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O P I N I O N
Stronger together
A collaborative design process where a diversity of voices are present and have ownership allows room for new ideas and points of view to emerge.
I n order to design a better, more inclusive world, we must also think about how to make the design process more collaborative and diverse. The days of the black cape designer, a Western canon of design discourse, only helped to perpetuate inequities and racism in the design industry. It is not merely enough to employ a diverse staff (although that is a good first step); we must also evolve the way in which we work to create a stronger AEC community.
Gustavo Rodriguez
A collaborative process where a wide diversity of voices are present and have ownership will not only ensure that a diversity of experiences are represented, but will also make room for new ideas and points of view to emerge. “Collaboration” has long been a buzzword in the modern workplace, and conversations about collaboration between clients, contractors, consultants, and architects are crucial for our industry. But how do we, as architects and designers, collaborate internally? And how can the act of creativity, which is an inherently individual activity, transform into a shared experience and open dialogue? The act of coming together to create, where multiple and diverse points of view generate ideas that are openly and equally evaluated, is
the best way to tackle the many challenges that we face in our profession. If we believe that design has the power to change the world, then the design process that is used to arrive at this solution can’t rely on the traditionally closed act of creation – it needs to be an open and participatory conversation. For that dialogue to be successful, it requires us to first reprogram our brains to understand that being a successful leader is not about being a solitary designer, but rather a dialogue-generator, listener/curator designer. As an architect and design director, I am often the spokesperson for a project’s design narrative, but I am cognizant that this design narrative is the
See GUSTAVO RODRIGUEZ, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER OCTOBER 11, 2021, ISSUE 1412
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