated virtual programming to supplement what was not possible in person. This year, the festival is looking to expand its audience further by launching a hybrid Virtual Mainstage - running live programming from South Lake Union that will be broadcast to design enthusiasts around the world. But one of the most impactful changes that we will see this year has the potential to bring the festival’s mission full circle - Seattle Design Festival is launching a pilot project called “ The Sustainability Commitment,” a three-pronged approach to reusing materials from installations after the end of the festival. When submitting their proposals this spring, design teams were asked to choose from three options: 1) determine a community organization who will take over the installation after the festival to reuse or repurpose the structure, 2) commit themselves to reusing the installation’s materials in a sustainable manner, or 3) sign on with a re-use non-profit designated by the festival and AIA.
“We want to connect these teams so it’s easy for them to drop those materials off and we can feel confident that they will have a second, third, or fourth life,” says Annalee Shum, Associate Director of Programs and Community Engagement at AIA Seattle.
SDF has partnered with the University of Washington’s Fabrication Lab as one of the partners helping to relocate and reuse festival materials. Not only does The Sustainability Commitment initiative aim to reduce waste, says Shum, but it also has the potential to help build a stronger base of young makers. “We want to make sure the next generation has the materials they need to create whatever designs they are coming up with,” says Shum. “We don’t want people feeling limited by a lack of resources.”
Shum adds that while this year is a pilot for the re-use program, she hopes to add more nonprofits to the mix in coming years. In many ways the move is a natural evolution, from celebrating established designers to lifting up a rising generation of creators. “Over time, our mission has really shifted to thinking about what we mean when we talk about designers, who is included,” says Shum “What makes [Seattle Design Festival] different is that we are inviting everyone into that conversation. We want everyone to feel empowered to design.”
AIA and Seattle Design Festival are organizational and advertising partners with ARCADE NW Publishing through our bi-annual print journal.
