Open House New York and Rizzoli Bookstore invite you to a conversation between Lily Bernheimer and Gregory Wessner, Executive Director, Open House New York, about Bernheimer’s new book The Shaping of Us: How Everyday Spaces Structure Our Lives, Behavior, and Well-Being.

The spaces we inhabit–from our homes and workspaces to the city’s streets—mediate community, creativity, and our very identity, making us who we are. Combining research from environmental psychology, architecture, and design practice, The Shaping of Us explores how the built and natural worlds subtly influence our behavior, health, and personality. From caves and cathedrals to our current housing crisis and the dreaded open-plan office, Bernheimer demonstrates that for our well-being, we must reconnect with the power to shape the world around us. Only when people are involved in forming and nurturing our environments will they feel a greater sense of agency, community, and pride. Join us to learn more about how spaces make us tick and how to fix the broken parts of our world.

Lily Bernheimer is an environmental psychology consultant, writer, and researcher. She is Founding Director of Space Works Consulting where she focuses on making human environments work better for the people and purposes they serve.