Unboundary really out-did themselves this time with hosting TEDx in Atlanta. I want you guys to chime in on this one, because there is some controversial stuff here and the dialogue is GOOD!

Re:learn was a huge success and I think the reason is that there is so much passion about creating situations and environments that foster relationships for social good. Whether that be physical environments or virtual environments technology and humanity are coalescing.

Take these two speakers for example. Gever Tulley and Jane McGonigal. Both address our need for solving the fundamental problem of FUN in solving problems. I cant really say it much better than they have, so I’ll defer to their videos for your viewing and …

[Click image to view 1960s TV commercial]
A favorite from my 1970s childhood, the Game of Life contained all the board-game adventure this little boy could want. A hyperactive spinner wheel. A twisting, terrained board. The opportunity to nab a wife, kids and (if all went well) a lucrative doctor’s salary.

The ultimate goal, of course, was to secure a wealthy retirement in “Millionaire Acres.” But potential pitfalls could send you to a humiliating destiny known simply as the “Poor Farm.”

It was exhilarating.

Originally introduced as The Checkered Game of Life by Milton Bradley himself in 1860, the game has gone through quite a few refinements in the past 150 years. Dollar values have skyrocketed to …

I’m out in Portland, Oregon (great green city – look for more posts soon, I hope), at the SCUP Conference.  SCUP is the Society of College and University Planning, and this year’s conference them is “Values and Vision Create the Future.” I’m here because I’m speaking on Wednesday (more on that later as well).

Let’s start with my immense lack of sleep: I’d arrived at midnight PDT the night before, otherwise known as 3 am EDT.  YUCK!  I was definitely concerned that I was not going to make it through the sessions on Monday.

The first session I attended was the Monday morning plenary, “Dear President Obama – Looking Beyond the …

Yesterday the many different disciples from HOK London collaborated to run a workshop with a 25 school kids between the ages of 11 and 18. The all-day session was set up by Stefan Jakobek, who heads up our Education department here, Studio Schools Trust and The Young Foundation to understand what sort of spaces students would respond well to a new type of school that is being developed here – the Studio School.

The idea of Studio Schools is to help 14-19 year olds better prepare for the world of work. They aim to provide young people with qualifications and a full range of skills – while also engaging them in working in, and running, businesses and social enterprises directly serving customers.

Studio …

Huge congratulations go to Stefan Jakobek, Yi Ting Yau, Nilesh Patel and Bruce MacGillivray who earlier this week picked up the  major achievement of winning the 2009 Best International School Award for Haileybury Almaty School in Kazakhstan.

Haileybury is the first British Independent School in Kazakhstan. Located on a green field site on the bank of a river, the school prepares 640 students for IGCSE and the International Baccalaureate.

HOK London’s design of the school responded to four major challenges: A fast delivery programme (20 months from design commissioning to the school opening); the provision of adaptable learning space; high seismic risk and wide climatic ranges.

Here is the link to more images and information about the Haileybury design.

Congratulations team!!

For all you hipsters keen on TED lectures and who can’t get enough of the erratic addition to knowledge, may I suggest viewing one NEAR YOU!

That’s right folks, TED has been piloting these in other cities such as Tokyo with much success and now they are planned for tons of cities around the world!

TEDx Atlanta is coming in September! Visit the site for more details!

Haileybury Almaty is an ‘all-through’ school providing a British education and Western curriculum in Kazakhstan’s largest city. It’s the first British private school to open in Central Asia. HOK London design architect Stefan Jakobek told me that most of the building materials had to be imported to Almaty from Turkey via an extremely long supply chain: a 3,900-kilometer, three-week lorry drive across the Caspian Sea and Kazakh desert. Stefan said the open atrium gives students the feeling of being outside without venturing into the elements — a nice feature since the winters can be so brutally cold in this former Soviet republic. Related: Cris can name all the “Stans.”

I’ve talked before about how HOK is committed to continuing education, and also about the company’s commitment to health (on thegreenworkplace.com).  Yesterday, the DC office tied the two together with a fabulous presentation by Steelcase: the movement toward wellness in the workplace. 

This presentation was not your typical lecture on traditional ergonomics (monitor height, seat position, etc)….it went quite a bit further and discussed how wellness in the office relies on a combination of human resources policies and facility management solutions (good furniture!). 

The presenters discussed how movement is a critical element for the body and mind, and also for collaboration.  Movement keeps us refreshed, focused, and energized…and we need our workspaces …