The American Society of Interior Designers is leading the profession in the fight against COVID-19, using the rich experience and knowledge of its membership and other stakeholders to form two new task forces: the ASID Adaptive Living Task Force and the ASID IMPACT Review Task Force.
Focused on studying design and construction issues related to the pandemic and how the future of design will change as a result, the task forces fall under the Society's member-led Advocate by Design Council, which advises ASID's Government & Public Affairs Department on matters of federal, state, local and regulatory public policies that protect and advance the practice and industry. By activating the creativity and innovation of the design profession, in combination with the subject matter expertise of practitioners in other fields, ASID will amplify the power of design and its importance in the response to COVID-19 and future pandemics, improving environments for all.
Following a competitive application process, ASID's two task forces are staffed by more than 60 international volunteer-experts from around the building industry and beyond. Doctors, attorneys, architects, educators, researchers, real estate professional and interior designers from different backgrounds, associations and practice specialties will provide their expertise over the coming months.
ASID Interim CEO Gary Wheeler, FASID states, “As the professionals most responsible for human experience in structures, interior designers take seriously their role in finding safe, functional and healthy solutions for building use during and after this pandemic. These task forces will provide valuable information, data, research, best practices and more for all stake holders to improve our built environment in light of this international crisis, and ASID is here to support their critical work.”
The ASID Adaptive Living Task Force will be chaired by Keith Stanton, ASID, NCIDQ, CHID. Stanton is the director of design ddevelopment for Thoma-Holec Design, LLC, an international, award-winning firm and leader in interior design for senior living. His task force will study changes in senior care, adaptive and multigenerational family living resulting from challenges faced by nursing homes and long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The task force will also study best design practices for quarantining family members within the home/family living structure whether they be ill, a healthcare worker exposed to disease or a person with immunodeficiencies, among other issues related to adaptive building use.
“The impacts of solid design practices are becoming evident during this pandemic. This task force is tapping into the most innovative design professionals to protect end users and residents, while pushing the envelope of creative design,” explains Stanton.
The ASID IMPACT Review Task Force will be chaired by Linda Sorrento, FASID, LEED Fellow, Principal, Sustainable Practice at Sorrento Consulting and vice-chaired by Barbara Marini PhD, FASID, IDEC, ICC, past ASID National Chair and Director of Interior Design at The University of Texas at Arlington. This task force will identify, study, examine, and vet scholarly and professional research, reporting, data, and information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic as related to design and construction. This information will then be curated into a single professional resource available to the public.
“There’s so much information being produced concerning building design, construction, operation, and maintenance related to COVID-19, and not all of it is accurate or well-researched,” notes Sorrento. “This task force is charged with the behemoth mission of vetting that information, so only the best, most scientific information is included in the ASID public resource.”
Learn more at asid.org.
