PARSONS PRESENTS NEW SERIES ON
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DESIGN

Design with a Conscience Launches with Panel on Public Housing, November 5 at The New School

Just Green Housing, Della Valle Bernheimer

October 4, 2007- Parsons The New School for Design has announced the launch of “Design with a Conscience,” a series of lectures, symposia and exhibitions that will examine design in the context of social responsibility. The first program, “Design with a Conscience: Public Housing,” will take place on November 5 at The New School, 66 W. 12 Street, at 6:30 pm, and is free and open to the public.

“The series is inspired by the optimistic belief that design can and should play a major role in improving people’s lives,” said Parsons Director of Exhibitions & Public Programs Christopher Mount. “Parsons is emerging as a leader in the field of environmentally and socially responsible design. This series will further that role and encourage dialogue meant to inspire real-world change.”

 “Design with a Conscience: Public Housing” will focus on recently developed public and low-income housing. Among the panelists are Michael Maltzan, principal of Michael Maltzan Architecture, whose projects include Skid Row Housing Rainbow Apartments, a transitional housing complex for the homeless in downtown Los Angeles; Andy Bernheimer, principal of Della Valle and Bernheimer in New York, whose Just Green Housing project created an environmentally sustainable and affordable housing complex for families in East New York; and Alex Schwartz, chair of policy programs at Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy and author of “Housing Policy in the United States: An Introduction.” Following the presentations from the panelists, there will be a roundtable discussion moderated by Kent Kleinman, chair of the Department of Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting at Parsons.

Future events in the series will focus on design and poverty, sustainable design, medicine and design, and temporary housing, including a lecture in the spring by the Danish designer and manufacturer of the “Lifestraw,” Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen. Dates and additional speakers to be announced. For more information, visit www.parsons.newschool.edu/events or 212-229-8919.

Located in the heart of New York City, Parsons The New School for Design is one of the most prestigious and comprehensive degree-granting colleges of art and design in the nation. Parsons has been a forerunner in the field of art and design since its founding in 1896. Parsons’ rigorous programs and distinguished faculty embrace curricular innovation, pioneer new uses of technology, and instill in students a global perspective in design. For more information, visit www.parsons.newschool.edu.

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