TEDWomen 2017
John Cary: How architecture can create dignity for all
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If architect and writer John Cary has his way, women will never need to stand in pointlessly long bathroom lines again. Lines like these are representative of a more serious issue, Cary says: the lack of diversity in design that leads to thoughtless, compassionless spaces. Design has a unique ability to dignify and make people feel valued, respected, honored and seen -- but the flip side is also true. Cary calls for architects and designers to expand their ranks and commit to serving the public good, not just the privileged few. "Well-designed spaces are not just a matter of taste or a questions of aesthetics," he says. "They literally shape our ideas about who we are in the world and what we deserve." And we all deserve better.
John Cary - Design ambassador
An architect by training, John Cary has devoted his career to expanding the practice of design for the public good. Full bio
An architect by training, John Cary has devoted his career to expanding the practice of design for the public good. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
On a beautiful day, just a few years ago
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my wife and I entered a hospital
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near our home in Oakland, California
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for the birth of our first daughter, Maya.
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We had responsibly toured
the birthing center in advance
the birthing center in advance
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and yet we were somehow
still startled to find ourselves
still startled to find ourselves
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in the place where we would experience
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one of the most significant
moments of our lives.
moments of our lives.
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We were stuck in a windowless room
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with no hint of the bright
and sunny day that we had left.
and sunny day that we had left.
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Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead,
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the paint on the walls was beige
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and machines beeped inexplicably
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as a wall clock indicated
day turning to night.
day turning to night.
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That clock was placed above a door
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in direct line of sight
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to where my wife lay as her contractions
increased hour after hour.
increased hour after hour.
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Now, I've never given birth --
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(Laughter)
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but she assured me that the last thing
that a birthing woman would ever want
that a birthing woman would ever want
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is to watch the seconds tick by.
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(Laughter)
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An architect by training,
I've always been fascinated
I've always been fascinated
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watching people experience design
in the world around them.
in the world around them.
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I believe design functions
like the soundtrack
like the soundtrack
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that we're not even
fully aware is playing.
fully aware is playing.
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It sends us subconscious messages
about how to feel
about how to feel
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and what to expect.
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That room that we were in
seemed completely misaligned
seemed completely misaligned
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with the moment
that we were experiencing --
that we were experiencing --
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welcoming a human being,
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our daughter, into this world.
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At one point a nurse, without any prompt,
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turned to us and said,
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"I always think to myself,
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'I wish I had become an architect,
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because I could have designed
rooms like this better.'"
rooms like this better.'"
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I said to her,
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"An architect did design this room."
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(Laughter)
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Despite the immense joy
of our daughter's birth,
of our daughter's birth,
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the messages of that hospital room
stick with she and I to this day.
stick with she and I to this day.
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Those messages are,
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"You are not at home,
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you are in a foreign place."
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"You are not in control of anything.
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Not even the lighting."
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"Your comfort, simply, is secondary."
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At best,
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a hospital room like this
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might just be described
or dismissed as uninspiring.
or dismissed as uninspiring.
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At worst, it is undignifying.
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And I use it to point out that none of us,
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anywhere in the world,
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are immune from bad design.
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I went into architecture
because I believed
because I believed
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it was about creating spaces for people
to live their best lives.
to live their best lives.
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And yet what I found
is a profession largely disconnected
is a profession largely disconnected
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from the people most directly
impacted by its work.
impacted by its work.
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I believe this is because
architecture remains
architecture remains
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a white, male, elitist profession --
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seemingly unconcerned
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with some of the greatest
needs in the world
needs in the world
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or even the relatively simple needs
of an expectant mother.
of an expectant mother.
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Students are trained in school
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using highly theoretical projects,
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rarely interacting with real people
or actual communities.
or actual communities.
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Graduates are funneled
through a long, narrow
through a long, narrow
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unforgiving path to licensure.
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Meanwhile, the profession
holds up a select few
holds up a select few
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through relentless award programs
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focused almost exclusively
on the aesthetics of buildings,
on the aesthetics of buildings,
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rather than the societal impact
or contributions of them.
or contributions of them.
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It only goes to reinforce a warped view
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of professional responsibility and success
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and yet this isn't
why so many young, hopeful people
why so many young, hopeful people
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go into architecture.
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It's not why I did.
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I believed then, though I didn't
have a language for it,
have a language for it,
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and I know now, that design
has a unique ability to dignify.
has a unique ability to dignify.
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It can make people feel valued,
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respected,
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honored and seen.
