Susan Rodriguez is an architect in NYC and leads a design studio in the Chelsea Arts district, just west of the High Line. The work of the studio focuses on designing at the intersection of architecture and the public realm to create buildings and spaces that distill the essence of cultures and communities. Her award-winning work is recognized internationally for its contribution to the vitality of cities and landscapes and the institutions they serve. She founded Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture · Design in 2017, combining more than thirty years of design leadership with a passionate belief in the power of architecture to affect change and improve the quality of life for all. She is a recipient of the Women in Architecture Design Leader Award from Architectural Record recognizing the breadth and impact of her built work over the last three decades through the excellence in the design of buildings for the arts, culture, education and civic institutions. Prior to creating her own firm, she was a founding Partner and Design Principal in Ennead Architects (formerly Polshek Partnership).

She lectures frequently on her work and has taught numerous design studios at Cornell, Columbia and City College. She actively promotes the importance of design in the public realm as a longtime board member of the Architectural League of New York and one of the founding board members of Art Works Projects: Art + Design for Human Rights. Ms. Rodriguez received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, where she serves as the co-chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council and is a former trustee of the University. She received a master’s degree in architecture from Columbia University and is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. 

In her presentation, she will discuss designing in the public realm and the work of the studio which serves a diverse range of communities from off-the-grid rural locations to dense urban neighborhoods of New York City. Some of her notable projects include The Sinatra School of the Arts, the Lycée Français de New York, the Davis Center for Human Ecology at College of the Atlantic, Lodging for the cast and crew of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, and the new Harlem Meer Center in Central Park. She will share some of these projects with you in her discussion of Architecture for all: Designing at the Intersection of Place, Purpose, History and Community Culture.