LUNCH & LEARN/DESIGNING BELONGING - Tapping into our common humanity for good design

Presenting the Arts Lawn as a case study, Nootan will discuss the process of establishing values that direct the basis of design for the project and the intentionality of creating specific elements within the space to telegraph those values. Operated and managed by Arts + Public Life, the Arts Lawn is the latest phase of the Arts Block, a vibrant collection of cultural and commercial spaces on historic Garfield Boulevard in Washington Park.

Nootan Bharani is a fierce champion of the continuum of communities. As an architect and maker with deep background in environmental sustainability, she has a propensity toward existing buildings and in-between spaces. She has spent most of her career in non-traditional practice, working directly with neighborhood partners on projects at a wide variety of scales. Nootan is a thoughtful leader of processes to shape places where people want to be.

Nootan is currently the Associate Director of Cultural Stewardship and University Partnerships at Arts + Public Life, and a lecturer in the Humanities Division, at the University of Chicago. Previously, Nootan was Lead Design Manager for Place Lab at the University of Chicago where she was thought and practice leader for building projects by artist, Theaster Gates. Prior to coming to the University of Chicago, she was Managing Director for CB&I Sustainable Design Solutions of Illinois. Nootan is also a volunteer in Chicago Public Schools where her children attend, co-leading initiatives for caregivers of students with disabilities.

Lunch will be shared after the program. 

RSVP is required. 

The Designing Belonging series is part of Art Design Chicago, a citywide collaboration initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art that highlights the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.