Susan Szenasy is one of the best known design critics and editors of the past four decades. During her tenure (from the mid 1980s until a few years ago), Metropolis magazine became one of the most expansive design publications in the American media landscape -- covering all disciplines and tackling sustainability as an integral part of design.
Lindsay Baker and I talked to Susan about ethics, trombe walls, why the disciplines don't talk to one another much, and how the "architects pollute" cover story in 2003 spotlighted built environment emissions. Susan's view on design is all-encompassing. She has the appreciation of a historian and the the gravity of a pragmatist (perhaps rooted in her childhood in Communist Hungary). She showed how a media platform could elevate voices and ideas -- about who design is for, how it relates to ecology and planet, how we teach it, and how it is valued and funded in our culture (and why that matters). A collection of her writing and talks is available in Szenasy: Design Advocate (Metropolis Books, 2014).
Listen on our site (www.designthefuture/episodes/susan-szenasy) or on your favorite podcast platform.
Thank you to our producers, Amber Artrip and Clare Becker.
Also: please drop us a note here or elsewhere about what you are reading or listening to that is making you think or giving you a boost as we roll into 2022.
#designthefuture #climateaction #womeninsustainability #womeningreen
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Kira Gould
Kira Gould CONNECT
Oakland CA
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