eInternship AoE Module: Equity | Inclusion | Social Justice

Areas of Expertise Module	Expert Chats Module	FF&E Module
Sample Projects & Syllabi Module	Videos and Live Events Module	Association Resources

Expert Chats

IDEC has gathered professionals across the many facets of interior design who are ready and willing to help guide students through the various elements that are typically experienced in a face-to-face internship program.

Thank you to IIDA for sponsoring this year’s eInternship program.

To meet with an equity/inclusion/social justice professional, please complete this survey.

Reading Materials

Luke Kelly Discusses Diversity and Inclusion as a Designer Living with HIV
Gensler – Interview with Gensler designer Luke Kelly (June 2, 2021)

This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with Gensler architects, designers, and others in the firm about their career journey, and the impact that design and architecture can have on our communities and the human experience. For those living with HIV, fear of stigma, marginalization, and discrimination can negatively impact their personal health and well-being. HIV-related stigma and discrimination can also be a barrier to the type of public action we need to raise awareness about HIV prevention. We sat down with Luke Kelly, an interior designer at Gensler London, to talk about his own journey as an HIV positive gay man, and the steps he is taking to educate others.

The HBCU Student Design Charrette: A Study in Inclusivity and Hope
Gensler – Jordan Goldstein and Joseph Lauro (May 17, 2021)

Our global society is now living through a moment of reckoning on issues of race, equity, and justice. If you believe, as we do, that design, as a practice, should serve a greater purpose — that is, beyond purely aesthetic concerns — and aim to meet the deepest needs of society, then our industry is obligated to respond to this moment by offering healing, inclusion, and equal opportunity for all.

Gensler Voices: Mustapha Williams, Gensler Chicago
Gensler – Interview with Gensler’s Mustapha Williams (April 8, 2021)

This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with Gensler architects, designers, and others in the firm about their career journey, and the impact that design and architecture can have on our communities and the human experience. The conversation originated from an IGTV interview between Interior Design Magazine Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen and Gensler Technical Designer Mustapha Williams.

Gensler Voices: Chardae Adams, Gensler Houston
Gensler – Interview with Chardae Amdames, designer, Gensler Houston (April 5, 2021)

This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with Gensler architects, designers, and others in the firm about their career journey, and the impact that design and architecture can have on our communities and enhancing the human experience.

Wellness Design at the Intersection of Equity and Sustainability
Gensler – Jason Pugh (February 24, 2021)

Design thinking has solved the world’s biggest challenges, and the COVID-19 crisis — partnered with the economic and social justice movement — is no exception. Designers are trained to use challenges like this moment as catalysts to pave an optimistic, resilient, and equitable path forward that prioritizes wellness for all.

HOK’s Micki Washington and Femi Oresanya Are Diversifying Architecture from Within
HOK (February 2, 2021)

Black History Month takes on special meaning in 2021 following a year marked with racial injustice. For architects Micki Washington and Femi Oresanya, that means leading by example while pushing the profession to broaden its base.

Breaking the Silence in Design: Where do we go from here?
IIDA Academy (November 19, 2020)

2020 is a threshold moment for the country, a time of awakening, and civil unrest. Fault lines along race, equity, and inclusiveness have been exposed, with reverberations being felt in the interior design industry. It’s time for a frank discussion, acknowledging where we are and what the future may hold. Join IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO Cheryl S. Durst, Hon. FIIDA, in conversation with Gabrielle Bullock, IIDA, FAIA, NOMAC of Perkins & Will and Karen Compton of A3K Consulting, the hosts of the vodcast, “Breaking the Silence in Design,” for a thoughtful discussion tackling the uncomfortable conversation around race and inequity in the design and construction industry.

The Slow Streets Movement Needs More Black Voices
Gensler – Elaine Asal and Brenden Jackson (October 19, 2020)

As American cities shut down to slow the spread of COVID, car traffic across the country dropped by an average of 70% at one point. All those quiet roads opened the door for municipalities to tap into the Safe Streets (or Slow Streets) ethos and rethink how their many miles of pavement could be redesigned for additional or new uses.

Equity, Interrupted: How a Return to the Office Is Needed to Rebuild Equity
Gensler – Hao Ko and Lisa Cholmondeley (September 10, 2020)

As we navigate new global challenges, working from home has become the new normal, and it has offered the opportunity to enhance workflows, implement new technologies and virtual tools, and discover new ways of connecting with our colleagues. But the question remains, is our current experience working remotely threatening the workplace equity that our physical offices have long been able to provide?

From Environmental Racism to Climate Justice
Gensler – Mallory Taub and Jim Stanislaski (July 29, 2020)

Recent events related to longstanding systemic racism and the current pandemic have caused architects and designers to consider issues of social justice and equity in the built environment with greater commitment and urgency. The first step in this effort is to recognize and understand how climate change disproportionately impacts communities of color, especially in our cities. Coordinated design and policy solutions are necessary to combat this worsening public health threat.

Podcast/Videos

Episode 58: Kimberly Dowdell, HOK – Hospitality Design: What I’ve Learned
Hospitality Design – Stacy Shoemaker Rauen/Interview with Kimberly Dowdell (February 17, 2021)

The former NOMA president and principal at HOK is building a more equitable and inclusive industry.

Antionette D. Carroll: Understanding Identity, Power, & Equity in Design Leadership
Antoinette D. Carroll, Elaine Asal and Brenden Jackson (August 7, 2020)

Antionette Carroll, Founder, President, and CEO of Creative Reaction Lab, believes that if inequality is by design, then it can be re-designed by us. Over the years, she has helmed multiple initiatives dedicated to solving the fundamental problems of inequity and fair representation in the design industry and expanding our roles to examine inherent biases. In this talk, she offers a framework for prioritizing equal outcomes over equal access to change the mindset of the industry.

TED Talks

Antionette Carroll | Designing for Social Justice
Everything around us has been designed — even systems of inequality. Equity designer and TED Fellow Antionette Carroll explains how social justice is a design decision and argues that we all have the expertise, power and responsibility to intentionally create a more just society. (May 2017)