Modern Atlanta is most commonly known as the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr, the home of soft drinks giant Coca-Cola and the headquarters of the 24-hour news channel CNN. The city may also remind some of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games with its remnant sites still in the downtown area.

Despite recent additions such as The World of Coca-Cola, the Aquarium and the transition of Georgia State University to a full time campus, some feel the city could still benefit from innovative urban transformations. Last May, the 18th Congress for the New Urbanism took place in the city and brought together experts in the field of urban planning, government policy, and community development to discuss tangible solutions that can support the city in its transition toward more livable environments.

Atlanta, with its rapid growth, has followed a classic American urban model built up around suburban developments and highway systems. One notable presentation from the conference was on “Retrofitting Suburbia” by local academic Ellen Dunham Jones of Georgia Tech.  In her speech she proposes solutions that could change the social and environmental patterns of unsustainable suburban environments such as those that currently dot the Atlanta region.

Today, media corporations and film studios employ a large number of designers and have created a solid motion graphic design industry in the area. Throughout the years, the city has grown around the field of media and television which places the city as a serious contender alongside New York and Los Angeles. During our visit we spoke with Doug Grimmett from Primal Screen, a multidisciplinary design studio that works for clients such as ABC, CNN, PBS and HBO amongst others, and quizzed him about his city and its future.

It was clear from our interview that the presence of important corporations and media outlets are enough to draw designers to the city of Atlanta. As will the expansion of the activities of the Museum of Design. Yet it will be interesting to see how designers will continue to play a role in the regeneration of their city and how local culture and history can be more successfully integrated into the urban fabric.

Augusta and Gill Holland wanted something innovative and ambitious for Louisville so they took a 110 year-old masonry structure in the heart of the city’s arts district and decided to turn it into the first commercial building with a LEED platinum certification.

The Green Building is a model of architectural preservation with a modern core: an authentic masonry structure, natural lighting, eco-friendly materials, renewable energy systems, solar panels, geothermal wells and most original of all, a recycled denim insulation. This marvel of green architecture was conceived by Doug Pierson from FER Studios.

With 15,000 square foot of mixed-use space, the building houses a restaurant that serves food from local farms (732 Social), an art gallery, event and office spaces. It also boasts an indoor-outdoor courtyard, an urban farm, and a green wall vertical garden.

The Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum complex that includes  19 museums, 17 of which are located in Washington D.C. One can look at it as a cluster of varied architectural buildings or a giant display of over 136 million objects, artworks and specimens. Visitors have free access and usually make the effort to walk the long distances from one building to another – the Smithsonian website clearly advises people to wear comfortable shoes before a visit.

Due to our limited schedule, we narrowed our visit to the National Museum of the American Indian (pictured above). We were initially attracted to its controversial postmodern design which was previously referred to as “native by design” by the National Geographic magazine. The building was designed by several Native American architects – Douglas Cardinal, a Blackfeet Indian; Johnpaul Jones, a Cherokee/Choctaw; Ramona Sakiestewa, a Hopi, Donna House, a Navajo/Oneida, and Lou Weller, a Caddo Indian – and its construction was assisted by a Native American Design  Collaborative known as the Table Mountain Rancheria Enterprises.

The museum has an exterior cladding of Kasota dolomitic limestone that give the building the appearance of a stratified stone mass that has been carved by wind and water. The interior is unfortunately more conventional and consists of dark gallery spaces generously filled with over a million artefacts.

A temporary exhibition called Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America caught our attention. By looking beyond the traditional representations of Native American culture, this show reflects indigenous culture in a 21st century context. We learned that skateboarding has inspired many Native American youths to start their own companies and build community-based skate parks in the United States. By fusing design, graphic art, filmmaking, and music through skateboard culture, those individuals are affirming their identity within contemporary American society, perhaps to also show that their heritage is vibrant and alive.

The National Building Museum was a surprising find in DC. The building is an adapted re-use of the former US Pension Bureau Headquarters, a building inspired by two Italian models. The exterior is a red brick semi-replica of the Michelangelo-designed Palazzo Farnese, an imposing palace located in Rome. The interior, on the other hand, boasts an open arcade gallery space inspired by the Palazzo della Cancelleria, a renaissance style palace of the sixteenth century.

This museum is a place where architecture and the built environment are put into perspective rather than simply put on show. Their past exhibitions include topics such as recycling, green houses, the places where we live, New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, or design for public spaces. Our first viewing was the Washington: Symbol and City exhibition, a very dense collection of images and texts documenting the architectural and social history of the capital from its conception to the twentieth century. This exhibition raises questions about the effects of urban planning on social well-being and highlights the capacity of design to connect all aspects of everyday life including transportation, housing, commerce, energy, and institutions. In a separate modern gallery space was shown Green Community, an interactive and playful display of sustainable best practices from around the globe. Waste management, land conservation, technologies, mass transit systems were amongst the priority issues at stake. Their award-winning interactive installations successfully engage the viewer to consider sustainability on a personal, global and community level.

