I found this to be a really inspiring adjacency to how we both think of design as a culture, and how we value design as a culture. Design and experience by definition have become synonymous with one another, and as a result inspired some wonderful works and theoretical assumptions throughout all design disciplines. As a current product designer and ex-architect, I can empathize on your position to the importance design has on the world at large.
On another note, I read a quote to the effect of, “architecture is the mother of all arts.” As a design discipline or art form, architecture is in fact a breathing living machine with which we interact with and experience on a daily basis. From home to work, and all of the spaces between, the built environment has a profound impact on the day to day experiences we all share. That being said, it always is set on a concrete foundation — literal I know, but for the purposes of conversation, it is worth some consideration. Design as a whole is based on the ideas of concept generation, program organization, ideation, and evaluation. With that in mind, how does the iterative and evaluation process lend itself to such a design discipline? And furthermore, why do we as a culture care so little about a design ethos as it relates more specifically to the design of architecture?