Enriching the Conversation

“As architects we set a vision for how we can live,” said Ilana Judah from the Center for Architecture stage. For Judah, a sustainability officer at KPF, and her co-panelists, the climate crisis is poised to transform expectations of designers—ours and their own. Or, as Yasemin Kologlu, a principal at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, observed, “We are no longer designers, we have to [also] be activists, engineers, and advocates, [to] play a bigger role, to use what we have and collaborate with others.” Christina X. Brown affirmed the architect’s ability to “understand different perspectives with one common goal across stakeholders.” She offered a biographical note about her diverse experiences as a child growing up in Tianjin, Bangalore, and North Carolina and pondered how practitioners like herself (she is an environmental performance specialist at KPF) might “bridge better connections” across communities and nature. Gensler’s Mallory Taub expanded on the importance of “bringing people together.… Inclusive perspectives are important and enrich these conversations.” and …