"Dwelling in Critical Space" with Architect Michael Yarinsky.

Michael will be talking on "Dwelling in critical space" which is the theme for the [reads] November box. Michael will be exploring how design plays a critical and integral role in changing and shaping prevalent social issues surrounding politics, environmentalism, race, economics and gentrification.

"Design can play a role in shaping how we live. What does it mean to dwell in critical space? What does it mean to live with and be surrounded by work that challenges you intellectually and conceptually? What does it do to you as a maker, consumer, designer, and critic? A critique begins a conversation. Rather than then a finite answer, design can pose questions that open unexplored avenues of inquiry." — Michael Yarinsky

Michael Yarinsky is the pricicple of Michael Yarinsky Studio, an interdisciplinary design office specializing in architecture, interiors, and furniture. The work is marked by one main theme - the idea that modernism should have materiality. Modernism only begins to approach the sublime when it is not sterile – when it is lived in and has texture. Much of the work attempts to bring the “texture” to clean modernism through the use of new and unexpected materials, technology, form, and color. Texture is also created by challenging the program of the space/design to create unexpected moments of interaction. A design should be aesthetically appealing, yes, but should make you feel something.