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Kevin Ervin Kelley
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Irreplaceable: How to Create Extraordinary Places that Bring People Together Hardcover – March 12, 2024

by Kevin Ervin Kelley (Author)
5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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Do we still need physical places like grocery stores, restaurants, and office buildings? Or will the “Replacement Economy” led by the tech titans and retail giants wipe out these venues in their rapid ascent to unicorn status?

What about museums, universities, and performing arts venues? Considering the power of technology today, can’t we replace these relics with faster, cheaper, and more efficient online tools, apps, and AI?

Through engaging storytelling, human behavior insights, and proven design techniques, Kevin Kelley—an attention architect and cofounder of Shook Kelley, a strategic design firm that pioneered the field of “convening”—unfolds why physical places are essential to civil society, business, and community.

In these pages, he reveals what it takes for brick-and-mortar establishments to attract an audience and maintain a competitive edge in our increasingly digital world, whether you’re a:
  • Retail leader or institutional manager trying to attract people to your offering while keeping the disruptors at bay
  • Student of design who values social facilitation over object-oriented design
  • Concerned citizen worried about the loss of community and civility

Irreplaceable offers a welcomed antidote to the anti-human digital future crushing our main streets and infiltrating every corner of our lives. It provides a comprehensive roadmap for creating human experiences that have the power to convene and bring friends, neighbors, and strangers together in prosocial environments in ways the digital replacements can’t replicate.
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Matt Holt
  4. Publication date
    March 12, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    6.32 x 0.99 x 9.32 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1637744749
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1637744741
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

Benjamin Lorr (Secret Life of Groceries) blurb

Joe Fassler blurb

Walt Zola blurb

Richard Smucker blurb

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Award-winning architect Kevin Ervin Kelley presents a book that is an antidote to the anti-human digital future, offering a compelling vision for creating spaces that truly bring us together . . . With real-life examples and practical recommendations, Irreplaceable is a call to action to foster cultures of belonging." 
—Financial Times

“Architecture in the 21st century is finally being answerable to people, not edifice creation. Kevin Kelley has been one of the pioneers . . . His contribution to the humanization of modern design has been critically important. This book is long overdue.”
—Paco Underhill, Founder, Envirosell Inc., and Author, Why We Buy, What Women Want, Call of the Mall, and How We Eat
 
“Irreplaceable is a triumph! Both a badly needed manifesto on why physical place matters now more than ever in our lives and a how-to manual for building a physical environment that fosters true community.” 
—Benjamin Lorr, Author, The Secret Life of Groceries
 
“In an age of remote work and social isolation, having a meaningful place to connect is so important. In Irreplaceable, Kevin Kelley pulls back the curtain on how to reimagine and create places that help us thrive together.”
—Richard Smucker, Chairman Emeritus, The J.M. Smucker Company
 
“Kevin Kelley’s goal as an architect is to make common places feel special. We all convene in stores, restaurants, gyms, museums, movie theaters, and airports, but too often, the experience is physically and mentally draining. It doesn’t have to be—read Irreplaceable.”
—Philip Kotler, S.C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing, emeritus, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and Author, Marketing 4.0
 
“Kevin Kelley has an electrifying vision for the future of public space, and Irreplaceable is a must-read blueprint for anyone in the business of bringing folks together in real life. An entertaining, fascinating, and deeply informed master class on the art of persuading people to gather physically—one that makes a passionate case for human-oriented places in our increasingly digitized world.”
—Joe Fassler, Author, Light the Dark, and former Atlantic Columnist

About the Author

Kevin Ervin Kelley, AIA, is an award-winning Architect, Experience Designer, and Cofounder of the bi-coastal strategic design firm Shook Kelley. As a lifelong advocate of bringing people together in prosocial settings, Kevin’s expertise is in studying how the environment of a place affects our behavior, perception, and decision-making. Since opening their firm’s doors in 1992, he has worked with executive leadership teams for some of the world’s most well-known brands, such as Harley-Davidson, Whole Foods Market, Kraft, The J.M. Smucker Company, The Cleveland Orchestra, professional sports teams, universities, urban districts, and hundreds of local and regional businesses to stay relevant and profitable in our rapidly changing modern landscape.

In addition to being a frequent speaker at retail, food, and other consumer conferences in the US and abroad, Kevin has taught courses at Harvard University and his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Matt Holt (March 12, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1637744749
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1637744741
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.32 x 0.99 x 9.32 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    5.0 5.0 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

About the author

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Kevin Ervin Kelley

Kevin Ervin Kelley

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Kevin Ervin Kelley, AIA, is an award-winning architect, experience designer, and principal of Shook Kelley, a strategic design firm he and Terry Shook, FAIA, cofounded in 1992. As a lifelong advocate of bringing people together in prosocial settings, Kevin’s expertise is in studying how the environment of a place affects our behavior, perception, and decision-making. Since opening their firm’s doors, he has worked with executive leadership teams for some of the world’s most well-known brands, such as Harley-Davidson, Whole Foods, Kraft, JM Smucker, The Cleveland Orchestra, professional sports teams, universities, urban districts, and hundreds of local and regional businesses to stay relevant and profitable in our rapidly changing modern landscape.

