Florence is an amazing city not just for its history, but also for the way it is designed. Layers of history have resulted in a place where you can walk down narrow cobbled streets largely unencumbered by cars. Part of its charm lies in the opportunity to explore on foot with others who are sharing the same moment after traveling from around the world. Thus, it is a great opportunity to talk about the design of built environments with Itai Palti, who is the founder of the Centre for Conscious Design and the Conscious Cities Movement. We talk about what it means to do conscious design, and what it means for built environments. We also talk about the importance of a systems approach in which people from diverse personal and professional backgrounds come together to use their talents to create better environments where communities can be formed.
This last week of being back from Florence has given me a chance to reflect a bit on he experience of not just being in a foreign country, but being in a completely different kind of physical environment. By that I mean, the city of Florence, or more specifically a city where I was walking everywhere. The origins of Florence date back to around 59 BCE. From that time, the city has continuously grown and evolved to what it is today.
When you look at a map of Florence, you see a lot of twisty and windy streets that are built with cobblestones and buildings that run almost right up against them. From an accessibility standpoint, it presents a lot of challenges as I saw people being pushed in wheelchairs with great effort (or pulling suitcases for that matter). But beyond that, there is a quaintness and opportunity to be in a place where there are more people moving around than cars. Moving freely in a way that was unencumbered by traffic, being able to explore and discover, feeling a certain kind of vibrancy rooted in antiquity but lived in modernity.
And now I am back in the exurbs, which has its own kind of design, whether it be intentional or just organic. Like Florence, homes and streets get built at different times. Some structures are destroyed and then rebuilt, green spaces created, land getting preserved, other land getting constructed. It is not just a dance of history, but also the presence or absence of intentional design.
To talk about designing cities, I welcome Itai Palti to the Experience by Design studios. Itai has a background in architecture and working as an architect. He also is the founder of the Centre for Conscious Design, “an international collective promoting the emergence of healthy built environments using Conscious Design principles.” Together they promote the Conscious Cities Movement, “a global movement that reimagines the built environment as an extension of ourselves and our communities.”
We talk about how architecture can be about community empowerment, creating environments and structures that bring people together rather than drive them apart. Itai talks about the decline of serendipitous connections, especially in cultures that de-emphasize community and prioritize solitude. Between those poles is the need to find compromise in how we build lived environments.
Itai also discussed the importance of using scientific insights into architectural design. We explore how architects need to balance client demands with their desire to create socially impactful design. Accomplishing this goal requires that more than architects be involved, leveraging the expertise from all disciplines to come together in constructive dialogue to combine knowledge to create better cities and communities. Thus, we talk about systems design as well, and how the built environment is a key element in experience design.
After being in Florence for only a few days, which was enough time to enjoy a walkable environment, that is something I can attest to.
Itai Palti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itaipalti/
The Center for Conscious Design: https://theccd.org/
Conscious Cities Movement: https://theccd.org/conscious-cities/