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Now I'd like for you to just think
about some of the spaces that you inhabit.
about some of the spaces that you inhabit.
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And I'd like to have you think
about how they make you feel.
about how they make you feel.
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Now, there are places
that make us feel unhappy,
that make us feel unhappy,
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unhealthy
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or uninspiring.
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They may be the places that you work
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or where you heal
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or even where you live.
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And I ask, how might these places
be better designed with you in mind?
be better designed with you in mind?
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It's a really simple question
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and it can somehow, sometimes
be very difficult to answer.
be very difficult to answer.
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Because we are conditioned
to feel like we don't have much agency
to feel like we don't have much agency
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over the spaces and places
that we live, work and play.
that we live, work and play.
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And in many cases we don't.
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But we all should.
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Now, here's a potentially dumb question
for any women watching:
for any women watching:
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Have you ever stood
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in a disproportionately long
bathroom line?
bathroom line?
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(Laughter)
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Did you ever think to yourself,
"What is wrong with this picture?"
"What is wrong with this picture?"
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Well, what if the real question is,
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"What is wrong with the men
that designed these bathrooms?"
that designed these bathrooms?"
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(Applause)
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It may seem like a small thing,
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but it's representative
of a much more serious issue.
of a much more serious issue.
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The contemporary world
was literally built by men
was literally built by men
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who have rarely
taken the time to understand
taken the time to understand
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how people unlike them
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experience their designs.
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A long bathroom line
might seem like a minor indignity.
might seem like a minor indignity.
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But the opposite can also be true.
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Thoughtful design
can make people feel respected
can make people feel respected
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and seen.
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I've come to believe
that dignity is to design
that dignity is to design
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what justice is to law
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and health is to medicine.
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In the simplest of terms,
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it's about having the spaces you inhabit
reflect back your value.
reflect back your value.
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Over the past two years
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I had the opportunity to interview
over 100 people from all walks of life
over 100 people from all walks of life
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about their experience of design.
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I wanted to test my hunch
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that dignity and design
are uniquely related.
are uniquely related.
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I listened to Gregory,
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a resident of this cottage community
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designed specifically
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for the 50 most chronically
homeless people in Dallas.
homeless people in Dallas.
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Gregory had been living on the streets,
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drifting from town to town
for over 30 years.
for over 30 years.
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A broad coalition
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of social service agencies,
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funders and designers,
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created this place.
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Each 400 square foot cottage
is designed beautifully
is designed beautifully
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as a permanent home.
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Gregory now has a key
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to a door
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to his own house.
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He describes the sense
of security that it brings him.
of security that it brings him.
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Something he had lived without
for three decades.
for three decades.
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When he arrived with little more
than the clothes on his back,
than the clothes on his back,
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he found everything:
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from a toaster, Crock-Pot and stove
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to a toothbrush and toothpaste
awaiting for him.
awaiting for him.
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He describes it simply
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as heaven.
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On the other side of the world,
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I listened to Antoinette,
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the director of this
training and community center
training and community center
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for women in rural Rwanda.
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Hundreds of women
come to this place daily --
come to this place daily --
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to learn new skills,
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be in community,
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and continue rebuilding their lives
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following the country's civil war.
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These women literally pressed
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the 500,000 bricks
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that make up the 17
classroom pavilions like this one.
classroom pavilions like this one.
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Antoinette told me,
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"Everyone is so proud of it."
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And then back here in the US
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I listened to Monika,
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the director of a free clinic
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primarily serving
the uninsured in Arkansas.
the uninsured in Arkansas.
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Monika loves telling me that the doctors,
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who volunteer at her free clinic
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routinely tell her
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that they've never worked
in such a beautiful, light-filled place.
in such a beautiful, light-filled place.
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Monika believes
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that even people experiencing poverty
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deserve quality health care.
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And what's more,
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she believes they deserve
to receive that care
to receive that care
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in a dignified setting.
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People like these are invaluable
ambassadors for design
ambassadors for design
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and yet they are roundly absent
from architectural discourse.
from architectural discourse.
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Similarly, the people who can
most benefit from good design
most benefit from good design
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often have the least access to it.
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Your cousin, a homeless veteran;
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your grandma or grandpa
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who live in a house with a kitchen
that's no longer accessible to them;
that's no longer accessible to them;
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your wheelchair-bound sister
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in a suburban area
planned without sidewalks.
planned without sidewalks.
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If good design
is only for a privileged few,
is only for a privileged few,
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what good is it?
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It's time designers change this
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by dedicating their practices
to the public good
to the public good
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in the model of firms
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like Orkidstudio,
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Studio Gang
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and MASS Design Group.
