The New Code of Cities

DLD Sync

The New Code of Cities

DLD Sync No. 9
June 3, 2021
Covid-19, Mobility, Society & Politics, Work

How do we need to design office spaces for a world after Covid-19? Is home office a sustainable concept for tomorrow? What does this change mean for mobility and transportation? Does the pandemic spell the end of megacities and decades of urbanization? An architect and engineer by training, Carlo Ratti leads CRA design and innovation practice in New York and Torino, Italy and directs the MIT Senseable City Lab. Carlo holds several patents and has co-authored over 500 publications, including The City of Tomorrow. In this DLD Sync session, he was joined by James Ludwig, Vice President of Global Design and Product Engineering at Steelcase. James Ludwig has been leading the product design of Steelcase since March 2008, overseeing studios in Europe, Asia and the United States. He is also responsible for Steelcase showrooms and WorkLife Centers.

Speakers

Carlo Ratti, MIT Senseable City Lab, architect

Carlo Ratti

James Ludwig

An architect and engineer by training, Carlo Ratti leads the CRA design and innovation practice in New York and Torino, Italy, and directs the MIT Senseable City Lab. He holds several patents and has co-authored over 500 publications, including The City of Tomorrow (with Matthew Claudel). He has been featured in Wired Magazine’s “Smart List: 50 people who will change the world” and named by Fast Company as one of the “50 Most Influential Designers in America.”

James Ludwig is Vice President of Global Design and Product Engineering for Steelcase Inc., the global leader in the office furniture industry. Ludwig was named to this role in March 2008 with global responsibility for the product design direction of Steelcase, overseeing studios in Europe, Asia and the United States. Additionally, he is responsible for the design direction of all Steelcase showrooms and WorkLife Centers.

Speakers

Carlo Ratti
James Ludwig

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The easy way to rediscover your favorite moments of the talk.

Time	Topic
0:00	Intro by Steffi Czerny
2:40	Presentation by Carlo Ratti on data analytics, Covid-19 and the work of the MIT Senseable City Lab.
9:20	How the pandemic has changed office work.
10:20	Weak ties and strong ties.
15:00	Carlo Ratti: “There’s a magic when we meet in the same room” which can be mimicked only partially in virtual space.
16:30	James Ludwig on the connection between physical spaces and corporate culture.
21:00	The role of trust in designing future cities and workspaces.
23:40	Cities, pandemics, and the need for change.
29:15	Remote work vs. physical offices.
32:30	Rethinking the need to travel, commute and meet in person.
36:45	Why cities should see the pandemic as an opportunity to reinvent themselves in a more humane way.
39:40	Why have tech giants clustered around certain geographic areas, building “palaces of work in the most expensive real-estate markets in the world”?
44:10	The role of design in rethinking cities and work life.

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The New Code of Cities