Conversation at the Architecture and Design Film Festival

WantedDesign was proud to partner with the ADFF, the nation’s largest film festival celebrating the creative spirit behind some of the world’s most remarkable architecture and design. On October 16th we co-hosted a conversation that brought together personalities from various creative fields from film, to design and architecture.

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The panel took place at the Tribeca Cinemas and included Kelly Anderson, Film Director, “My Brooklyn”, Jan Vingerhoets, CEO of FLOS USA, Ilana Judah, Intl Assoc. AIA, OAQ, LEED AP BD+C, FXFOWLE’s Director of Sustainability, and Moderator, Laetitia Wolff, AIGA/NY Design/Relief Program Director.

Brooklyn Renaissance for all? As Brooklyn and other boroughs undergo major real estate development and new and more affluent demographics move into what were once marginalized neighborhoods, communities that once were part of their fabric get pushed out. New York is the Phoenix ever rising from its ashes, neighborhoods once overlooked have become hot destinations. Does gentrification necessarily mean making Brooklyn a better place? And for whom? What constitutes a neighborhood’s appeal and whose responsibility is it to create a diverse understanding of place; not one size fits all. What methods architects and others can devise to shape our city to be more attractive while taking into account the needs of the population along with economic and environmental concerns?

 “My Brooklyn”, the movie
My Brooklyn follows director Kelly Anderson’s journey to understand the forces reshaping her neighborhood. The film documents the makeover of Downtown Brooklyn’s Fulton Mall, a bustling and profitable African-American and Caribbean commercial district that is nonetheless viewed by the city, the media, and new residents, as a failure. As a hundred small businesses are displaced to make way for luxury condos and chain retail, Anderson uncovers the people and policies that drive seemingly natural neighborhood change. The film’s ultimate question becomes, who has a right to live in the city and determine its future?

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