Sarah Susanka FAIA (born March 21, 1957) is an English-born American-based architect, an author of nine best-selling [1] books, and a public speaker. Susanka is the originator of the "Not So Big" philosophy of residential architecture, which aims to "build better, not bigger." Susanka has been credited with initiating the tiny-house movement. [2]
Susanka was born March 21, 1957, Knockholt, Kent, England, [3] and moved to the USA in 1971. [4] After graduating from the University of Oregon, she settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She pursued a master's degree in architecture from the University of Minnesota while working for several architecture firms. Her thesis was the basis of her "Not So Big" books. [1] She was a founding partner, along with her thesis advisor, of the Minneapolis-based residential architecture firm, Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady & Partners (now known as SALA Architects) before leaving to pursue her writing and speaking career full-time. Her company is Susanka Studios. [3]
She has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show , the Charlie Rose Show , and NPR's Diane Rehm Show , and her philosophies have appeared in various publications such as USA Today and The Wall Street Journal .
Susanka was dubbed "one of 18 innovators in American culture" by U.S. News & World Report in 1998. In 2004, Builder Magazine ranked her as No. 14 out of 50 "Power Brokers". She appeared on the "Environmental Power List" in Organic Style magazine that same year. In 2007, she received the Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award, an award given periodically to recognize "outstanding individual achievement, a spirit of initiative, and work that exemplifies great dedication toward making positive contributions to our world". [5]
She is a registered architect and certified interior designer as well as a member of the College of Fellows [6] of the American Institute of Architects and a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council. [7]
Susanka has proposed an approach to housing that values quality over quantity. She outlines a design language for homeowners, builders, and architects that is based on architectural elements such as framed openings (windows, doors, or doorways that are framed or nested in certain ways), spatial layering, visual weight, [8] diagonal views, and variations to ceiling height, all of which are intended to let the interior of a house feel comfortable and more spacious. [9] They are tools used to create a subjective feeling of separation and shelteredness yet interconnection with other parts of the house. [10]
In her work she refers to the pattern language of Christopher Alexander. [4] In the acknowledgements section of her book Not So Big House she refers to his book A Pattern Language , published 1977, as "inspiration for a generation of architects" as well as to her work. [11]
The basic philosophy of quality over quantity, or "build better, not bigger," is described in great detail in Susanka's first book, The Not So Big House, which discloses her conceptual principles, and in seven of her following books, including Creating the Not So Big House, Not So Big Solutions for Your Home, Home By Design, Inside the Not So Big House, Outside the Not So Big House, Not So Big Remodeling, and More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home. She expands on her philosophy into how we live our lives in her seventh book, The Not So Big Life, focusing on "quality, not quantity" of time and life experience.
Susanka resides in North Carolina. [3] She is a breast cancer survivor. [12]
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Christopher Wolfgang John Alexander was an Austrian-born British-American architect and design theorist. He was an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His theories about the nature of human-centered design have affected fields beyond architecture, including urban design, software, and sociology. Alexander designed and personally built over 100 buildings, both as an architect and a general contractor.
Theodate Pope Riddle was an American architect and philanthropist. She was one of the first American women architects and a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the garment.
David Johnston is president of What's Working, a design and consulting firm in Boulder, Colorado that specializes in environmental construction technology. For over 25 years, Johnston has been encouraging the building industry to focus more attention on sustainability and become "greener". He was responsible for the commercialization of passive solar technology and the integration of it into residential building, largely through industry trade organization activities.
Marion Mahony Griffin was an American architect and artist. She was one of the first licensed female architects in the world, and is considered an original member of the Prairie School. Her work in the United States developed and expanded the American Prairie School, and her work in India and Australia reflected Prairie School ideals of indigenous landscape and materials in the newly formed democracies. The scholar Deborah Wood stated that Griffin "did the drawings people think of when they think of Frank Lloyd Wright ."
Witold Rybczynski (pronounced:) is a Canadian American architect, professor and writer. He is currently the Martin and Margy Meyerson Professor Emeritus of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania.
The cottage garden is a distinct style that uses informal design, traditional materials, dense plantings, and a mixture of ornamental and edible plants. English in origin, it depends on grace and charm rather than grandeur and formal structure. Homely and functional gardens connected to cottages go back centuries, but their stylized reinvention occurred in 1870s England, as a reaction to the more structured, rigorously maintained estate gardens with their formal designs and mass plantings of greenhouse annuals.
