What would a world look like, a world in which we truly cared?
Laura Huerta
The development industry is in need of a PARADIGM SHIFT.
Conventional development is often a disconnected practice that disregards people and planet.
It’s an industry of transactions where connection to place is lost because of isolated disciplines and processes that diminish the importance of artists and the natural environment in design. As a result, our built environment is filled with layer upon layer of spaces that discount story, science, and spirit.
UNFOLD was born to stand up for what process can look like in a world grappling with climate change, at a time when society desperately needs to reconnect to their environments again.
UNFOLD
; verb
to rediscover layers of place —
In our world
we care
For the materials we choose in process
For the artist who reinterprets place
For the land that teaches us patience
Unfolding a field of care sparks continued stewardship.
Introducing Leadership
Mel Meagher
Founder + Designer
they/them
Mel Meagher is UNFOLD’s founder and lead developer/designer. Mel led design and development in a more conventional real estate realm for ten years, which sparked a passion for a more holistic way. UNFOLD is their more inside-out approach to design and development. Mel is a writer and poet and has always valued stories as an avenue for understanding place.
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Having served on the Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego’s Board of Directors, Mel witnessed how artists have the ability to translate forgotten elements of our environment. They believe elevating the harmony of artistry and regeneration in the development process is the medicine needed for a world where connection between planet and people has diminished. To them, our world can move from unraveling to unfolding by rediscovering the layers we’ve lost along the way.
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Bachelor of Arts, Media Studies, University of California, Berkeley; Minor: Creative Writing
Master of Real Estate Development, Portland State University
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Interior Design, Parsons School of Design (in progress)
Healthy Materials & Sustainable Building, Parsons School of Design
The Regenerative Practitioner Series, Regenesis Institute
Biophilic Design, Living Future Institute
Permaculture Living, Milkwood
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Board of Directors, Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego
Stacy Kelley
Director of Art + Partnerships
She/Her
Stacy Kelley is UNFOLD’s point person for all art-related items, including site-specific artwork and installations. Stacy draws on over twenty years working closely with international artists and designers to exhibit their work through experiential formats, including commissioned artwork for design projects, public art, and community partnerships.
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With a background bridging art and design, Stacy provides creative and logistical support for every project phase. She contributes experience collaborating with leaders in the design industry, as well as cultural organizations such as Mingei International Museum and San Diego Design Week, to provide a platform for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration around art and design in the Southern California region and beyond.
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Bachelor of Arts in Business Leadership, University of Puget Sound
Study abroad in Vienna, Austria: Art & Architectural History
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Sustainable Business Practices, University of California San Diego
LEED Accredited Professional, U.S. Green Building Council
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Organizing committee, La Jolla Modernism Home Tour, La Jolla Historical Society
Advisor, Tijuana Design Week
UNFOLD projects live at the intersection of artistry, design, construction, & stewardship.
This field of care extends beyond a finished project, with a continued purpose of advancing circular craft and community connection.
COMING SOON
The UNFOLD Artist Residency is being developed to support artists by giving them time to slow down, further experiment with new edges of their craft, and interweave the natural world into their practices. Through artist residencies, workshops, and events, UNFOLD projects will continue to reinvigorate spirit, while pushing for a regenerative future.
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Vitality Team
Noriko Whitfield
Sound Healing
Kelsey O. Daniels
Poetry
Britton Neubacher
Wellness
Our VALUES
guide this unfolding
Bringing craft back to construction
Rather than materials that have no context to a site, intentional construction and craft create a calm atmosphere, inviting closer inspection, discovery, and harmony with natural surroundings.
Site-specific works honor a property’s history while bringing new dimensions to its timeline. Additional narratives are introduced to weave stories of each individual artist and tradesperson.
Embracing the uncommon art of slowing down
Project timelines often sacrifice the time needed for research, mindful fabrication, and responsible processes. We purposefully slow down and plan for an extended unveiling. The learning that comes from listening to a project’s context is the language that dictates our design decisions.
By slowing down, we leave room for expression and rediscovery of self and place.
Relying on lessons from nature illuminates the potency of collaboration
Echoing nature’s design, our guild operates in a web of mutual reliance and reciprocation.
Artists and craftspeople are given the support they need to keep growing and reveal new depths in their creative practice. Each member is a part of a collective vision, aware of how their work interweaves with a project as a whole. We work as a sum rather than a division of subs: thriving and interconnected.
Nourishing stewardship of people and place unfolds a field of care
We scrapped the word “ownership” from our vocabulary, as possession diminishes the possibility of long-term care.
Instead, our programming for each project reflects a stewardship intent, with an ongoing commitment to the arts.
Tain Half
Partners
Briana Ellis
Architecture
URC West
Construction
RANA
Ecology + Biodiversity
Terremoto Landscape
Environment
ICA San Diego
Community
Idyllwild Arts
Community
Meet the artists behind Unfold Projects
