Suhaila Sikand
Climate designer exploring community, equity, behavior, and design
Suhaila is a creative problem solver with a focus on social and climate impact. She’s studied how energy feedback to consumers can be designed in a way to empower sustainable behaviors. Since, she has collaborated on a disaster preparedness networked community project with Cohere Design Lab, and facilitated a design program with htm.elle by integrating equity and sustainable-thinking. Currently, Suhaila is a community engagement liaison between municipalities and its constituents for urban planning projects. With a focus on equity and sustainability, her team hopes to bridge gaps between civic design processes and the communities they serve.
Projects
Prototyping Climate Change Scenarios
Prototyping Climate Change started out as a "summary of climate change" for an event held. Its goal is to demonstrate how the world is changing based on widely accepted scientific modeling for a diverse audience. Through temperature-controlled booths and a fictional newscast set in the future, viewers can feel the impact of the climate while watching the "news of the day". My role in this project was as a concept developer, construction/build assistant, and greeter of the exhibition.
Case Study »
West Village Energy Dashboard
West Village Energy Dashboard is an investigation into the zero-net goal of four research spaces in Davis, CA. In order to motivate sustainable behaviors, our team created a dashboard that dissects energy usage for each office and presents the data for scientists, researchers, and administrative staff. Using a weekly gamification system, office spaces compete to stay on target with their energy consumption. I was the lead designer for this project.