TASOULLA HADJIYANNI
University of Minnesota
SAY IT LOUD - MINESOTA Exhibitor
Minesota Based Designer
Who or what inspires you professionally?
Stories of resilience inspire me, such as those of Black, immigrant, and indigenous women entrepreneurs. Landscapes of Hope features many of these stories as the answers for how to create a just world for are right here, in front of our eyes.
TASOULLA HADJIYANNI
Bio:
The great designer, Tasoulla Hadjiyanni, Ph.D. is Northrop Professor of Interior Design at the University of Minnesota. A refugee from Cyprus, she advocates for Culturally Enriched Communities, using research, education, design, and policy to create communities in which everyone can thrive. Hadjiyanni’s award-winning teaching pedagogies have been used to decolonize design education. Her work is recognized with the IIDA Educator Diversity Award and the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Community Service Award.
How did you first learn about architecture and when did you decide that built environment profession was an area of interest for you?
My great-grandfather was an architect, builder, and sculptor who practiced in the 1920s, when Cyprus, my home country, was a British colony. His story of decolonizing minds through architecture at a time when people lacked resources guides me.
What do you do?
I am a storyteller – I collect stories and share stories with diverse audiences. These are the stories of communities whose voices are often not heard, such as immigrants and minorities, which help us see the invisible power of design to shape lives.
What excites you in the work you do?
The connections my work allows me to form with my students, colleagues, design practitioners, organizations, policy makers, advocates, and of course diverse community members both in the US and abroad.
Who or what inspires you professionally?
Stories of resilience inspire me, such as those of Black, immigrant, and indigenous women entrepreneurs. Landscapes of Hope features many of these stories as the answers for how to create a just world for are right here, in front of our eyes.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment or achievement?
My book "The Right to Home – Exploring How Space, Culture, and Identity Intersect with Disparities" uses stories of Hmong, Somalis, Mexicans, Ojibwe, and African-Americans in MN to uncover how design intersects with the production of disparities.
Featured Project Name:
Culturally Enriched Communities
Featured Project Location:
Minnesota
Featured Project Completion Date:
On-going
Role in Featured Project:
Founder, director, author, and editor
Featured Project Description:
Culturally Enriched Communities advocates for research, education, designs, and policies that use the built environment to eliminate disparities and create communities in which everyone can thrive. As a digital resource, www.cec-design.com reaches elected officials, planners, affordable housing providers, designers, educators, and advocates. The platform includes covid19 responses from around the world as well as stories of buildings impacted by the call for racial justice in Landscapes of Hope.