In addition to being a frequent speaker at retail, food, and other consumer conferences in the U.S. and abroad, Kevin taught courses at Harvard University and his alma mater, the University of N.C. at Charlotte. As technological replacements increasingly decimate the physical world and human interaction, Kevin gives away everything he’s learned in the field and the boardroom in his debut book, Irreplaceable: How to Create Extraordinary Places that Bring People Together.

Customer reviews

5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

teri Slavik-Tsuyuki
5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME book for anyone working hard to create places and experiences that matter to people.
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is one of the best books I have read on placemaking that brings people together. I read it over 2 days on my SAN-JFK flights to attend the Urban Land Institute meeting last week. Still spinning from the actionable insights and wisdom.
"Despite our incredible advances in health, transportation, computing and science, the quality of everyday places today seems more brutal and less human. Homes feel bigger but cheaper. Streets feel wider but harsher. And buildings appear more modern but less friendly. So much of the built environment today is about quantity and efficiency, not the quality of human experience and community engagement."

And no book about the retail experience would be complete without addressing the digital vs. physical realm >>> "People don't want to choose one over the other. They want a healthy balance of digital convenience, physical experience, social interaction and community connection." The last two in this list IMHO are those that are most often forgotten.

Kevin Ervin Kelley, AIA challenges us to think about our "EVP" - our Experience Value Proposition. In everything we do, the "experience is core to the offering, not a side issue, or a nice-to-have layer sprinkled on top."

And here is quite possibly my very favorite take away from this great read, and one I will use in all planning and design workshops from now on >>>
"How can we ensure our guests have a physical, social, and emotional experience that transcends the work required to acquire our offering, and provides a payoff that can't be found elsewhere, including online?"

READ THAT ONE AGAIN!

Transcends the work required to acquire our offering ... finding it, getting to it, understanding it, pricing it, thinking about whether it will make life better, raising your hand to engage, giving up your information and personal data, buying it, continuing to use it, feeling good long-term or dealing with regret...
All of this is "battery-draining".

"Our goal as experience designers is to transform as many battery-draining places as possible into human recharging stations."

We all know it when we feel it! That experience that re-charges us. We take pics and tell others about it. Let's get to work on creating MORE of these places, and not take the path of least resistance or the way we've always done it.
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Paul Weintraub
5.0 out of 5 stars Retail is not dead, it needs more creatives like Kevin!
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2024
Verified Purchase
I've been eagerly anticipating Kevin Ervin Kelley, AIA's book, Irreplaceable, ever since I heard about its upcoming release.

His transformative work on South Industrial Blvd in Charlotte, morphing it into the South End we cherish today, showcases his passion and visionary approach to creating inclusive spaces. Kelley's commitment to architecture that serves everyone is both admirable and deserving of applause.

📖 To me, the mark of a captivating book is the number of pages I feel compelled to fold down for a second read. In Irreplaceable, I found myself bookmarking 20 pages that I knew I'd want to revisit. The importance of learning from and valuing the creatives who sculpt our physical world cannot be overstated. It's their thoughtful designs that often drive our desires to visit places like Paris or London, cities shaped by visionaries who prioritized community, gathering, and interaction.

"While the Amazon's of the world may have a lock on price, variety, and convenience, they don't have a monopoly on joy, delight, surprise and social bliss." + "It's more illuminating to "feel" great retail with your feet, eyes, ears and nose." That is why retail continues to change and must, as WE continue to change. The retailers and great places must speak to all of our senses vs. our desires. It's why developments like Santana Row and The Grove continue to spark joy for their shoppers, diners and guests.

Like Kevin, "I've been a lifetime student of the business of place-making and place branding. The more I learn about psychology, sociology cultural anthropology, biology, neuroscience, branding and the design of places, the more I realize how much we still have to learn, uncover, and incorporate into our system."

Kevin's Irreplaceable delves into how intentional design can unite people, fostering connections and community. It's a testament to the power of architecture in shaping our experiences and interactions.
#highlyrecommended #retailrealestate #designforgood
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Best insight into place making
Reviewed in Sweden on April 30, 2024
Verified Purchase
If you are a brand specialist, concept developer, place developer or architect, this is a book you must read. Kevin Kelley's experience and insight into how good places are made and how indispensable they are, both as common property in our society and places for belonging for the individual is described in a systematic and detailed way. This is the best book in the field for anyone working with place development. The book provides a concrete description of the process for creating irreplaceable places.
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Stephen Spencer
5.0 out of 5 stars IRREPLACEABLE!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2024
Verified Purchase
I can't recommend this book too highly, to anyone responsible for managing physical places and brands that deliver experiences. It explores why the need for humans to visit places is fundamental to our existence - but places that don't enrich us will increasingly become irrelevant. In other words, if your place delivers products, services, and experiences that either can be obtained online, or that aren't worth the pain of getting there, then you have a problem. Author Kevin Ervin Kelley, AIA then sets out his blueprint for creating places that will "bring friends, neighbours and strangers together... in ways the digital replacements can't replicate".

This is a very important book, and will inform a generation of placemakers to create a world in which digital serves physical, not the other way round. Thanks to the great Paco Underhill for the recommendation.
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