College of Architecture News

High Line Designer to Give Inaugural Douglas C. Allen Lecture

James Corner is re-defining landscape architecture.

Atlanta (September 17, 2009) — For the inaugural lecture endowed in his name last year, senior associate dean Douglas C. Allen selected a luminary who many say is re-inventing landscape architecture. James Corner, founder and director of james corner field operations, will take the stage in the newly renovated Reinsch-Pierce Family Auditorium on Monday, Nov. 2. Corner’s ambitions to design the post-industrial city are manifested in recent projects that reclaim landfills, remediate brownfields and develop neglected waterfronts. Some of his most talked-about works of-late include Fresh Kills and the High Line—both high-profile projects that are embracing the industrial past of New York City.

The annual Douglas C. Allen lecture was established with an endowed fund by alumni, faculty and friends in appreciation for Allen’s long-time dedication to the College of Architecture as a teacher, colleague and leader. Giving the College of Architecture lecture series a shot of adrenaline, donors saw the Douglas C. Allen Lecture as an annual reunion around a great speaker in honor of a cherished figure at the College.

“I am touched beyond words at the naming of this endowed lecture in my honor,” said Allen. “I hope this is merely the first of a number of future endowments in the College of Architecture that can offer in perpetuity a rich set of lectures to the students, alumni, and the public at large.

“While many would consider public lectures of this kind as enhancements of the students’ educational experience, my own view is slightly different. I know from my own experience as a graduate student at Harvard many years ago that a good lecture series is close to the core educational activity of any good university,” he continued. “The array of lecturers I experienced permanently fixed in my mind that any complex issue has by its very nature more than one side; that multiple points of view are necessary to fully grasp the role any individual discipline plays within the built environment.

“It is my hope that the endowed lecture will offer a point of view from my own disciplinary perspective of landscape architecture, an academic discipline we do not have at Georgia Tech. I believe that Jim Corner represents the strongest voice of his generation within landscape architecture at this time and I could not be more pleased that he will offer the first lecture in this series.”

James Corner is a registered landscape architect and urban designer, and founder and director of james corner field operations, where he oversees the production of all design projects in the office. He is also chair and professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Design. He was educated at Manchester Metropolitan University, England, and the University of Pennsylvania.
field operations is a leading-edge landscape architecture and urban design practice based in New York City. Serving an international clientele, our practice is renowned for strong contemporary design across a variety of high-profile project types and scales.

Founded in 1998 by James Corner, field operations comprises nearly 30 professionals, many with cross-disciplinary backgrounds in landscape architecture, urban design, architecture and communication art. Its mandate is to create intelligent, high-quality design solutions for cities, landscapes and public spaces. They often work collaboratively with some of the world’s leading architects, planners, engineers, ecologists and artists.

The firm’s expertise is reflected in a diverse range of projects, from the design of entire sectors of cities to intimate garden spaces; the design of large public parks and urban spaces to housing and mixed-use urban developments; the reclamation of landfills, derelict brownfield sites and other post-industrial landscapes for new public uses and private development to the preservation of large-scale natural resources. Whatever the scale and scope, the firm looks to respond with imagination and clarity to the unique circumstances of each project, crafting ecologically smart and culturally significant built works of lasting distinction.

Current projects include the transformation of 75 acres at the heart of San Juan, Puerto Rico into a state of the art Science City; development of a new mixed use corridor for the City of Syracuse and Syracuse University; a master plan for the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus; transformation of the 2,200-acre landfill site Fresh Kills into what will be one of the world’s largest urban parks; the High Line in New York City; the Botanical Garden of Puerto Rico; a 4-million sf urban redevelopment project, with 20 acres of public open space, in Westport, Baltimore; a new waterfront city in Chuncheon, Korea; Lake Ontario Park in Toronto; and the MGM/Mirage Pool and Gardens in Las Vegas.

The work of James Corner and field operations has been recognized by the New York City Arts Commission Award for Excellence in Design; the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Design; the Daimler-Chrysler Award for Design Innovation; the Architectural League of New York Design Award; and other professional design awards and prizes. The work also has been published and exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale; ArchiLAB, Paris; the Royal College of Art, London; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

The Douglas C. Allen Lecture begins at 6PM and is open to the public at no cost. AIA Continuing Education Credits and AICP Certification Maintenance credits will be available. The Reinsch-Pierce Family Auditorium is located at 245 Fourth St. NW on Georgia Tech campus. Visitor parking is available at the Technology Square Parking Deck on Spring St. just south of 5th Street.

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