February 2010
Pecha Kucha Night once again made an appearance in St. Louis last Saturday, February 20th. This time the night was a bit unique, because the theme of the night was to highlight “creativity in light of tragedy” while also showcasing some of the lesser-known creative charitable organizations in the region. The evening was part of a greater global Pecha-Kucha night where over 50 cities participated. All proceeds from the evening went to Architecture for Humanity’s rebuilding efforts in Haiti.
It’s great to see a night where so many people can share ideas and inspire others. There’s a lot of great talent, good ideas, and people doing interesting things in this town to have these events more often than not, and we’re looking forward to the next PK night later this spring.
TOKY Associate Creative Director and Photographer Geoff Story volunteered his time and talent that night to capture the event, below are some highlights from the night. More can be found at Flickr.com
Donate to the PechaKucha for Haiti Fund from the PKSTL.com site. All proceeds go directly to Architecture for Humanity 501(c) and will be used solely to build buildings. Design work has already been paid for by donations.
February 2010
Mary and I are still buzzed about making ALIVE Magazine’s BUZZ list for Midtown Alley, our not-quite-downtown urban neighborhood. We’ve been lucky to find a part of our city that’s ready for rebirth as that most elusive of alchemies: the residential/creative/dining destination that still manages to be free of pretension, over-investment by love-em-and-leave-em investors, or suburban chains. Mary and I, along with our friend Jassen Johnson and many of our neighbors, were wined and dined Friday night at ALIVE’s Buzz-fete. Join us in the neighborhood that’s been called St. Louis best restaurant district!
February 2010
On a recent trip to Portland Oregon, I was fortunate to have a personal tour of the new Mercy Corps world headquarters building (designed by THA Architecture) from a good friend who was then dispatched to Haiti within the next few days. The Cooper-Hewitt Design for the Other 90% exhibit was on display at the MC Action Center, and it reminded me how some design CAN change and is in fact changing the world. Innovative thoughtful products like the Bamboo Treadle Pump and the LifeStraw help the poor in a multitude of developing countries gain access to safe water for farming and drinking.
WorldBike brings a new meaning to what hipsters would call artbikes, designing low-cost load-carrying bicycles capable of carrying hundreds of pounds of cargo for entrepreneurs and consumers in developing countries.
Good old humble graphic design wasn’t represented among the high impact life-changing products on display, beyond the beautifully designed catalogue and award-winning website. My tour guide however did mention that Mercy Corps is trying to make the new Action Center a more friendly and welcoming experience. Hopefully they will move away from the cold typography, stark banners and way-finding, and make their interactive stations more comfortable. I think they can achieve a sense of urgency and seriousness about changing the world without feeling and looking like a bank.
