Class of 1995

Kongjian Yu DDes ’95 Wins Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize

The Oberlander Prize, an initiative of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, includes a $100,000 award and two years of public engagement activities focused on the laureate and landscape architecture

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has named Kongjian Yu DDes ’95 the winner of the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize (Oberlander Prize), a biennial honor that includes a $100,000 award and two years of public engagement activities focused on the laureate’s work and landscape architecture more broadly. The Prize is named for the late landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander BLA ’47 and, according to TCLF, is bestowed on a recipient who is “exceptionally talented, creative, courageous, and visionary” and has “a significant body of built work that exemplifies the art of landscape architecture.” Kongjian is the second recipient of this prize with Julie Bargman MLA ’87 as the inagural recipient in 2021.

Hear from Kongjian Yu

More on Kongjian’s Work

posted October, 2023

Kristina Yu MArch ’95 and Raimund McClain ’00 firm Awarded Top Prize at 2022 Jeff Harnar Awards

McCLAIN + YU, a design and architecture firm led by Kristina Yu MArch ’95 and Raimund McClain ’00, has been awarded the Top 2022 Jeff Harnar Award Prize of Contemporary Architecture in the Southwest for their SKYROOM project in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

The JEFF HARNAR AWARDS program was created by Garrett Thornburg in 2007 to honor the memory of Jeff Harnar and help continue his groundbreaking work in the area of contemporary design. In 2018, the award program was expanded to include Unbuilt Work and Landscape Architecture.

Follow McCLAIN +YU on Instagram.

posted April, 2023

Seven Alumni Elevated to ASLA Council of Fellows – Class of 2021

Seven GSD alumni have been elevated by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) as fellows for their exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large. Election to the ASLA Council of Fellows is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and is based on their “works, leadership and management, knowledge, and service.” ASLA will formally recognize its 2021 Class of Fellows during the annual conference in Nashville on Sunday, November 21.

Congratulations to the GSD alumni in the 2021 Class of Fellows (pictured below left to right).

  • Juan Antonio Bueno MLA ’86
  • Claude Cormier MDes ’94
  • Shauna Gillies-Smith MAUD ’95
  • Eric F. Kramer MLA ’98
  • Allan Webster Shearer MLA ’94
  • Glenn LaRue Smith LF ’97
  • Roderick R. Wyllie MLA ’98

For the full list of 2021 Fellows, click here.

posted July, 2021

Kongjian Yu DDes ’95 Announced as Winner of IFLA 2020 Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award

Kongjian Yu DDes '95

On October 8, 2020, International Federation of Landscape Architects President James Hayter announced that Kongjian Yu DDes ’95 would be the winner of the 2020 Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award, the highest honor bestowed by the IFLA.

The award, named after British landscape architect and founding president of IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe, celebrates a living landscape architect “whose achievements and contributions have had a unique and lasting impact on the welfare of society and the environment and on the promotion of the profession of landscape architecture.”

In a release, the IFLA highlights Mr. Yu’s work as founder of Turenscape, one of the first and largest private architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism practices in China:

“For over 20 years Yu has spent his academic career fighting against deteriorating urban ecologies and the environment. His pioneering research on Ecological Security Pattern (1995) and Ecological Infrastructure, Negative Planning and Sponge Cities (2003) has been adopted by the Chinese government as a framework for nationwide ecological protection and restoration campaigns.

“Yu defines landscape architecture as the art of survival. A native of China’s Zhejiang Province, he drew on inspiration from his childhood farming experience and the ancient wisdom of water and waste management to design and test a series of nature-based solutions.”

For more information on Mr. Yu’s accomplishments and commentary from the Jellicoe Award jury, visit the IFLA site.

posted December, 2020

One Alumna Elevated to ASLA Council of Fellows

Katharine V. Martin MLA ’95 has been elevated by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) as a fellow for her exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large. Election to the ASLA Council of Fellows is among the highest honors the ASLA bestows on members and is based on their works, leadership/management, knowledge, and service.

