Before I Die: Candy Chang.

Candy Chang lost someone she loved very much, and through her grief, over time, found clarity. She wanted a daily reminder about what really mattered - and wanted to know what the people around her cared about too - so she painted the side of an abandoned building  in New Orleans with chalk paint, and stenciled "Before I die, I want to ______" on the side, so her neighbors could share their personal aspirations and reflect upon their lives. It was an experiment with tremendous results. The next day the wall was completely filled. 

The statements made me laugh ("swim without holding my nose"), and tear up ("tell my mother I love her" - "be heard")

Candy's project is now an international one, which anyone can access. According to Candy's website: "After receiving many requests, she created a toolkit and the project site beforeidie.cc to help people make a wall with their community. You can also download all files for free to create your own stencils. Thanks to passionate people around the world, over 400 Before I Die walls have now been created in over 25 languages and over 60 countries, including Kazakhstan, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Iraq, Argentina, and South Africa. They have been a constant source of inspiration and therapy for Candy. Each wall is unique and reflects the people of that community. Each wall is a tribute to living an examined life. The Before I Die book was just released to celebrate these walls and the stories behind them."

Designed for Health.

Why do hospitals have to look and feel like hospitals?  Good question. They don't and shouldn't.

Design matters, and it has the power to shape the future of health and healthcare. (I could go on for days about design-conscious innovations driven by social media...) As individuals interact in environments and with artifacts, the focus should be kept on creating positive and more engaging healthcare experiences.

Healthcare's effectiveness can be profoundly impacted by something as simple as the physical environments in which we receive care. If eastern facing rooms (with direct morning sunlight) can decrease hospital stays by 3.7 days, just think about the power design such as that in this English hospital might have!

From Fast Co. Design by James Gaddy:

"This was the question that Lucy and Tobie Snowdowne, the duo behind British studio Two Create, wrestled with when they were hired to imagine a new cancer ward in Birmingham, England. After conducting interviews with patients themselves, the Snowdownes diagnosed one potential cure for the common clinic: They made it look like a boutique hotel.

Hired by the Teenage Cancer Trust to create a space for 12 teenage patients in the recently built Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, Two Create focused less on the architecture and product design and instead reimagined the traditional interior design of a hospital. And in addition to iPod docks and furniture from SCP and Vitra, they designed a few bespoke objects: an end table to allow patients to carry IVs easier, a sofa made with the softest anti-microbial fabrics, and die-cut sheet magnets that patients can use to personalize their rooms. And anyone who has seen patients roaming the halls, IVs in tow, trying to avoid the banality of their rooms, can appreciate the three additional rooms designed solely to be social spaces.

Known as the YPU (Young Persons Unit), the suite in Birmingham is one of 17 units that the Teenage Cancer Trust operates throughout England."

SleepBox.

From Fast Co Design:
"Being trapped in an airport waiting on a delayed flight can feel like an eternity. After exhausting the overpriced food options and duty-free shops, what else is there to do but fidget in a stiff seat and bemoan air travel’s tragic decline? If only there were a comfortable spot to stretch out and take a nap without worrying about someone swiping your luggage. Meet SleepBox 01, a shoebox-size room designed by Arch Group to give weary travelers a place to rest for anywhere between a half hour to several hours. The first full-scale model has been installed in the Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.
The Moscow-based firm has made some radical aesthetic changes to its 2009 proposal, abandoning the white iPod exterior for the warmer look of ash veneer. The inside resembles a boat cabin, with every inch maximized to provide a short-term guest with everything she might need short of a shower: a twin-size bunk bed, a fold-down desk, a nightstand, an LED lamp, a gadget charging station, and electric-drive blinds for privacy."
Pod hotels are nothing new, but I do find the scale and offering of this space intriguing nonetheless.

Namaste.

Stressed out by flying? Travelers at SFO can now find their inner calm in the Yoga Room - the world's first airport studio!

The quiet, dimly lit studio officially opened last week in a former storage room just past security at SFO's Terminal 2 (you'll already have your shoes off, so why not?!). The room is open to all ticketed passengers, contains a few chairs and yoga mats but no instructors or televisions.

I'd say that's an improvement in the passenger experience!

Via Associated Press. 

Let's explore some other innovative spaces shall we?....