thumb|right|200px|Sarah Susanka

Sarah Susanka (born March 21, 1957) is an English-born American-based architect, an author of nine best-selling

Biography

Susanka was born March 21, 1957, Knockholt, Kent, England, and moved to the USA in 1971. After graduating from the University of Oregon, she settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She pursued a master's degree in architecture from the University of Minnesota while working for several architecture firms. Her thesis was the basis of her "Not So Big" books. She was a founding partner, along with her thesis advisor, of the Minneapolis-based residential architecture firm, Mulfinger, Susanka, Mahady & Partners (now known as SALA Architects) before leaving to pursue her writing and speaking career full-time. Her company is Susanka Studios.

She is a registered architect and certified interior designer as well as a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects and a Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council.

Design language

Susanka has proposed an approach to housing that values quality over quantity. She outlines a design language for homeowners, builders, and architects that is based on architectural elements such as framed openings (windows, doors, or doorways that are framed or nested in certain ways), spatial layering, visual weight, diagonal views, and variations to ceiling height, all of which are intended to let the interior of a house feel comfortable and more spacious. They are tools used to create a subjective feeling of separation and shelteredness yet interconnection with other parts of the house.

In her work she refers to the pattern language of Christopher Alexander.

Books

The basic philosophy of quality over quantity, or "build better, not bigger," is described in great detail in Susanka's first book, The Not So Big House, which discloses her conceptual principles, and in seven of her following books, including Creating the Not So Big House, Not So Big Solutions for Your Home, Home By Design, Inside the Not So Big House, Outside the Not So Big House, Not So Big Remodeling, and More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home. She expands on her philosophy into how we live our lives in her seventh book, The Not So Big Life, focusing on "quality, not quantity" of time and life experience.

Personal life

Susanka resides in North Carolina.

Bibliography

  • (2008 10th Anniversary Edition)
  • Creating The Not So Big House: Insights and Ideas for the New American Home (2000)
  • Not So Big Solutions for Your Home (2002)
  • Home By Design: Transforming Your House Into a Home (2004)
  • Inside the Not So Big House: Discovering the Details That Bring a Home to Life (2005)
  • Outside the Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home (2006)
  • The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters (2007)
  • The Not So Big House: Home By Design DVD (2008)
  • Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home to Fit the Way You Really Live (2009)
  • More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home (2010)

See also

  • Small house movement
  • Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

References

  • The Not So Big House
  • About Sarah Susanka (official web site)
  • The Not So Big Life
  • Video of Sarah Susanka talking about her Not So Big philosophy
  • Sarah Susanka. “About Sarah Susanka.” Accessed October 19, 2021. <nowiki>https://susanka.com/about-sarah-susanka/</nowiki>.