IIDA Perspective - Summer 2019 - 17

on community needs. Reimagining what it means to grow old.
their mark on the world each and every day.

SPORTS: Creating an Immersive Fan Experience

INCLUSIVITY: Thinking About Every User

Sports venues were once little more than concrete warehouses with
uncomfortable seats, meager concessions, and unpleasant restrooms.
But over the last two decades, stadium environments
have been transformed through design.
"We are seeing a clear emphasis on customer
experience and a greater understanding of the
importance of brand celebration, loyalty, and place,"
says Adam Stover, IIDA, senior interior designer and
Adam Stover
principal of Populous in Kansas City, Missouri.
Stadium designers are using local materials, imagery, food, and festivities
to create experiences that are totally unique to the team, fan base, and
venue. "The story and experience should only work there," he says. "If we
pick it up and drop it into another city, it would not be successful."
Designers and owners are also bringing new life to stadiums that
once stood vacant during the offseason. By focusing on year-round use,
designers are delivering spaces that are flexible, adaptable, and able to
serve different needs-and audiences-each day, Stover says.
Consider the Singapore Sports Hub, which includes an aquatic facility,
parks, a running track, and retail center; or Chicago's Wrigley Field,
which recently completed renovations that include an open-air town
square that hosts yoga classes, farmers markets, and a skating rink in
the winter. "These spaces are about much more than going to a game or
show," he says. "It's about walking into the space
and becoming immersed in it."

Design serves as a rallying cry to make products, technology,
homes, and public spaces more accessible for everyone. "Each of
these design disciplines has contributed to
nurturing inclusiveness in our society," says
Vibhavari Jani, IIDA, an associate professor
of interior architecture and product design at
Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas,
and winner of the 2018 IIDA Diversity Award.
Kijeong Jeon
By considering the needs of every user,
designers create solutions that appeal to a broader audience, says
Kijeong Jeon, a professor at California State University, Chico, and an
advocate for environmental designs for people with special needs.
"Inclusive design is all about respect," Jeon says. Whether it's
using high contrast colors in an app to accommodate the visually
impaired or employing soft textures and soothing sounds in a public
space to lessen anxiety, these solutions add value for all consumers.
"It is a human-centered approach that helps us move forward in
creating an inclusive world where ability does not matter. We need
to play a bigger role as design educators to train the next generation
of designers to advocate for inclusivity and equal rights for all
people, and care for all beings and our environment," Jani says. "Our
future depends on it."
Jeon agrees: "Ultimately, interior design professionals can help to
create a better world for all."

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