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 Jonsara Ruth, co-founders of the Parsons Material Lab, noted the gendered dimension of sustainability work, which skews toward women. “Does gender have an effect on your work?” asked Ruth. In response, the panelists recognized the women mentors and educators who had inspired them. Kologlu, mother to a young child, said she felt driven by parental instinct—not necessarily by gender—to leave a better world for the next generations.