DESTINATIONS: 2016 Boston Festival highlights the life-changing power of design

I am endlessly fascinated by the life-changing power of design, both for good -- 

like the crank radio, which transmits vital health information to remote towns in Africa 

that have no electricity -- and for bad. (Remember the cockamamie "butterfly ballot", 

which helped deliver the 2000 presidential election to George Bush II?)

This year's Boston Design Week highlights this power of design,

with talks, exhibits and strolling tours focusing on sustainability, design 
with a social purpose, downsizing, recycling and the environment.

For a schedule of daily events at the citywide festival, link here. 

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The much-loved Boston Public Library in Copley Square is currently undergoing massive 

renovation. Totaling approximately 110,000 square feet, the project includes updates 

to the Johnson building’s lower level, first floor, mezzanine, and the building exterior. 

A tour of Phase Two of the project will be on offer on April 4.

A plethora of other activities includes:
               • tours of the WGBH/Boston Public Television studio
               • a fantastical costume exhibit at the French Cultural Center
               • Mass Art's Annual All-School Show (featuring ceramics, jewelry, metalwork, and
                        textiles crafted by Mass College of Art & Design students)
               • talks by leading green designers, architects and educators

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Showrooms will feature lots of popular bathroom and kitchen renovation ideas.

 Kitchen designs (above and below) by luxury cabinet makers Poggenpohl and Gaggenau

Below: Two kitchen lighting plans from Wolfers,

a company that promotes the benefits of transitioning to LED.

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Below: My favorite piece of design in Boston -- the grand Leonard P. Zakim 
Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. One of the most well-received elements 
of Boston's Big Dig Project, it is particularly stunning at night.

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"Unless you are standing out in the middle of nature, everything around you is consciously designed: from the clothes you wear, to the phone you carry, to your home, workplace and beyond.  Good design has the power to touch us, to lift us up, to make our lives better, and impart a profound sense of well-being – bad design can have the opposite effect."

                                                                                                ... from Boston Design Week's mission statement

For a schedule of ongoing and multi-day events at the festival, link here. 

Link here to read Boston Magazine's article 
Nine Things to Look Out for During Boston Design Week 2016

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