Eleanor Raymond was an American architect.
Taunton Press is a publisher of periodicals, books, and websites for the hobbyist and building trades based in Newtown, Connecticut. It was established in 1975 by Paul Roman and his wife Jan.
The tiny-house movement is an architectural and social movement that advocates for downsizing living spaces, simplifying, and essentially "living with less." According to the 2018 International Residential Code, Appendix Q Tiny Houses, a tiny house is a "dwelling unit with a maximum of 37 square metres of floor area, excluding lofts." The term "tiny house" is sometimes used interchangeably with "micro-house". While tiny housing primarily represents a return to simpler living, the movement was also regarded as a potential eco-friendly solution to the existing housing industry, as well as a feasible transitional option for individuals experiencing a lack of shelter. Some states in the U.S. consider any home under 1,000 sq. ft. to be a tiny home expanding the offerings for many eager enthusiasts.
Richard Raffan is a well-known woodturner, author, and instructor who has helped popularize the craft of woodturning since the 1970s. He was a part of the "art turning" movement that saw turned objects move into galleries where they are presented as works of art. Although he has created large and valuable works of exotic woods, in his books he has also championed simple utilitarian works created for daily use. He finishes much of this work simply, using vegetable oil and beeswax, and has written admiringly of the patina of well used wooden items. "An indescribable surface that begs for a caress of the hand--that's what I think wood should provide."
Joseph Lstiburek is a forensic engineer, building investigator, building science consultant, author, speaker and widely known expert on building moisture control, indoor air quality, and retro-fit of existing and historic buildings.
George A. "Duo" Dickinson, Jr. is an American architect. Over a period of 30 years, he has built over 500 projects in over 10 states. Based in Madison, Connecticut, he maintains an office of 10 staff members.
Rose Ishbel Greely was an American landscape architect and the first female licensed architect in Washington, D.C.
Women in architecture have been documented for many centuries, as professional practitioners, educators and clients. Since architecture became organized as a profession in 1857, the number of women in architecture has been low. At the end of the 19th century, starting in Finland, certain schools of architecture in Europe began to admit women to their programmes of study. In 1980 M. Rosaria Piomelli, born in Italy, became the first woman to hold a deanship of any school of architecture in the United States, as Dean of the City College of New York School of Architecture. However, only in recent years have women begun to achieve wider recognition with several outstanding participants including five Pritzker prizewinners since the turn of the millennium.
Deck railing is a guard rail to prevent people falling from decks, stairs and balconies of buildings. Over time, many different styles of deck railing have been developed.
Caroline Pidcock is an Australian architect and a prominent advocate for sustainable development, based in Sydney, New South Wales.
Lois Davidson Gottlieb was an American architect best known for residential designs. She was born in San Francisco, California. Gottlieb's professional career spans more than 50 years. She practiced architecture in and outside the U.S. as a prolific residential designer. Most of her domestic designs can be found in California, Washington, Idaho and Virginia. Gottlieb's works have been featured in various publications, exhibits, and the documentary video made about her work on 'The Gottlieb House' in Fairfax Station, Virginia. Lois Davidson was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright as a part of the Taliesin Fellowship in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Wright's winter home and the western counterpart to Taliesin East in Spring Green, Wisconsin, 1948–1949. Gottlieb co-founded an architectural firm, Duncombe-Davidson, with A. Jane Duncombe, who is also one of the apprentices to Wright's Taliesin at that time. Gottlieb is also a former member of International Archive of Women in Architecture Board of Directors. She died on August 12, 2018 at age 91.
Kira Obolensky is an American playwright and author based in Minneapolis. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1997 in the field of drama and performance art. She won a Bush Foundation artist's fellowship in 1999.
Sarah Pink is a British-born social scientist, ethnographer and social anthropologist, now based in Australia, known for her work using visual research methods such as photography, images, video and other media for ethnographic research in digital media and new technologies. She has an international reputation for her work in visual ethnography and her book Doing Visual Ethnography, first published in 2001 and now in its 4th edition, is used in anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, photographic studies and media studies. She has designed or undertaken ethnographic research in UK, Spain, Australia, Sweden, Brazil and Indonesia.
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