- Pronouns:
- he/him/his
- Phone:
- (812) 855-5440
- Email:
- jonracek@indiana.edu
- Campus:
- IU Bloomington
Fine Arts Building 412
Fine Arts Building 412
Education
- M.Arch., Southern California Institute of Architecture, 2004
- Graduate Studies, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne AU, 2002
- B.A., Sociology and Anthropology, Holy Cross College, 1995
About
Jon Racek is a versatile designer with a multidisciplinary focus. His work has spanned architecture, furniture design and fabrication, public art, sculpture, landscape design and playspaces.
He founded Play360 (play360.org) in 2010, an organization that trains community leaders to build educational, community built playspaces. To date, Play360 has built over 200 playgrounds in over 20 countries throughout the world.
He is the founder and director of ServeDesign, a center in the Eskenazi school that works with communities to leverage design for social impact.
He is the founder and program director of Comprehensive Design, a new program in the Eskenazi School that uses human cented design at multiple scales. In 2022, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholar Fellowship in Sri Lanka for a project named, “Engaging Students in Frugal Innovation: Community Design/Build Projects using Minimal Resources”.
Prior to his academic career, Professor Racek worked as an architect, furniture designer, and entrepreneur. His work has been showcased in exhibitions worldwide and featured in prestigious publications such as the New York Times and TIME Magazine. Notably, in 2012, Building Design and Construction Magazine recognized him as one of the "40 Under 40" professionals in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.