Steelcase - 100th Anniversary of the Meyer May House

Symposium Panelists:

Susan S. Szenasy
Editor In Chief, Metropolis

Susan S. Szenasy is Editor in Chief of Metropolis, the award-winning magazine of architecture, culture, and design. Strong in her belief that architecture and design are humanist activities, she has led the magazine since 1986 through decades of landmark design journalism to domestic and international recognition.

Susan’s training was on the job — beginning with Interiors magazine she rose quickly from editorial assistant to senior editor until being named chief editor of Residential Interiors (a since bygone offshoot of Interiors). Today she is recognized as a preeminent authority on sustainability and design.

Throughout 2007, Susan toured the United States with the Metropolis film, Site Specific: The Legacy of Regional Modernism. She visited over 30 architecture firms to screen the documentary and lead discussions on environmental sustainability and the historic preservation of modern buildings. Metropolis’s second film, Brilliant Simplicity, debuting in the summer of 2008, is about the nature of design innovation in today’s historic, technological, and environmental context. Susan’s other on-screen appearances include offering her expertise on the Brad Pitt-narrated PBS series design e2 (2006) and e2 design (2007).

Susan’s commitment to design is also a commitment to educate the future generation of designers. She was a long time professor at New York’s Parsons School of Design and is a visiting lecturer at universities across the U.S. In 2007 Susan moderated Architecture 2030’s influential 2010 Imperative: Global Emergency Teach In, an educational gathering for the technological age, that was web-cast worldwide to a viewership of a quarter million students, professionals, and the environmentally concerned public.

Susan has played a primary role in organizing many popular professional conferences. These include the annual ICFF Metropolis Design Entrepreneurs Conference, Tropical Green, Wonderbrands, Wonderbrands West, Net@Work, Business UnUsual, and Teaching Green.

Susan has authored several books including The Home and Light, and sits on the boards of the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (formerly FIDER), FIT Interior Design, the Center for Architecture Advisory Board, the Landscape Architecture Foundation, and is co-founder of the post-9/11 civic group Rebuild Downtown Our Town (R.Dot). She has been honored with two International Interior Designers Association (IIDA) Presidential Commendations and is an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). In 2008 she was awarded the Patron’s Prize as well as a Presidential Commendation by American Society of Interior Designers (ASID); and the Medallion of Honor by the Society of American Registered Architects/ New York Council (SARA/NY).

Along with METROPOLIS Publisher Horace Havemeyer III, Susan was a 2007 recipient of the Civitas August Heckscher Award for Community Service and Excellence. Susan holds an MA in Modern European History from Rutgers University, and honorary doctorates from Kendall College of Art and Design, the Art Center College of Design, and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She lives in New York’s East Village in a small loft designed by Harry Allen, where she moved in 2001 to reduce her ecological footprint.

Shashi Caan, FRSA, IIDA
Principal, The Collective

With a diverse and international portfolio of work, Shashi Caan is lauded for her understated philosophy which unites the multiple layers of design in architecture, product and interiors. Focusing equally on design in the practice, teaching and research, her impact is felt particularly in the changed outcomes of design as a creative process for inquiry, invention and excellence, which is reflected in the work and unique business structure of The Collective.

A former Design Director and Associate Partner with the New York office of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, Shashi Caan has also served as the Chair of Interior Design at Parsons The New School for Design in NYC. Other prior affiliations include Gensler, Pratt Institute and the New York School of Interior Design, where she represented the faculty on the Board of Trustees.

Active with research for further development and improvement of design and design education, Shashi Caan is currently involved with New York’s Columbia University where she conducts a research effort to establish the parameters and content for a design curriculum. In her capacity as visiting professor, she teaches at the University of Monterrey, Mexico and at the Florida International University in Miami, Florida. She holds Masters Degrees in Architecture and Industrial Design from Pratt Institute and a BFA (hons) in Environmental Design from the Edinburgh College of Art, UK.

