Design Futures

People gather around an individual speaking animatedly within a brick-lined plaza with shops in the background. The historic sign in the background reads Three Notch D Road.

Three students look into the camera while perched up in a young tree with green foliage. Three individuals are seated on a park bench facing away from the camera in the background.

Three individuals actively engage with a tabletop filled with papers including graphs, diagrams, and text.

Two individuals write and draw on a paper posted up on the wall. The words Listen and Participate can be seen. Another individual looks toward them.

“Design Futures forever changed how I think about my role in architectural practice and solidified my desire to work in community engaged design. I would highly recommend it to any student, whether you’re in a design field or not. You’ll learn so much about the conference’s host city and get to meet amazing friends and contacts from other schools.” —Katie Plum BS25

The Design Futures Public Interest Design (PID) Student Leadership Forum is an interdisciplinary convening that fosters capacity-building for future leaders hoping to use design as a tool for social equity and positive change in and with historically marginalized communities. Design Futures seeks to:

-build the next generation of leadership in design
-diversify the ecosystem of public interest design in terms of discipline, race, gender, and beyond, and
-curate a national network of thought leadership

This conference is for the next generation of community-engaged designers, planners, and advocates. The Sam Fox School has graciously agreed to support sending 5 students to this year’s conference as well as Faculty representatives. A total of five students will be selected to attend the forum: 2 from architecture, 2 from art and design, and 1 from a different division of the University. Students are selected based on their interest in and commitment to engaged practice in their work. Attention will be paid to selecting a diverse group of students based on areas of study, racial and cultural backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations, abilities, and beyond.

This year, the forum will be hosted by Washington University in St. Louis and held in May 2024. The forum consists of multiple in-depth workshops led by practitioners and educators, as well as guided reflections, discussions, and explorations of the host city.

Past student participants have said they’ve benefited from being challenged to think differently about how they connect with communities, their relationship to their own identities, and connections to like-minded peers across the country.

Registration and travel costs are covered by the Sam Fox School. Additional funding may be available based on financial need. Selected students are expected to commit to participate in all aspects of the Forum and to share their experiences with Sam Fox upon their return.

Students who have previously attended Design Futures are not eligible to attend again as participants.

For more information, email samfox-engage@wustl.edu.