{program_image_alt Lecture Exhibition

The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body & Design

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

American adults, on average, sit between nine to 10 hours per day. This lively discussion will focus on the sociological development of chair design and its relationship to the body, posture, and ergonomics. Dr. Galen Cranz of the University of California, Berkeley teaches social and cultural approaches to architecture and urban design, she is also the author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body & Design.


Galen Cranz is Professor of Architecture at the University of California at Berkeley, a Ph.D. sociologist from the University of Chicago, and a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique. She teaches social and cultural approaches to architecture and urban design. Emphasizing ethnography as a research method, she brings users’ as well as creators’ perspectives to our understanding of built environments.