Methods of Design Engagement

As a Faculty Fellow in Engaged Scholarship, Suzanne Lettieri is pursuing research and critical writing on expansive forms of mentorship for underrepresented students interested in the built environment. As part of her first independent book, tentatively titled How to Engage: Methods, Early Education and Architecture Pedagogy, Lettieri is studying the impact of design-build work as a method of engagement and a means to develop lasting mentoring relationships.

In summer 2022 she started a design-build experience with local high school students in Ithaca, and in fall 2022 she is teaching the Design-Justice Mellon Seminar. The seminar is traveling to Detroit to work with high school students, local artists and activists. Part of our course ambition is to test methods of fieldwork that reduce hierarchies and explore expertise from a variety of voices and backgrounds.