Book Talk with Christie Coffin

On June 21th Christie Coffin will discuss her latest book: Making Places for People: 12 Questions Every Designer Should Ask, at Laurel Bookstore, Oakland.

Making Places for People explores twelve social questions in environmental design. Authors Christie Johnson Coffin and Jenny Young bring perspectives from practice and teaching to challenge assumptions about how places meet human needs. The book reveals deeper complexities in addressing basic questions, such as: What is the story of this place? What logic orders it? How big is it? How sustainable is it? Providing an overview of a growing body of knowledge about people and places, Making Places for People stimulates curiosity and further discussion. The authors argue that critical understanding of the relationships between people and their built environments can inspire designs that better contribute to health, human performance, and social equity―bringing meaning and delight to people’s lives.

Christie Johnson Coffin practices architecture in the Western Unites States and internationally in Taiwan, India, and Nicaragua, with a focus on social design for health-care and research laboratory buildings. She is also author of Changing Hospital Environments for Children.

Jenny Young teaches design and human factors in design. Her research on small town development focuses on the roles public buildings play in town stability and vitality. Her architectural practice includes consulting on schools, libraries, clinics, and designing residential projects.

Electronic and paper versions of the book is available here