Dr Hagan studied architecture at Columbia University, New York, the Architectural Association, London, and the University of Cambridge. Her research is concerned with unexamined aspects of environmental design at architectural and urban scales, and she is Head of RED (Research into Environmental Design).
Professor John Frazer (Queensland University of Technology) described her most recent book - Digitalia: architecture and the digital, the environmental and the acvant-garde (2008) thus:
"This book takes a fresh approach to positioning the role of the computer in contemporary architectural theory and discourse, but of greater significance, Susannah Hagan also positions the computer in terms of making a significant contribution to resolving major environmental and social problems".
Her 2001 publication Taking Shape: a New Contract between Architecture and Nature explored the evolution of scientific and academic theories that have resulted in the concept of sustainability, and focused on the impact of the new theories of sustainable technology and new materials in architecture. That book notably sought to move the discourse and practice of environmental sustainability within architecture towards a greater degree of awareness of both its cultural significance and cultural potential, seeking to demonstrate the capacity of sustainable architecture to embrace cultural and technical innovation.
