A visit with Susan Szenasy

Last evening, we visited with Susan Szenasy, the editor and chief of metropolis magazine.  When Larry asked Susan when she first encountered sustainability, she said it was always a part of her life.  Susan told us about her childhood during the cold war and escape to the United States.  As she spoke, I wondered if my fellow classmates and other sustainability advocates had similar experiences.  Do we value sustainability because of an experience in our life that made sustainability inherent to us?  The generations to come have been said to be more sustainably minded.  I wonder what makes the coming generations more likely to be concerned, is it simply a raised awareness or has there been common experiences that would shape this reaction.   

We have been thinking all semester about how human behavior is the cause and hopefully the solution to our sustainability issues.   Like Design, I don’t think there is one solution for sustainability.  As Paul Hawken notes in ‘Blessed Unrest’, the sustainable movement is powerful because there is no one mission statement or one authority.  There cannot be one solution for all these wicked problems.

As the first semester in my master’s studies in ‘Interior Sustainable Environments’ comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about our process and journey thus far.  I believe we have all gone through quite a few phases and feelings of ‘anger’ and ‘depression’ and ‘desperation’.  Although insanely stressed about the workload I have to accomplish this next week,  I am happy to report that last night I think I reached a feeling of ‘content’.  Like every generation and society before us and every one that follows, we will have challenges but design gives us a real chance to address this really important challenge of sustainability.   Susan was right last night when she said design is powerful.  She was also right when she said  that a seemingly impossible challenge is an amazing opportunity for a new way of thinking.

Now I guess I am moving on to trying to prove the connection of how design can impact sustainable actions.   But for now, I leave you with two quotes from Susan’s speech “What Happened? Where Do We Go From Here?” :

“So the growing impact of these two sister movements, sustainability and accessibility, lead me to think that the English historian Arnold Toynbee might have been correct when he wrote that “The 20th century will be chiefly remembered by future generations not as an era of political conflicts or technological inventions but as an age in which human society dared to think of the welfare of the whole human race as a practical objective.”

The time is coming for building that road to a design that no longer needs to call itself “sustainable” or “universal”—just good, need-oriented, environmentally sensitive design. Just design. Design with justice at its core.”

Snow Day

Yesterday, our class weathered the storm and headed to the botanical gardens for a tour of a LEED platinum building.  I have worked on many LEED buildings and am pretty well versed in the process from the AEC prespective.  It was really nice to receive a tour from the building manager/user prespective.  Our tour guide seemed extremely proud of the building and excited to share it's story.  He brielfy mentioned thinking as a child that his father was silly for his backyard compost and caring about what got poured down the drain.  Now, he manages a building that recycles water and composts among other things.  Our tour guide seemed very invested in the sustainble success of the building  He mentioned that most of the users were proud of the building and accepted the positive sustainable attributes.  I wonder if it has impacted how the users act in the space and in their personal lives.  The tour guide also mentioned that he doesn't think 'you can force it (sustainability) down their (the users) throats.'  I wonder if he has seen any skeptics changed by their experience with the building.  I am contimplating doing research about how sustainable features in building impact user's actions.  As designers, we frequently make decisions to best fit our user's needs and shape shape to impact their experiences.  I wonder what kind of space shape and features can promote sustainable actions in users.

Violating Social Norms

So I have been having a bit of a problem violating social norms.  Mostly, I haven't been getting the responses I anticipated.  At first I was wondering if maybe it was because I  looked too naive but after reading Stephanie's blog, I am wondering if maybe its just NY.  Here are some of my experiences:

Please use revolving doors
I walked through the double doors at work, the ones with the signs posted asking us to use the revolving doors and nothing happened.  I walked right through, with an air of confidence and an 'I know exactly what I am doing' expression and I got nothing.  The guard didn't look at me.  People went about their business and no one followed me.  I wasn't too worried about the reaction I intended to receive but was very upset when I got no reaction.

Bagging Produce
Went to the grocery store and decided to ban the produce plastic bags.  We regularly bring our own bags to the grocery store but always bag up our produce by category just as everyone else does.  I thought about it and realized it was just a convenience and sort of a waste.   I don't really think this falls under the category of social norm but this simple change got a reaction so I thought I'd share.  I picked up apples and threw them right into my bag loose.  I did the same with grapefruit.  None of my fellow shoppers seemed bothered by my decision but when time came for check out the register lady seemed quite annoyed.  She gathered all of my produce up, categorized it to weigh, and put it in a plastic bag.  When I told her I didn't need the bag she said "well, they are all already in there" so I just took the bag.  I guess my attempt to be less wasteful kind of failed but at least I got a reaction.

Dog park
I pass by the dog park everyday on my walk to work.  I am very allergic to all animals with fur but I do love them.  I have to continually disappoint my boyfriend, Erik, every time he asks if we can get a dog.  Yes, he does know the answer and ask continually anyway.  So on our way home from OHNY tours, I asked him if he would like to go to the dog park.  He, of course, excitedly said yes.  We entered the gated area with obviously no dog of our own.  I looked around for reactions from dog owners as Erik talked to all the dogs.  There were only a few owners that afternoon but not a one of them seemed bothered by our visit.  We hung out for a while playing with other people's dogs and then left again obviously petless.  Unfortunately, not much came out of our violation other then a saddened Erik still longing for a 'pup pup.'

