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Death is understandably difficult – and for some people, nearly impossible – to conceive of and talk about. Especially our own. It may seem like there’s nothing we can do to prepare for our last moments on earth, but several innovative panelists at the 2023 Aspen Ideas Festival would disagree. Alua Arthur is a “death doula,” who helps people find peace with themselves when...
Despite knowing that death is the common thread that unites us all, we tend to keep the topic at arm’s length. Yet acknowledging the inevitability of death, contemplating what we wish the end to look like, and sharing our thoughts with loved ones can make our final moments profoundly meaningful. Aid-in-dying legislation, the availability of death doulas to assist in the dy...
Visionary architects, artists, and builders are using cutting-edge design to transform homes, workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, and parks. Recognizing the health-promoting power of good design, their blueprints call for farmers’ markets and recreational fields on hospital grounds; planning processes that revitalize challenged communities by engaging local people as colla...
Whether expressed through systems that are easy to navigate, devices that are friendly to their users, and spaces that are pleasing to the eye, thoughtful design can break down barriers, build trust, and help heal the mind, body, and spirit. Explore the power of design with Aspen Ideas: Health 2023 speakers who are thinking outside the box to build healthier lives and comm...
The discussion of "designer babies" often revolves around gender or hair color, but the medical debate is far more complicated.
We often take biology for granted, rarely recognizing the incredible technological feats of an organism as it grows, heals, and self-assembles—sustainably. As our ability to read, write, and design DNA grows, this power of biology is enabling amazing new biotechnologies to impact numerous industries, from everyday products brewed by designed microbes to programmable materi...
What is design’s role in our lives today? How will it evolve in the future? How can design help us address the tumultuous changes we now face? Award-winning design critic Alice Rawsthorn delved into these key themes to write her latest book, Design as an Attitude. From the deepening environmental and refugee crises to the rise of inequality, intolerance, and prejudice to t...
How can we normalize inconceivable futures? At any given moment, there are multiple, parallel futures fighting for dominance – emerging from science fiction, political parties, corporate visions, counter cultures, and more. But in all cases, they need design to compete and thrive. Across the last decade COLLINS has worked with many of the world's leading organizations, inc...
As virtual and augmented reality technologies mature, the line between the physical world and a simulated world begins to blur. By way of amusing features like face filters and animated avatars, many users are embracing augmented realities on a regular basis, sometimes without even realizing it. Join a panel of technologists to discover how these platforms and products are...
Despite the worthy intentions of government and corporate leaders, the Paris Agreement targets of holding global warming to near 1.5°C may not be met, and many organizations say they don’t have plans and data to actually reach climate goals. This session will discuss strategies needed to design a net-zero future. Presented by Deloitte
The spaces in which societies undertake to care for their citizens — ranging from health facilities and schools to prisons — have across time shaped fundamental architectural ideas. What do the spaces we build say about our priorities, including our commitment to equal access? What resources are needed to provide dignity and parity around key resources, including the most...
The discussion of “designer babies” often revolves around gender or hair color, but the medical debate is far more complicated. Should we screen embryos for disease or other genetic modifications? These considerations raise ethical questions and call into question the validity of surrounding research. The lack of regulation and oversight make this particular biotechnology...
Designers are tackling the world’s most complex problems in the most remarkable ways. Whether it is a simple and utilitarian object like a mouse, or a complex, extravagant system like a solar farm, design gives definition to our aesthetic sensibilities and our definition of quality. Designers' ideas amaze and inspire, but they also challenge us to imagine progress in an al...
Effective design can improve the experiences, devices, services and spaces of healthcare, says Bon Ku of the Health Design Lab. The physician and Aspen Ideas: Health speaker shares how his fellow clinicians can benefit from embracing the mindset of a designer.
Leadership, gender equity, youth engagement, strong communities, and actionable research to inform health services are among the core elements of building global health systems that work better for all populations. While it is impossible to ignore alarming trends in reproductive health, the impact of conflicts, and the rise of noncommunicable diseases, a look to the future...
Through the scorching heat of the Arabian Desert to the unforgiving chill of the Finnish tundra, BIG partner Kai-Uwe Bergmann explores how design solutions are shaped by cultural and climatic contexts to unlock the immense possibilities of adaptive architecture. With a central challenge of mitigating climatic extremes to be hospitable to human life, solutions can be both e...
Energy savings deliver more global energy services than oil. Yet across sectors, like building, mobility, and industry, many major efficiency potentials are often overlooked. Explore the savings — and beauty — of coupling an integrative design approach with the proven order demonstrated in nature. Join biomimicry pioneer Janine Benyus and integrative design leader Amory Lo...
This conversation with two global design leaders will feature a discussion on how design creates better trajectories for brands and why design will be responsible for creating a benevolent future. We will explore the unforeseen paths taken from Harvard Graduate School of Design, Rem Koolhaus, PepsiCo, General Mills, and the lessons learned along the way to better connect w...
Amid contentious policy disputes and multiple sources of “truth,” how should we engage in informed debate on today’s most significant issues? The visual arts can help. Hear from the co-curator of the exhibition now showing at the Aspen Institute’s Resnick Center for Herbert Bayer Studies about how Bayer’s World Geo-Graphic Atlas was a precursor to the world of information...
Once considered a boutique enterprise, design thinking is no longer a luxury available only to a select few in the developed world. This novel approach to decision making is going democratic, with well-funded efforts to share it more widely, and apply it more equitably. Design thinking offers a package of tools to promote human-centered, financially viable solutions, openi...