There is an institute called Institute Without Boundaries that I came across in undergrad that I recently re-looked at. Their objective and mission speaks to me in terms of architecture but I think it applies to any of our projects.

"Our inaugural project, Massive Change, explored and sparked a discourse on the future of global design. Our second project, World House, confronts the evolution of shelter for coming generations incorporating principles of sustainabillity, accessibility, technological responsiveness and ecological balance."

In my project(s) I'm always trying to find that balance between sustainability, accessibility, while being technologically responsive and ecologically balanced. They work to fight against the urban sprawl, which many view to be ecologically and socially irresponsible.

http://www.institutewithoutboundaries.com/

This applies to my project on food because part of the urban sprawl is about building these walmarts and bed bath and beyonds with useless facades on buildings that create what feels like a "township" in these huge plazas. Through external decoration they assume to build community when in fact the very thing these architectural facades hide does not benefit the community at all in terms of providing jobs to local farmers and craftsmen.


And for anyone looking for a short but powerful read, read The Eyes of the Skin by Juhani Pallasmaa. It's a 80 page thesis basically that a lot of architects used as a topic of their lectures. It coins a term "ocularcentrism" which discusses human nature and social pruning to make us so focused on our sense of sight that we forget how powerful and important our other senses can be to create memory and impact in our lives.

- Victor