I am hoping to push the boundaries this coming week to see if I can get better reactions than I have been receiving.  I am thinking of doing a bit of experimenting to see if norm violations I made here in NY are more or less accepted in Harrisburg PA on a trip out there next weekend.  I am also thinking about having Erik commit some of the same violations I commit to see if he receives different reactions, being a male. 

These norm violations reminded me of a very specific memory from my semester abroad.  I arrived in Italy in January, a time very few tourist, other than American students, can be found in Florence.  I enjoyed a few month there before tourist season official began.  I remember a bright day right around Easter when I left for class to find the street crowded with outsiders bunched in groups pointing at the Duomo.  As I dodged the masses I remember being annoyed.  Later that same day, my friend and I were enjoying dinner at our favorite local pizza place, Nerone, when an I noticed a obviously American group in the front of the restaurant.  I remember a woman from the group, in a loud bothered tone asking the hostess how they didn't know when there would be a table available.  She wanted to know why they couldn't just make reservations.  "If we are going to wait then tell us where we can get a drink.  Can I at least get a beer."  I was mortified. I remember thinking, "this is why no one likes Americans.  I can't believe I am associated with people like this.  Italy is not Disney World and who in their right mind orders beer in Italy."

Violations of social norms are going to be different for every society and culture.  Social norms may be most obvious in areas where 'norm' is well defined for the everyone.  I doubt that American woman in Florence even knew how obnoxiously she was violating a Italian norm, even though at home her actions may have been acceptable.  I wonder if at home in America, she tells people she is Italian.

FIT MAPS

Map 1:

At the time I created this map, I did not have very much experience with FIT.  I knew the basics but was just starting to get an understanding of where I was.  The map is simply a basic outline of my understanding of FIT through my few experiences.

Map 2:
You can start to see in map two how my experiences at FIT have increased.  You can also begin to see how I have placed FIT in a context of the other experiences I have had around the school.

Map 3:
In map 3, I explored my sensory experiences.  Unlike the maps above, this map gives more insight into how I feel in some FIT spaces.

Annotated Bibliogrpahies

Module 3 annotated bibliographies are posted!

elevator entertainment

It was a bad angle to take a photo but I noticed that everday people tend to watch the TV monitor as we ride the elevator to the different floors. We are only in the elevator for a few minutes but it seems everyone is always uncomfortable in the confined space. Is the TV really informative or just something to look at?

headphones

It is very common to see people working at their desks in headphones around my office. I, myself, have been known to use them. Its funny to me that I put on my headphones to keep myself focused and eliminate distractions. you would think the sound would be a distraction. It is tough to see in the image but two of the three guys working in this image are wearing headphones.

small screens

I noticed in the office, we frequently view things together on a screen. The workstations just don't seem to accomodate two people trying to work. We have touch down spaces and collaborative work spaces but they don't sovle the problem of two people trying to view the same screen. the regular desk user always seems to have to get up and move away from the desk inorder to have their visitor really see what is going on. In this image, you can see a person in a chair far behind the other person. Both are trying to sovle an issue with a cad file.

The new baby

My boyfriend's only brother just had their first baby. I didn't get many good shots of how she has effected us but wow. It sure is amazing the accomodations that have been made for this small person. I have attached two images, one of grandpa tony, a veteran baby holder, and one of my Erik, holding his first baby. You'll notice how tense Erik seems. He is starting to get comfortable with her now but the tough rocking chair in the hospital was probably not the best place for him to relax with her.

Module 2

My module 2 annotated bibliographies can be found now on the annotated bibliographies page.

Please use revolving doors

Everyday I pass through these revolving doors, into and out of my building at work.  There is a sign on the adjacent double doors that says, "please, use revolving doors."  I always wonder to myself as the doors get clogged up in the morning and evening rush why we cannot use the adjacent double doors.  I have seen people lug suitcases and open umbrellas through those revolving doors.  Sometimes in the morning, I struggle for the strength to get them moving.  Some day, I am going to have the time to sit and wait until someone gets fed up and uses those unlocked double doors.  I wonder if the building regulars would continue to use the double doors if the sign was removed.

Annotated Bibliographies

Just in case you didn't see them because you get your updates from google reader, I have posted my annotated bibliographies on a separate page in my blog.  I will send out and update alert in the main post so you know when to check them out.  There is also a page for a collection of vocabulary I am developing.

Environmental Autobiography

Our class was tasked with thinking about 'place' and writing about one place memory and how that 'place' has effected our values.  I must admit, I found it difficult to choose one place to discuss.  The places that seemed to have the most effect on my values seemed to be the same places where I have tons of memories.  I eventually decided on a memory I had in my childhood home in the center of my family's small universe, the dining room.  My family gathered there for dinner, every weeknight.  I am sure each member of my family has different memories of this place and certainly has a different perspective of our shared memories.  The night the church delivered food to our door was a night I will never forget.  It was a generous thought considering my father had been unemployed for two years at that time but that was certainly not my initial reaction.  It is amazing to think that six very close people all reacted to the same event in a different way.  At that time, I didn't recognize how the residual effects of one night's event could impact our family as a whole.  I didn't realize how all of our different experiences in the same place effected us and how they brought us together. 

Like many of you out there, this is my very first time blogging.  Please comment on my posts whenever you wish.  I look forward to filling up the empty pages of the site and am excited to read all of your thoughts.