"I am finding the book to be an incredibly useful resource!"

     "A must read."

"The tone is open, direct, forgiving, non-preachy,and highly understandable."

About the Author

contact by email:  ann at designers-atlas dot net

Thousands of designers who need to master the interdisciplinary nature of sustainable design or design activism turn to author and collaborative design strategist Ann Thorpe. Readers sing the praises of The Designer’s Atlas of Sustainability, calling it “inspiring,” and  “a must read.”  Thorpe’s newest title (July 2012)  is Architecture & Design versus Consumerism: How Design Activism Confronts Growth. (Stay tuned to the blog http://designactivism.net for more information.)

Thorpe’s been recognized for co-founding the first-ever chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, Cascadia, and has helped many organizations develop research and fully subscribed events and programs on topics such as product stewardship and sustainable consumption. A decade’s worth of students and professionals worldwide take inspiration from Thorpe’s accessible and generously illustrated talks on sustainable design and design activism, which audiences describe as “brain-opening,” “intriguing and insightful,” and full of “unusual angles.” Thorpe discovered her passion for unusual angles when at age 14 she spent time in Paris with her French class, seeing a different culture as well as seeing her own from a different perspective. Thorpe’s aim is to harness multiple perspectives to help architects and designers become better change agents for the common good.

Thorpe holds a BS in Design and Environment from Stanford University, an MA in Energy and Resources from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in Design and Innovation from the Open University. Originally from Seattle, she lives in London with her husband and two sons.

 

 

Past Events

2012
14 March , Royal College of Art, London

2011
Keynote address on the topic of design and sustainable consumption at Sustainable Design Between Ethics and Aesthetics, Research Seminar.


London: chaired an event on “Design after Consumerism: social and material resources” featuring Steve Broome (Research Director at RSA) and Ed van Hinte (chairman, editor/curator of Lightness Studios, NL). videos and audio from this series is available through the website of the host project, “Scarcity and Creativity in the Built Environment.”

Workshop on “Architecture and Design after Consumerism” as part of UCL’s Cities Methodologies, London

2009
Icelandic Academy of the Arts, Rekjavik
Nordic House, Nordic Fashion Biennale, Rekjavik

2008
Considerate Design, Gothenburg, Sweden
Clothing & Conscience, Swedish Embassy, Washington
Design within Reach, Washington D.C.
University of Washington, Seattle
Design within Reach, Seattle
Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver Canada

Inkwell online discussion

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