Peace by Design

We live in an era in which designers will make an essential and critical contribution to the health and success of humanity. Design can promote healing in healthcare environments, contribute to good mental health, reduce gun violence, and positively impact health and racial equity, all of which contribute to providing a more peaceful world.

The primary focus of this book is to inspire young designers, academics, and practitioners to achieve their maximum societal contribution. It also supports experienced designers seeking reaffirmation of their social goals. To provide a foundation, the first chapter discusses the definition of design and design thinking and evidence regarding the direct and indirect contributions of design to peace. The subsequent chapters address peace endeavors at six scales of the physical environment: sustainable and equitable design, landscape architecture, architecture, interior design, industrial design, and graphic design. Additionally, nine short cameos are provided by contributors from various disciplines, who provide their favorite examples of “peace projects.” Peace can be manifested at multiple levels: world-wide, neighborhood and community, familial, or individual, and the various authors discuss portions from this spectrum. They broadly endorse disciplinary entanglements as a means of addressing societal and sustainability challenges and celebrate the impact of collaboration.

This book is essential reading for students and practitioners representing all fields of design, including graphic design, industrial design, interior design, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design.

Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, BA, MArch, MA, DArch, is a professor in the Department of Human Centered Design, a member of the graduate faculty in the Department of Architecture at Cornell University, and the Academic Director of the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures. A fellow in the American Institute of Architects and the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA), she has LEED AP, WELL AP, and EDAC credentials. Dr. Shepley has published multiple peer-reviewed journal papers and authored/co-authored six books, the most recent of which are: Design for Critical Care (2009), Health Facility Evaluation for Design Practitioners (2010), Design for Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care (2014), and Design for Mental & Behavioral Health (2017). Mardelle has worked full- and part-time in professional practice for 25 years. Committed to designing and conducting research on healthy and healing environments, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from ACHA.