The latest Social Design Circle honorees of the 2017 Curry Stone Design Prize

With so many designers who dedicate their work to tackling society's most pressing problems, it can be tricky to select only one winner for a top social impact award like the Curry Stone Design Prize. So for 2017, the Curry Stone Foundation decided to change things up a bit. Instead of awarding only one winner, they will announce a total of 100 Social Design Practices and/or Individuals as a member of the Social Design Circle, which acknowledges the most socially engaged practices. 

New members will be announced every month in relation to the issue that the Prize is addressing for that particular month. For February, the Prize asked: “Is The Right To Housing Real?”. Upcoming topics later this year include “Can Design Challenge Inequality?”, “How Do We Design With Scarcity?”, “Does Design Create Politics or Vice Versa?”, and more.

Seven new Social Design Circle members were revealed for February. Learn more about them below.

Asian Coalition for Housing Rights: A regional network of grassroots community organizations, NGOs and professionals who are actively involved with urban poor development processes in Asian cities, including initiatives in Thailand, India, The Philippines, Cambodia, and Nepal.

Breaking Ground: Founded in 1990, Breaking Ground provides permanent affordable housing for individuals and families in New York who are homeless or are at-risk of becoming homeless. In early 2016, Breaking Ground hds nearly 1,000 units of housing in various stages of development in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

David Baker Architects: Based in San Francisco and Oakland, David Baker Architects is recognized for housing projects like the Lakeside Senior Apartments and the Tassafaronga Village, as well as planning “creative site strategies, designing for density, and integrating new construction into the public realm.”

Jonathan Kirschenfeld: New York-based Jonathan Kirschenfeld Architect is widely regarded for their environmentally and socially sustainable projects, with a specialty in supportive housing, childcare centers, recreation and performance facilities. The practice also provides comprehensive design services to not-for-profit and public sector clients, institutions, corporations, and private clients.

Kraftwerk1: The Zurich-based Kraftwerk1 collective “has pioneered affordable cooperative housing models. With its diverse and flexible housing types, participatory planning processes, and energy-efficient designs, Kraftwerk1 has proven that it’s possible to create high-quality affordable housing schemes in fringe areas of a city.”

Lacaton & Vassal: Founded by Anne Lacaton & Jean Phillipe Vassal, the Parisian practice is best known for the restoration and rehabilitation of older Modernist housing blocks in Paris, Saint-Nazarre and Bordeaux.

L'Oeuf Architects: Founded in 1992 by Daniel Pearl and Mark Poddubiuk in Montreal, L’Oeuf (l’Office de l’Éclectisme Urbain et Fonctionnel) is a Montreal-based design practice “that has developed a national and international reputation for sustainable architecture, urban housing, residential and commercial renovation. L’Oeuf’s work is characterized by a broad interpretation of ‘sustainability,’ striking to find a balance between affordability, ecological efficiency and architectural detail.”

All photos courtesy of the Curry Stone Design Prize.