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Life-Centered Design is an evolving design approach that goes beyond human-centred design by embracing the impact of the environmental and social dimensions of all life on Earth. It sets out to restore the balance between technology, human society, and the integrity of the natural world. LCD approaches design holistically, considering the footprint of all stakeholders as we question our reliance on human-centred design and the wisdom of putting people over the needs of all of our natural systems. LCD principles establish inclusivity, longevity, and symbiosis with nature as the fundamentals of design and achieving a sustainable future.
Join us on September 29th at 5:30 PM EST to hear about Life Centered Design practice from subject matter experts.
Sheila Boudreau
Sheila has over 28 years of experience following degrees in Landscape Architecture and Fine Art (University of Guelph), and a Master of Arts in Planning (University of Waterloo). Credentials include OALA, APALA, AALA, CSLA, RPP/OPPI, and MCIP. She established SpruceLab to prioritize Indigenous voices through their work where possible, to honour her Mi’kmaq ancestors. She is also a sessional instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), and previously, Universities of Toronto and Waterloo, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Landscape Architecture Foundation, and the Board of Advisors for the TMU Urban Water Research Centre.
Jeroen Spoelstra
Jeroen Spoelstra is a designer focused on life-centred design, living with his family in a small village in the Spanish Pyrenees. He has three creative projects underway, Unbeaten Studio, the Life-Centered Design School and a mountain bike guiding company. His mission is to help creative professionals transition away from human-centred design to life-centred design and give a new voice to biological ecosystems and non-user communities that, to this point have been silent in the design process.
Luigi Ferrara
Luigi Ferrara is a Registered Architect with seal, a member of the Ontario Association of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada as well as an Honorary Member of the Association of Chartered Industrial Designers.
Terence Radford – OALA, BCSLA, CSLA
Terence is a full member of the OALA and BCSLA with seal. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria and a Master of Landscape Architecture from UBC. Terence is a sessional instructor at the University of Toronto Daniels School of Architecture and Design, OALA Representative for the Green Infrastructure Ontario Steering Committee, and a member of the CSLA Reconciliation Advisory Committee.
The Workshop
Following this DesignMeets event on September 29th, we'll continue learning about and exploring LCD all weekend (September 30th to October 1st), with our immersive weekend workshop. We'll explore life-centered design as a methodology which applies to the urban setting and in ways that it can positively affect large liveable cities. The workshop will take place both on the Toronto Islands and at George Brown College: Brookfield Sustainability Institute, 3 Lower Jarvis Street (Daniels Campus).
Workshop participants will leave with:
- An understanding of the principles of Life-Centered Design and their application to urban planning.
- Sustainable strategies for creating spaces for both humans and wild species.
- The tools needed to ideate development pathways that promote circular use of natural resources.
- Ability to uncover meaningful insights using practical natural research techniques.
- Validated and refined designs based on community feedback.
- An action plan for implementing Life-Centered Design in future projects.
Visit our Eventbrite page for more information and to purchase tickets for the workshop.