KieranTimberlake was recently named a Design Company of the Year Finalist as part of Fast Company's 2018 Innovation by Design Awards. The annual awards recognize creative, problem-solving designers and business across 15 different categories. In addition to Design Company of the Year, KieranTimberlake earned accolades for our work on Ideal Choice Homes (Social Good Finalist), Roast (Space, Places, and Cities Finalist), and the US Embassy in London (Space, Places, and Cities Honorable Mention).

In the Mongolian city of Ulaanbaatar, the cold climate and air pollution go hand in hand. The city is the coldest capital on earth, and its population relies largely on coal to survive the harsh winters. As a result, 42% of Mongolia's children suffer from pollution-related health effects and Ulaanbaatar is home to the most toxic air on earth. 
 
To help reduce the city's pollution and bring cleaner air to its residents, a UNICEF Innovation team including KieranTimberlake, Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, and others traveled to Ulaanbaatar to reimagine the traditional ger. By incorporating better insulation and healthier heating options, the team aims to maintain ger culture while also helping families save money and breathe easier.  
 
During the trip, which was recently featured in Forbes, the team built their own traditional ger and met with community members to better understand their wants and needs. The lessons learned from these experiences informed a series of prototypes currently in development that test different materials and technologies. The final prototypes will be evaluated in Ulaanbaatar in the winter of 2019.  
 
Watch the video above or read the full article to learn more about the project and how you can help.