Online Service – Watch on Zoom only

Presenter: Tasoula Hadjiyanni.

Moderator: Sara Leiste

You may not think very much about how your choice of kitchen table influences the strength of your social connections, but design professor Tasoulla Hadjiyanni observes an unexpected relationship between the two. In this talk, she explains how the physical layout of our homes directly affects our ability to lead healthy and connected lives. 

A refugee from Cyprus, Tasoulla Hadjiyanni, Ph.D. uses her design profession to help create communities where everyone can thrive. By researching the ways in which the design of the built environment intersects with culture and identity, she sheds light on how physical, mental, economic and social costs associated with displacement can carry on for generations. In her most recent book, “The Right to Home,”, Hadjiyanni uses the stories of Hmong, Somali, Mexican, Ojibwe and African American families in Minnesota to explore how the design of residential interiors can support or suppress peoples’ ability to thrive. As the founder of Culturally Enriched Communities, Hadjiyanni advocates for built environments that help eliminate health, income, and educational disparities. She is an award-winning Professor of Interior Design at the University of Minnesota.