Recipient of numerous awards and recognition, Shashi Caan was Contract magazine’s US National 'Designer of Year’ 2004, Educator of Year for Greater NY in 2006 and winner of interiors and product design awards granted by the IIDA, GlobalShop, Hospitality Design and NeoCon. Her professional work and writings are well published in design journals and periodicals including in Metropolis Magazine, Architectural Record, Interior Design, I.D. and Contract.

Active in both the design and extended community she continues to serve on a number of boards and advisory councils which include IDLNY, United Nations Associations and 92nd Street Y in NY.

Andrew H. Dent, Ph.D.
Vice President, Library & Materials Research, Material ConneXion

Dr. Andrew Dent plays a key role in the expansion of Material ConneXion’s technical knowledge base. His primary function is to direct research into innovative products and processes for the global materials consultancy. His research directs the implementation of consulting projects and the selection of the more than 50-60 new materials juried into Material ConneXion’s Materials Library monthly. He oversees Material ConneXion’s libraries in New York, Milan, Cologne, Daegu, and Bangkok as well as an online database of over 4,500 materials.

Dr. Dent received his Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Cambridge in England. Prior to joining Material ConneXion, Dr. Dent held a number of research positions both in industry and academia. At Rolls Royce PLC, Dr. Dent specialized in turbine blades for the present generation of jet engines. He has completed postdoctoral research at Cambridge University and at the Center for Thermal Spray Research, SUNY, Stony Brook, NY. Other research projects, during this period, included work for the US Navy, DARPA, NASA, and the British Ministry of Defense.

Dr. Dent has contributed to many publications and books and is a frequent speaker on materials innovation across many design disciplines. He is the co-author of ‘Material Connexion: A Global Resource Of New And Innovative Materials For Architects, Artists And Designers’ with George M. Beylerian and “Ultramaterials: How Materials Innovation is Changing the World.” He currently writes “Material Innovation” - a bi-weekly column for BusinessWeek’s online Innovation Page.

Bob Adams
Design Strategist

Bob Adams consults and speaks internationally on the topics of sustainability and innovation. Since 2003 he has led the Design for Sustainability initiative at IDEO, one of the world’s leading design and innovation consultancies, where he is currently an IDEO Fellow. Trained in mechanical engineering, product design, and agronomy, Bob has been working on the integration of the design process with principles of sustainable development since 2001 when he joined The Natural Step to develop the Sustainable Design Services Initiative and authored the formative white paper Sustainability for Designers. Bob has worked in the field of design for 25 years, with corporate experience including Hewlett Packard, Interval Research Corporation, and J.N, Marshall Pvt. Ltd. (Pune, India). As a consultant he has advised such companies as Procter and Gamble, Cargill, Adobe Systems, Nissan, ConAgra, Natureworks, and Verdant Power on questions of the incorporation of sustainability into products, services, and business models. He has worked in the not-for-profit sector with such organizations as The Natural Step, Forum for the Future, Business for Social Responsibility, and Rocky Mountain Institute.

Since 1987, Bob has taught at Stanford University, London’s Royal College of Art, and the University of California at Davis, developing and teaching courses in product design, technology and aesthetics, human-computer interaction, music, and viticulture. He holds six patents in human-computer interface design, and has been the recipient of several international design awards. Since 1994, Bob has owned and operated a farm in the Sacramento Valley of California. His long-standing interest in sustainable agricultural practices led him to his current work in the field of sustainability. He is convinced that the potential for “redesigning design” is tremendous, and lies in a new integration of systems thinking, knowledge of the life sciences, principles of sustainability, and design process.

Bob holds advanced degrees in Viticulture from the University of California at Davis, and in Product Design from Stanford University. His undergraduate training was in Mechanical Engineering and Product Design at Stanford University."

Jeffrey Bernett
Industrial Designer

In September of 1995, Jeffrey Bernett founded his New York-based multi-disciplinary design consultancy.

