We Love Design

The Alaska Design Forum (ADF) is a non-profit organization of architects, artists, and designers formed to broaden the range of discussion of design and the built environment.

As an educational group, ADF presents programs that expose the community to leading edge design and art ideas and encourage discussion on the relevance of these ideas to life and design in our state.

Notable Past Speakers

History

The ADF was founded in 1992 as a non-profit organization of architects, artists, and designers formed to broaden the range of discussion of the design of the built environment. See full list of past lectures, exhibitions and other programs. The goal of the ADF is to motivate people to discuss, think, and ultimately act to create a built environment that inspires the soul and protects the body.

Alaska is in a unique geographic, climatic and social setting. We as individuals and as a community constantly strive to develop a unique and appropriate design response.

As an organization, we encourage the discussion of design in various forums. The core of our program is the annual lecture series. Each year, we present between six and eight lectures – by nationally and internationally recognized architects, designers and artists – in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau.

Accomplishments

• Presented ‘Fly by Design’ tour of Iceland, connecting travelers with artists, designers and architects through studio and guided tours.

• Recognized as a recipient of the AIA Collaborative Achievement Award (2010) and the Mayor’s Arts Awards (2006).

• Commissioned original art installations and artist-in-residence programs.

• Presented avant-garde performances of dance and music.

• Sponsored design competitions, including “Imagine Anchorage.”

• Published Simultaneous Landscapes, a journal of Alaska design and culture.

• Promoted informal discussion groups, which has been codified as our Third Tuesdays program.

• Organized workshops and forums of particular relevance to the north.

Multi-City Reach

We have active volunteers in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, and have also presented programs in other Alaskan locations. Almost all lecturers we bring to Alaska speak in both Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.

We make a great effort to have our programs accessible to those who are not close to our active chapters, which in a state with such a dispersed audience is no small feat. An example of this is maintaining an ever-expanding video library (of the lectures we present).

Programs

The Alaska Design Forum presents a variety of programs, all of which support our mission of exposing the community to leading-edge design and art ideas and encouraging discussion on the relevance of these ideas to life and design in our state.

Lecture Series

Our cornerstone program – the annual lecture series – brings internationally renowned designers, artists and architects to Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. We typically bring eight lecturers to Alaska for each lecture series, and our lecture season runs from October to April.

Fly by Design

With FLY BY DESIGN, we export the audience to see the work in real dimensions. We host travelers in locations around the world, connecting them to new places through architecture and design.

Exhibitions & Installations

Exhibitions & installations provide an opportunity for visiting lecturers and local designers to create temporary and traveling art installations to showcase research projects relevant to design in Alaska.

Publications

We’ve been involved with the publication of several books, which are available for purchase.

James Bibb – Trustee

Peter Briggs – Secretary, Trustee

Tamás Deák - Treasurer, Trustee

Corey DiRutigliano - Trustee

Julia Foland – President, Trustee

Renee Fredericks – Trustee

Erin Hamilton – Trustee

Zane Jones - Trustee

Kir Moore – Trustee

Sue Sprinkle – Fairbanks Director, Trustee

Do you love design?