Reflections at the End of 2020

 

As the epic journey that has been 2020 draws to a close, we wanted to reach out to our friends and colleagues in the extended Two Twelve family.

Recently David has been reading War in Val D’Orcia, a remarkable war diary by Iris Origo, and he was struck by the parallels of her gripping narrative to the roller coaster that is our present day circumstance. This book is an account of the brutality of World War II in a tranquil Tuscan valley. In one passage from     February 13th, 1944, Origo captured feelings many of us might be having     right now at the close of 2020, living through this pandemic, managing with shortages of food and supplies, losing jobs and livelihood, staying home because it is not safe outside, wondering who might be struck next by the virus. “It is odd how used one can become to uncertainty for the future, to a complete planlessness, even in one’s most private mind. What we shall do     and be, and whether we shall, in a few months’ time, have any home or possessions, or indeed our lives, is so clearly dependent on events outside     our control as to be almost restful.”

This passage reminds us of our power to survive. New York City rebuilt itself after the 9/11 attacks. Likewise our firm survived and thrived after we lost everything on that day. As the COVID numbers have been climbing to scary highs this holiday season, we are also learning about the roll out of the vaccines. Through our lens as designers, we can see that fighting the pandemic and rebuilding the economy is the ultimate life and death design problem.

As we reflect on the end of this year, let’s cast a glance ahead to 2021. We are hopeful that there is light at the end of this dreary dark tunnel. The strength and resilience of our Two Twelve staff during the past nine months give us hope and courage. Our team has been amazing, working diligently in their remote and often lonely workplaces. Once we left our offices on 27th Street in mid-March, we broke the bonds of geography, with people working from “home” on three continents, thousands of miles apart. But the work continued, we adapted, and we remained connected as a team. Likewise, the loyalty of our clients to press forward with projects and plans in difficult times has been gratifying and kept us grounded. At Two Twelve we are blessed to have work in hand and prospects in the pipeline. Our team has always celebrated people and places, people and ideas, people and information. I know we all long to return to those places that inspire and sustain us. Great design can help us find that path back. We look forward to engaging with you in the coming year on your latest design challenge.

This year our holiday message is unusual: stay healthy, wear a mask, wash your hands, stay apart, stay indoors. Not very inspiring stuff. Perhaps, with the end of the pandemic in sight, these simple directives might be what it takes to survive and see the other side of this. Wars finally end, pandemics eventually subside, people move on and rebuild their lives and communities. More than ever, we are reminded of the power of teamwork and collaboration to solve problems and press forward. And, as Iris Origo instructs us, when we surrender some control, we may learn to be, as she says, restful.

We at Two Twelve wish you well. May the holidays bring you some joy and a respite. Together, let us celebrate the power of humans to design a better world. And let us know how you are doing.

Ann Harakawa and David Gibson