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'Green' architecture expert to lecture

By Kari VanDerVeen
April 21, 2008

"We shape our buildings," said Winston Churchill in 1943, "and afterwards our buildings shape us." Thomas Fisher, dean of the School of Design at the University of Minnesota, will talk about the role of architecture and sustainable design in the 21st century during a presentation at St. Olaf College April 23.

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Fisher
The lecture, titled "Architectural Design and Ethics: Tools for Survival" will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Holland Hall 501. It is free and open to the public.

Looking at the intersections of ethics and aesthetics in a world facing immense environmental problems, Fisher challenges architects and designers to respond creatively to the opportunity for creating a culture of permanence. Using examples from history and contemporary design, Fisher shows how architects, who always shape the built environment, can also shape the social, environmental and moral environments as well. And he shows all Americans how to use their "designing minds" to help shape both private and public space into sustainable environments.

Fisher is a professor and dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. Educated in architecture and intellectual history, he previously served as the editorial director of Progressive Architecture. He has published two-dozen book chapters and more than 250 major articles on architecture and society. His books include In the Scheme of Things: Alternative Thinking on the Practice of Architecture, as well as his new book, Architectural Design and Ethics: Tools for Survival.

Fisher's appearance at St. Olaf is sponsored by the Environmental Studies Department and the David and Lissa Leege Endowment for Global Responsibility.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.