Description

The topic of intercultural competence (ICC) is important because it is how interior designers implement their understanding of culture into applicable solutions. Intercultural competence is important to your overall knowledge of ethnic culture, business, or organizational culture, to name a few contexts. Because we live in – and are designing for – a multi-cultural world, designers need to understand how their design solutions can help to achieve culturally centered goals. This presentation will introduce the topic of intercultural competence to the interior design practitioner, provide guidance to navigate the topic, and explain why it is needed for career advancement and expansion of professionalism.

Professor Taneshia West Albert, MFA, IDEC, EDAC, NCIDQ, ASID, USGBC is an enthusiastic, award-winning educator from Auburn University and design practitioner. Her research and creative scholarship explores: cultural identity, meaning and trauma; diversity and inclusion; and methods to increase intercultural competency in design education and practice. Her design career is focused on design for healthcare environments, corporate interiors, and higher education spaces with a unique background in Medical Equipment Planning and Facilities Design and Construction. Her community service- both in and outside of the university in which she is employed- focuses on issues of inclusion, diversity, and equity within design education and the design profession of historically underrepresented group, specifically those: from marginalized ethnic groups; who are uniquely physical and cognitively abled; and who are lower socioeconomic groups.