2011 Design is Human Week

The housing bubble might have popped in 2008, but Modern Atlanta: Design is Human continues to rise. For the past five years, the citywide series has showcased contemporary design with both tours of Atlanta homes and festival-style events that celebrate the discipline’s greatest talents in architecture, fashion and more. This year, MA11 features a pavilion of Korean designers and coincides with the Modern by Design exhibit at the High Museum. Co-founder and events director Elayne DeLeo offers a tour through MA11’s major activities. Visit the Modern Atlanta website for a complete list of design week to-dos.

Tuesday 6/7: Design is Human Week Launch Party

“If you want to get a real sense of what the designers are doing, come to the launch party and MA Design Exhibition. Guests will see architects showing their works — models, renderings, video projections — along with furniture, a lighting exhibition and student work from Georgia Tech and SCAD. It’s a good one-stop shop for what MA’s about.” Free-$10. 6-10 p.m. Two Peachtree Pointe, 1555 Peachtree St.

Wednesday 6/8: Industrial designer Karim Rashid

“Karim Rashid was born in Egypt and is one of the most well-known designers in the world. He did the design for Market, the restaurant at the W in Buckhead, and designs not just furniture but everyday, functional products such as utensils. He’ll talk about his process, what inspires and drives him, and provide examples of his furniture designs.” Free, RSVP required. 8-10 p.m. Pedina Atlanta, 800 Peachtree St., Unit C.

Thursday 6/9: Photostylist Annette Joseph

“Annette Joseph is from Atlanta. She takes someone’s personal home and makes it ready for a magazine to come in and photograph. If you look in Elle Décor, see a beautiful room and think, ‘I would love a room to look like that,’ that’s what she does. It’s interior styling as opposed to interior designing. She recently did Gwyneth Paltrow’s home in Nashville for the film Country Strong.” Free, RSVP required. 7-9 p.m. Room & Board, White Provision Building, 1170 Howell Mill Road.

Friday 6/10: MA’ology Africa Fashion Show/CARE fundraiser

“It’s very important for us to support a worldwide charity that’s based in Atlanta and very supportive of women. Also, we like to focus a fashion event on a different part of the world each year. Last year was Paris, while this year’s fundraiser has clothing from designers who use Africa as inspiration. We’ll also be showing photography from Africa of both fashion and the Lost Boys of the Sudan.” $15-$35. 8-11 p.m. Two Peachtree Pointe, 1555 Peachtree St.

Saturday 6/11: Film Screenings

“Last year we hosted BIG, the architectural firm Barke Ingels Group from Copenhagen, a rock star of the architecture world. So this year, we’re featuring four short films of BIG projects. %22Loop City,%22 %22XPO Bike Ride,%22 %22My Playground,%22 %228House%22 Afterward, we have “INSIDE Piano,” a film about Living Architectures’ Renzo Piano building and how it’s used by the people who live in it, work in it and clean it. Overall we try to include films that fit that design theme and inspire you to think about architecture differently.” Free. 8-9:45 p.m. Hill Auditorium, Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree St.

Saturday 6/11 & Sunday 6/12: MA11 Home Tour

“It’s a self-guided tour with 11 stops. Most people can get through four to five buildings a day, depending on how much of a lunch you need to take. This year we’ve added our first commercial building, the Perkins + Will office on Peachtree. It’s a LEED Leader in Energy and Environmental Design certified building they’ve designed to be practically off the grid. We want people to come in and see what’s being done from a commercial perspective, instead of a residential one.” $35. 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Locations vary.