Interview: Dara Huang on flexible design
In the latest segment of video series Designing the World, the US designer talks about her inspiration, how lighting can change a space, and about her ‘elastic city’ housing concept.
Smaller is better, according to architect and designer Dara Huang, who says that sustainability in design is all about “cultural awareness”. Speaking at Dezeen Day 2019 in London, the designer explains how she went from a large corporate architecture firm to a small company, and then founded her own business.
“We’re very much inspired by organic forms – rain, fruit shapes,” she says. Her lighting studio takes these inspirations, and then collaborates with UK craftspeople, “families that have blown glass and spun metal for ages”. One light can “change the whole space”, says the US designer, who is based in London and Hong Kong.
She also co-founded a company, Viva House, that explores how empty commercial spaces can be used to help with the housing shortage. It comes down to “flexibility”, she says, and she calls the concept “an elastic city”.
Watch the video with Dara Huang above. It is part of Designing the World, a new series that explores how design can help find solutions to the world’s problems. Look out for more interviews on BBC Reel and BBC Future.
All interviews took place at Dezeen Day 2019 at the BFI, London.
Head to Dezeen for more architecture and design news and features.
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