President Lorne Buchman, left, and Trustee and Idealab CEO Bill Gross at Live Talks
Art Center College of Design President Lorne Buchman and Idealab CEO and Art Center Trustee Bill Gross bonded over socially conscious design in India Thursday morning at Live Talks Business Forums, a one-hour conversation focused on innovation and design held in downtown Los Angeles.
Through WorldHaus, longtime entrepreneur Gross has ventured into creating eco-friendly, modular housing in more rural parts of India starting at $2,000. Buchman highlighted furniture created by a Designmatters student that features creative seating with storage for low-income city-dwellers in Bangalore.
“We have to go make a deal with that student and start that right away!” said Gross.
WorldHaus has the goal of adding 200 homes in India this year and increasing that number to 1 million houses by decade’s end. The for-profit company manufactures the structures for $1,800 and owners pay $200 down and $10 a month.