At the May 1996 International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York City, Bernett presented his first collection, which was awarded the 1996 Editor’s Award for “Best of Show.” Bernett continues to work in many areas – residential and office furniture, household products, lighting, transportation design, graphic design, packaging and bottle design, environment and interior architecture, and strategic planning – winning numerous design awards along the way. In the emerging global market for design, Bernett has often been the first American chosen to work with several of his European clients. A partial list of clients includes B&B Italia, Bernhardt, Boeing, Boffi, Cappellini, DWR/Design Within Reach, Knoll, Ligne Roset, L’Oreal, Mercedes Benz and Northwest Airlines.

Bernett is regularly featured in design publications from around the world, and also is a frequent lecturer at design schools and events globally.

Toshiko Mori, FAIA
Architect

Toshiko Mori is the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and was chair of the Department of Architecture from 2002 to 2008. She is also principal of Toshiko Mori Architect, in New York City. In 2003 she was awarded the Cooper Union Inaugural John Hejduk Award. In 2005, Ms. Mori received the Academy Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Medal of Honor from the AIA New York Chapter. She is currently an advisor to A+U Magazine, serves on the President’s Council for the Cooper Union, and is a member of the Global Agenda Council for the World Economic Forum.

The work of Ms. Mori’s firm has been widely published and has received awards and prizes internationally. Current work includes houses in Connecticut, New York, Taiwan, and Mongolia, and institutional projects for Syracuse University, Brown University, and a master plan for New York University. In March 2009, she completed a visitor center for the Darwin D. Martin House, a 1905 Frank Lloyd Wright home in Buffalo, New York. A monograph of her work, Toshiko Mori Architect, was published by Monacelli Press last year.

Kristie Strasen
Design Consultant

Kristie Strasen has over 30 years of experience as an independent design consultant specializing in designing, coloring and styling textiles for both the contract and residential markets. Known for her design vision and intuitive color sense, Strasen has lent her expertise to many important firms throughout North America and Europe over the last three decades.

Strasen has won numerous industry awards for excellence in design and is highly regarded for her work with such industry luminaries as Robert Stern, Michael Graves, Orlando Diaz-Azcuy, Barbara Barry and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. She has made significant contributions to the textile collections of leading North American companies including DesignTex, Steelcase, Schumacher, HBF Textiles, and Keilhauer. Ms. Strasen has also designed hand-knotted carpets for Tufenkian Tibetan Carpets.

Strasen formed her textile consulting firm in 1986 and since that time has been engaged in countless color and design projects. She is highly respected for her ability to work across multiple disciplines and her design expertise is identified with a strong sense of color logic. She has been instrumental in establishing integrated systems of color in both textiles and hard surface finishes for several leading companies. Strasen’s work with the Art Institute of Chicago and the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is included in the permanent collections of those institutions.

Now designing under her own label, Strasen has integrated her considerable experience into an exciting vision for Place Textiles LLC. Place embodies Strasen’s keen sense of color and quite literally weaves it into a collection of stunning textures. With the official launch of Place in January 2006, Strasen brought a fresh approach to residential and high-end contract textiles. The company is now in its fourth year and represented in 14 showrooms throughout the U.S.

Strasen has two daughters and lives in New York City.

Michael Van Valkenburgh
Landscape Architect

As lead principal of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. (MVVA), with offices in New York City and Cambridge, Michael Van Valkenburgh has designed a wide range of project types including public parks (e.g., Teardrop Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City); civic landscapes (e.g., the redesign of the north end of Union Square Park and Green Market); and institutional landscapes (Master Plan for the Landscape of Princeton University and Bailey Plaza at Cornell). He has been the recipient of several ASLA design awards including the General Design Award of Excellence from the ASLA for his Alumnae Valley Restoration in 2006. In addition, Van Valkenburgh was a Design Fellow at the American Academy in Rome, and won the Cooper Hewitt's National Design Award in 2003.

He received a BS degree in landscape architecture from Cornell University and an MLA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also the Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Yale University Press has recently published a book on the work of MVVA, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates: Reconstructing Urban Landscapes, edited by Anita Berrizbeitia.

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