A Pivot in Design - #DoingWellbyDoingRight
How can design make an impact? With a remarkable global response from Be Original Americas’ members, everyone is helping in any way they can. With our newly launched social media campaign, we are proud to spotlight our members who are stepping up with authentic innovations to provide solutions and are #DoingWellbyDoingRight.
Photo: Steelcase employee manufacturing essential PPE
Steelcase: Rallying its available resources, the company is manufacturing essential PPE for healthcare workers and medical facilities. Currently, they’ve donated over 15,000 fabric masks, 22,000 face shields, and 100 separation screens to assist with contagion control. Acknowledging the need for a strong coordinated global response, they are looking to expand production to other countries, and share design specs and assembly instructions for other manufacturers to use as a guide.
Bromley Caldari Architects: The firm is donating 5% of its fee payments received from April to June to charities that provide food to New Yorkers. “While it’s a small gesture, maybe others will do the same. Together, we can make a difference. We are all on this little blue planet to help each other out.”
Photo: RBW’s Dean Liaw wearing the face shield
Rich Brilliant Willing: The Brooklyn-based lighting company is using its knowledge of lean manufacturing and rapid design approach to manufacture personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers in New York. Working in conjunction with its Industry City neighbor iMakr, RBW has been supplying materials to digital fabricators to assemble approximately 10,000 face shields. Simultaneously, RBW has redesigned its BudmenxRBW face shields, which are currently undergoing evaluation by the National Institutes of Health. Once approved, the redesign will reduce material usage and ramp up 3D printing time of face shields – enabling more efficient production and distribution to medical workers.
Bend Goods: The Los Angeles-based wire-furniture company is having a 30%-off online sale and will be donating a portion of proceeds to the Project Angel Food Bank, the 2019 California non-profit of the year, that is providing free and healthy meals to the local community.
Photo: Cerno’s Kevin Morris is assembling face shields
Cerno: The lighting company that focuses on distilling products down to its essential parts and prioritizing form and function is pivoting to manufacture PPE. Adhering to its core values, Cerno leveraged its capabilities and has committed to manufacture approximately 10,000 face shields to donate to local hospitals.
Photo: Burgeon Group is testing the London Box at a local Phoenix hospital
Burgeon Group: Known for creating interactive learning spaces for children, the Phoenix-based Burgeon Group is pivoting to develop an intubation shield for doctors to use when treating Covid-19 patients. With shortages in protective equipment, Burgeon Group created “London Box” as an alternative to protect doctors and nurses when connecting patients to ventilators. The company is developing and distributing prototypes to hospitals across the United States.
Louis Poulsen: The Danish lighting brand is donating 1,000 N95 masks to the Cleveland Medical Clinic in Weston, FL, where its U.S offices are located, as well as other local health professionals and first responders, including police officers and the fire department, to combat COVID-19.
Photo: Rending of the Emergency Hospital Field Beds
Loll Designs: The Minnosota-based company is making hospital beds and additional safety equipment from durable and sanitary HDPE (high density polyethylene). Hygienic, easily cleanable, and 100% recyclable, the Emergency Hospital Field Beds can be assembled on-site and allow hospitals to admit more patients.
Every effort, no matter the scale, has the power to make a difference. We will continue featuring our members’ initiatives on our social media channels with the hashtag #DoingWellbyDoingRight. If you are interested in getting featured, email us info@beoriginalamericas.com!