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Their clients
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are orphaned children in Kenya,
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foster children in Chicago
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and pregnant women in Malawi.
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Their practices are premised on the belief
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that everyone deserves good design.
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Dedicating more practices
to the public good
to the public good
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will not only create
more design that is dignifying,
more design that is dignifying,
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but it will also
dignify the practice of design.
dignify the practice of design.
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It will not only diversify
the client base of design,
the client base of design,
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but it will also create new,
more diverse forms of design
more diverse forms of design
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for the world.
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Now, in order to do this,
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my architecture and design friends,
especially my fellow white guys,
especially my fellow white guys,
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we must simultaneously
and significantly diversify our ranks.
and significantly diversify our ranks.
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If we want the public to believe
that design is for them
that design is for them
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and for everyone.
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Today, barely 15 percent
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of registered architects
in the United States are women.
in the United States are women.
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And a far smaller percentage
are persons of color.
are persons of color.
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Other professions, like law and medicine
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had made far greater strides
in these crucial areas.
in these crucial areas.
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How might our shared built environment --
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our homes, our hospitals,
our schools, our public spaces --
our schools, our public spaces --
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be shaped differently
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if women and people of color
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were behind half
of the proverbial blueprints?
of the proverbial blueprints?
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It is not a question of whether,
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but to what extent
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our buildings, our landscapes,
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our cities and our rural communities
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are less beautiful, less functional,
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less equitable and less dignifying
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because women and people of color
are less likely to be creating them.
are less likely to be creating them.
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As Winston Churchill
famously noted in 1943
famously noted in 1943
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when he called for the rebuilding
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of London's war-damaged
parliamentary chambers,
parliamentary chambers,
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"We shape our buildings,
and afterward, they shape us."
and afterward, they shape us."
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The good news is
that we can change how we build
that we can change how we build
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and who we build for.
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Be that a health worker in rural Rwanda,
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or a birthing mother and nervous
new father in the United States.
new father in the United States.
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We can do this
by recommitting architecture
by recommitting architecture
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to the health, safety
and welfare of the public.
and welfare of the public.
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This will pay dividends.
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Because once you see what design can do,
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you can't unsee it.
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And once you experience dignity,
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you can't accept anything less.
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Both become part of your possible.
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One of my favorite conversation partners
is my 90-year-old grandmother,
is my 90-year-old grandmother,
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Audrey Gorwitz, from Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
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After one of our
conversations about design,
conversations about design,
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she wrote me a letter.
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She said, "Dear Johnny,
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I thought the other day,
as I sat in my doctor's office,
as I sat in my doctor's office,
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how depressing it was,
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from the color on the wall,
to the carpet on the floor.
to the carpet on the floor.
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(Laughter)
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Now I will have to call to see
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who is responsible
for the drabness in that place."
for the drabness in that place."
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(Laughter)
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In the same letter, mind you, she said,
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"I did call, and I got the man in charge,
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and he said he appreciated
someone calling him.
someone calling him.
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My doctor's office
is now on the list for an upgrade."
is now on the list for an upgrade."
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(Laughter)
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She signed it by saying,
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"It is always good
to express one's opinion
to express one's opinion
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if done in a proper manner."
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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I love my grandma.
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(Laughter)
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Like my grandma Audrey,
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you deserve good design.
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Because well-designed spaces
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are not just a matter of taste
or a questions of aesthetics.
or a questions of aesthetics.
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They literally shape our ideas
about who we are in the world
about who we are in the world
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and what we deserve.
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That is the essence of dignity.
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And both the opportunity
and the responsibility of design
and the responsibility of design
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for good
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and for all.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
John Cary - Design ambassadorAn architect by training, John Cary has devoted his career to expanding the practice of design for the public good.
Why you should listen
When architect-turned-writer John Cary co-authored an oped, with partner Courtney E. Martin, on the design failures of the breast pump, it sparked an MIT Media Lab hackathon and the launch of multiple companies. It's a perfect example of his knack for linking good design and public good. He is the author of two books, most recently Design for Good: A New Era of Architecture for Everyone, and his writing on design, philanthropy and fatherhood is widely published.
Cary works as a philanthropic advisor to an array of foundations and nonprofits around the world, and he frequently curates and hosts events for the Aspen Institute, TED and other entities. Deeply committed to diversifying the public stage, Cary is also a founding partner in FRESH Speakers, a next-generation speakers bureau that represents young women and people of color.
John Cary | Speaker | TED.com