Throughout the years, Chicago served as a model city with its outstanding examples of urban planning and architecture. Experts from around the world have spent more time studying Chicago than any other city in the United States. It all started in 1909 with Daniel Burnham’s Plan of Chicago which focused on the growth and the future of the city. Then, Ernest Burgess and Robert Park’s map of economic and social divisions led to the Chicago School, a social concept that visualized the American city in various concentric zones. More recently, Chicago has been pushing toward urban regeneration and sustainable development through various projects such as the green roofs and the extension of its rail systems. The plans that are presented as part of the bid for the 2016 Olympic games represent more opportunities for the city to build on its architectural legacy and strengthen its reputation as America’s model city.

Mix of iconic buildings and renowned architects: the ‘Corn Cobs’ from Marina City, Willis Tower (former Sears tower), the new extension of the Art of Institute of Chicago by Renzo Piano, Pritzker bandshell by Frank Gehry at Millennium Park, McCormick Tribune Campus Center at IIT by Rem Koolhaas, Lake Shore Drive Apartments by Mies Van Der Rohe.

Chicago wants to become the most environmentally friendly city in the United States and is working hard to achieve its goals. The Chicago Climate Action Plan has been developed to serve as a model for cities from around the world and demonstrates how urban communities can be bold and help protect the natural environment. Green roofs are flourishing in various parts of Chicago: they have been integrated in some private and public residences (Chicago’s City Hall has its own rooftop garden), have transformed public spaces (the Millennium Park is a green roof built on top of a garage) and have turned several skyscrapers green.

The Chicago Center for Green Technology offers guidance to homeowners and professionals who want to benefit from cost-effective green technology. The center organizes regular workshops that emphasize on the many advantages of having a green roof: it cleans and retains rainwater, it helps reduce energy consumption, it lowers air temperatures, it improves the urban air quality, it extends the life of a roof membrane by 2 or 3 times, and last but not least, it can add beauty to our urban landscape.

Tim Bessell is a surfboard shaper and shop owner who likes to experiment with his creative and craftsmanship skills. We had the great pleasure to see him, in his workspace, shape a board for an hour and a half. But what we also discovered was Tim’s enthusiasm for what he calls functional art (and what we call design). With a major in psychology and a minor in fine arts, Tim sees the therapeutic virtues of board shaping and looks at his craft as a form of expression. Beyond surfing, which he  likes to refer to as “an indigenous culture in San Diego”, he paints big pictures on cardboard, designs furniture and is working a large-scale initiative called Bessell Modular Living Systems, a sustainable architecture project using old ship containers.

Before, during and after shaping sessions, Tim uses his creative mind to make things: from chairs to paintings, energy windmills and modular houses. Looking at his work it is undeniable that design skills are transferable and applicable in many areas – in this case from surfboard design to architecture. While talking with him we understood how surfing could lead to architecture as they are both means to improve people’s quality of life.

Taliesin West is the western base of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Taliesin West sits within a pristine Sonoran desert landscape at the foot of the McDowell Mountains in North Scottsdale.

Taliesin West used to be Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, studio and laboratory during the winter months. The architecture is highly inspired by Eastern art and design. It also showcases Frank Lloyd Wright’s multi-disciplinary skills.

Today the site is a not-for-profit foundation promoting FLW’s body of work and architecture philosophy. It is also the location of FLW architecture school, one of the smallest accredited architecture schools in the United States, counting only 25 students a year.

Santa Fe’s distinctive identity would not exist without its architecture.  The adobe style is consistent throughout the city: from hotels, to housing, restaurants and even shopping centers.

Adobes are organic structures made out of clay, sand and  water that are particularly appropriate in hot climates. They have been continuously used by American Indians in the Southwestern regions of the United States. This building technology that dates back 4000 years was first used in Egypt.

Russell M. Stanley is the former president of ASID Texas Chapter (American Society of Interior Designers) and was later appointed ASID fellow. After obtaining his degree from Parsons School of Design in 1960, Russell returned to Texas to work for a commercial firm before setting up his own practice.

Russell invited us to see a building that he designed in the seventies and spoke to us about what it was like to be a design student back in the fifties, when Parsons only had 250 students. After seeing his work it was clear that he was strongly influenced by European designs. He mentioned that he never liked the international style movement, despising its homogeneous and box-like approach (”a creativity killer”). However he supports the use of new technologies and believes that interior design should not only based on ideas but also result from manufacturing processes and new technologies that can achieve long-term quality.