Sponsored by Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED) and Design Corps in support with Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, the Enterprise Foundation and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the eleventh annual “Structures for Inclusion (SFI 10 + 1)” conference will be held in Chicago on the 25th – 27th of March 2011.

“SFI 10 + 1″ will unite activists, designers, funders and policy makers as change agents to address the most pressing design challenges of the world today, challenging participants to integrate positive change design in their own practices. Going above and beyond the green design movement the “SFI 10 + 1″ will confront design processes to consider the broader social and economic well-being of communities and cities.

Opening the conference on March 25th will be keynote speaker Patrick Tighe of Tighe Architects.  The conferences keynotes, panels, and workshops will also include the participation of  Tom Fischer Dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, Andrew Freear Director of Rural Studio, and Sergio Palleroni of BaSiC Initiative, Trung Le of CANNON Design, Christine Gaspar of Center for Urban Pedagogy, Quilian Riano of DSGN AGNC, and Michael Zaretsky Co-author of New Directions in Sustainable Design.

The SEED Design Awards, an international competition highlighting Public Interest Design, will be integrated in the “SFI 10 + 1″ as the winning recipients, featured after the break, will partake as key proponents in the conference experience.

More information about the “SFI 10 + 1″ conference can be found at their official website.

The six SEED Award Winners are:

• Café 524 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Congo Street Initiative Dallas, Texas
• Studio H Bertie County, North Carolina
• Growing Home Chicago, Illinois
• Inspiration Kitchen East Garfield Park Chicago, Illinois
• St. Joseph Rebuild Center New Orleans, Louisiana

These projects demonstrate how design is playing a role in addressing the most critical issues around the globe today: job creation, hunger, education, disaster relief, and the environment. Jurors were very impressed with the rigor and level of community engagement displayed by the submissions, and decided to recognize an additional six Honorable Mentions.

Congo Street Initiative (before) © bcWORKSHOP

Congo Street Initiative (after) © bcWORKSHOP

Juror Monica Chadha said:
We truly enjoyed the high caliber of entries. The winning submissions showcase not only how to work collaboratively but also how to create sustaining work by engaging all of the constituents. These projects are having high impact with an economy of means: much more is being done with much less. The projects show that the community/designer teams are aligned with the SEED vision to create a socially, economically and environmentally healthy community for all.

Congo Street Initiative © Omar Hakeem

The Honorable Mention recipients are:

• Butaro District Hospital in Butaro, Rwanda
• Girubuntu Primary School in Butaro, Rwanda
• Lydia Street Alley Flat in Austin, Texas
• Rehabilitation of Bhaldi Village in Bhuj India
• Roche Health Center in Roche, Tanzania
• Student Organic Farm in Clemson, South Carolina

Each project had to go through the critical SEED application to ensure that the community was involved in setting the goals for the project and in developing the design solution.