Steve Lastro
Futurist, designer
Futurist, designer Steve Lastro. Photo: Sally Flegg
Interview by Janne Ryan | Photography by Sally Flegg, Eric Laignel, Fernando Mastrangelo, Adrian Gaut
Ambition and risk-taking are seductive. It’s easy to fall under their spell. Steve Lastro did. Pushed to the brink by depression and anxiety, this successful Sydney-born, recently New York-based designer and futurist urges us to re-imagine where we live and why. He suggests we consider moving out of the cities, re-thinking community and the way we build. Wellness – a new cultural force – is his focus.
What do you do?
I’m a technology futurist, designer and advisor, and wellness consultant. They’re connected. Wellness technology looks at the access people have to air, water and light. It’s about breaking down class barriers and social injustices. As a futurist, I’m always pushing boundaries, seeking to understand the way new technologies can change our world for the better.
Tiny House for NYCxDESIGN, an immersive small-space installation in Times Square, NY. Photo: Fernando Mastrangelo
How did you become a futurist?
I’ve had 20 years experience designing and implementing technology* in the commercial, residential, corporate and hospitality sectors around the world, creating experiences and environments integrating AV (audio visual), the Internet of Things (IoT), and wellness research. I started at the bottom learning everything from IT and computers to digital advertising. I had my head down for a while learning all that: I am okay for things to take time.
*Working in diverse industries from event production (Spring Studios) to hospitality (MINI Living by MINI, D&D London) and corporate (M&C Saatchi and Cartier) and philanthropy/business (LINQ-X).
Spring Place, New York. Photo: courtesy Spring Studios
What drives you?
I’m driven to make a real impact to our society by bridging the gap between technology and people.
What attracts you to change?
I like movement. I want to see things change for the better. I’ve worked with a lot of amazing people and projects, but I’ve seen how much money gets thrown away. I’ve also seen the other side of that: people suffering, people asking for not much. Technology is for everyone. It’s no longer a discretionary luxury commodity. Disruptive technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence), and the Internet of Things (IoT) allow us to re-think current ecological, economic and social pressures. I feel there is a global consciousness awakening.
Spring Place, New York. Photo: Eric Laignel
You live between New York and Sydney. Why?
I find the balance between chaos (NYC) and lifestyle (Sydney) to be the perfect relationship. It allows for inspiration to flow. But post-COVID I’ll be spending less time in New York and focusing on local projects in Sydney, as well as larger scale initiatives in the US, Asia and the UK.
Spring Place, New York. Photo: Adrian Gaut
“We should be expanding, not compressing our environment.”
What have you observed from this experience?
That we should consider moving out of cities.
Tiny House for NYCxDESIGN, an immersive small-space installation in Times Square, NY. Photo: Fernando Mastrangelo
Moving out of cities?
It’s something I’ve been exploring for a while. There’s been a migration to the cities over many decades now and this is good for some people, but not everyone. We should be expanding, not compressing our environment. What we’re doing at the moment is compressing (our cities) by going up. In 2019 we worked on a project in Times Square for NYCxDESIGN, called Tiny House.
Tiny House for NYCxDESIGN, an immersive small-space installation in Times Square, NY. Photo: Fernando Mastrangelo
It was an immersive, interactive and sensory space made from discarded materials. We worked on the technology that responds directly to the environment: the air, water, light and sound. It highlighted the different ways we can rethink the way we build. We’ve also done work with property developer Harry Handelsman* helping him design the technology in his buildings and building communities. The research shows a shift in where the younger generation wants to live: essentially they are more willing to move out of the city.
* Harry Handelsman, Founder and CEO, Manhattan Loft Corporation, is behind many highly respected developments in London and New York.
Tiny House for NYCxDESIGN, an immersive small-space installation in Times Square, NY. Photo: Fernando Mastrangelo
Game-changer moment?
Spending the day with leading designers Jan Boelen (re-thinking housing and communities) and Aldo Cibic (Founder, Memphis design movement) at Milan’s 2019 Salone del Mobile. Both have been a driving force for change by using bioplastics over recycled plastics, but also re-thinking things like happiness within our communities. We talked about loneliness. I didn’t realise that the work I had such passion for – technology – would bring about loneliness. I want to understand what loneliness is. We are in an unknown universe at the moment.
Tiny House for NYCxDESIGN, an immersive small-space installation in Times Square, NY. Photo: Fernando Mastrangelo
“If we want real change, technology needs to come from the heart.”
How is technology contributing to loneliness?
I’d always looked at technology from an experience standpoint. But if we want real change in our communities, technology needs to come from the heart. Now is the time to do something on a humanitarian scale.
What drives you?
A desire for real change in our communities, (re)connecting and inspiring my generation and the ones to come.
Tiny House for NYCxDESIGN and immersive small-space installation in Times Square, NYC. Photo: Fernando Mastrangelo
How do you stay focused?
This is challenging, especially in a city like New York, where you are always working against the clock, trying to reach unrealistic deadlines. But this has taught me resilience, and by this I mean in that there is always a solution.
“Resilience means there is always a solution.”
What does risk mean to you?
I am always taking risks. It’s easy to cut-and-paste from your last project, this is done a lot in New York, but you have to challenge yourself by treating every new project as a blank canvas. You learn by taking risks. I’ve had to embrace my vulnerabilities, learn to be less rigid, and more open to sharing.
“I’ve always been fearful of losing control.”
How do you push through difficulties?
I grew up in a Croatian family who migrated to Australia. It was tough being Croatian in that my family came from quite a repressed life in the former Yugoslavia. So there is always that behind me. As a kid I knew I had to do something different. I pushed myself constantly, and part of that was not letting my family down. While I am breaking away from that now, throughout my life I’ve constantly pushed myself to succeed. And I’ve always been fearful of losing control. It’s my competitive nature. Living in New York for example, you lose yourself in work; you’re never at home. But it has taken a toll. I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for years, and have recently been forced to rethink my entire lifestyle and priorities in life, redefining who I am and what I want to be.
I’ve had to embrace my vulnerabilities, learn to be less rigid and more open to sharing.
Steve Lastro. Photo: Sally Flegg
What has anxiety and depression taught you?
It’s been very challenging, but it has taught me to think differently. We’ve moved to Sydney (in response to COVID), and my two girls are in school here. It’s good. They were becoming real New Yorkers. And I’ve recently joined Alternative Thinkers, a group of visionaries and thought leaders committed to imagining and working towards a better future, focusing on issues surrounding mental health, wellness, climate change and urban planning.
What keeps you awake at night?
What the future will look like for my children and the next generation.
Where to from here?
Investing in projects that tackle sustainability and wellness. Mixing philanthropy with business, this is my main focus now. I’ve recently partnered with Sydney designer Tom Williams (director of Juicy Design) to think through where we live and why, explore what it is to move to the country, and to re-imagine our spaces. Tom’s designed a beautiful house and I’m bringing in the wellness elements and the technology, not just gadgets. It’s beautiful. I get goosebumps talking about it! It’s called Shed Life. In the first phase we are focused on re-building homes for people affected by the recent Australian bushfires. The second phase is to re-imagine our spaces, and we’re hoping to build smaller, connected communities.
