Conversations in Context invited leaders from creative fields to reflect on the site’s past, present, and future, and to contribute their perspectives on the Glass House and its significance to contemporary debates.

Dr. Theodore H.M. Prudon FAIA is an architect, scholar, educator and author specializing in the preservation of the architecture of the modern movement. As the founding president of Docomomo US (Documentation and Conservation of Buildings, Sites, and Neighborhoods of the Modern Movement), Prudon leads the national chapter and serves on the international board of the global organization dedicated to preserving Modern architecture. Prudon is a Dutch-born architect and current principal of Prudon & Partners, an architectural design firm specializing in restoration. He is a professor of historic preservation at Columbia University and Pratt Institute, and recently published his seminal work entitled Preservation of Modern Architecture (Wiley, 2008), a professional reference for professionals in the built environment, exploring the philosophical and practical issues inherent to the preservation of Modernism. In 2012, the book will be published in both a Chinese and a Japanese translation.

Shashi Caan advocates for an expanded role of design in society by bridging the divide between design practice, theory, and education. Ms. Caan is interested in optimizing human potential through design; she currently serves as President of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers and is both Founder and Principal of The Collective, a firm focused on integrating social and environmental stewardship and creative design solutions across a diversity of built environments. An active author, educator and practitioner, she was born in India and holds a BFA from Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland, as well as Masters degrees in Industrial Design and in Architecture from Pratt Institute, New York. She was formerly both Executive Chair of the International Design Alliance, and Chair of the Interior Design Program at Parsons the New School for Design.

The 2011 season of Conversations in Context was generously sponsored by BMW and Design Within Reach.

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