ASLA Fellows will be elevated during a special Investiture Ceremony later this year. Additional information about the 2020 Class of Fellows, as well as previous ASLA Fellows, is available on the ASLA Council of Fellows webpage.

Congratulations to Katharine. For the full list of 2020 Fellows, click here.

posted August, 2020

Seventeen GSD Alumni Elevated to AIA Fellows 2020

Alexandra A. Barker, FAIA, AB ’93, MArch ’98 Andrew Vernooy, FAIA, MDes ’91 Ellis (Lanny) McIntosh, FAIA, AMDP ’14 Eric Haas, FAIA, MArch ’93 Javier Arizmendi, FAIA, MArch ’91 Jay Valgora, FAIA, MArch ’88 Katherine W. Faulkner, FAIA, MArch ’93 Kenneth J. Jandura, FAIA, MAUD ’78 Michael E. Tingley, FAIA, MArch ’89 Neal J.Z. Schwartz, FAIA, MArch ’92, MPP ’92 Philip B. Chen, FAIA, MArch ’96 Roger Sherman, FAIA, MArch ’85 Scott K. Henson, FAIA, MArch ’98 Susannah C. Drake, FAIA, MArch ’95, MLA ’95 Tom Sungjin Chung, FAIA, MArch ’99 Warren A. Techentin, FAIA, MArch ’95, MAUD ’95 Yanel E. De Angel Salas, FAIA, MDes ’06

Seventeen GSD alumni have been elevated by the 2020 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to its prestigious College of Fellows. The honor recognizes architects who have “achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national level.”

The GSD congratulates:

  • Alexandra A. Barker, FAIA, AB ’93, MArch ’98
  • Andrew Vernooy, FAIA, MDes ’91
  • Ellis (Lanny) McIntosh, FAIA, AMDP ’14
  • Eric Haas, FAIA, MArch ’93
  • Javier Arizmendi, FAIA, MArch ’91
  • Jay Valgora, FAIA, MArch ’88
  • Katherine W. Faulkner, FAIA, MArch ’93
  • Kenneth J. Jandura, FAIA, MAUD ’78
  • Michael E. Tingley, FAIA, MArch ’89
  • Neal J.Z. Schwartz, FAIA, MArch ’92, MPP ’92
  • Philip B. Chen, FAIA, MArch ’96
  • Roger Sherman, FAIA, MArch ’85
  • Scott K. Henson, FAIA, MArch ’98
  • Susannah C. Drake, FAIA, MArch ’95, MLA ’95
  • Tom Sungjin Chung, FAIA, MArch ’99
  • Warren A. Techentin, FAIA, MArch ’95, MAUD ’95
  • Yanel E. De Angel Salas, FAIA, MDes ’06

For the full list of 2020 Fellows, visit the AIA website.

posted April, 2020

Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95 Profiled in the Los Angeles Times: “Buildings that make you say, ‘Huh?,’ then ‘Wow!’”

Sharon Johnston MArch ’95, Mark Lee MArch ’95

Architects and GSD Professors in Practice Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95 are the subjects of a recent feature in the Los Angeles Times: “The L.A. architects who design buildings that make you say, ‘Huh?,’ then ‘Wow!’

posted November, 2019

Deborah Marton MLA ’95 Appointed Executive Director of Van Alen Institute

Deborah Marton MLA '95

Deborah Marton MLA ’95 has been named the next Executive Director of Van Alen Institute, the NYC-based independent, nonprofit architectural organization. Marton, who currently serves as Executive Director of the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), will begin in September.

“Deborah brings extensive experience to Van Alen in successfully mobilizing professionals across various sectors—architecture, urban design, ecology, public health—to take an interdisciplinary approach that effects positive change, particularly among underserved communities,” said Board Chair Jared Della Valle. Her passionate, innovative and collaborative leadership in addressing complex issues will be invaluable in executing the single largest program in our history being launched this fall. She has clearly shown an ability to build on Van Alen’s multiple roles as instigator, convener, thought partner and catalyst, and communicated a strong desire to ensure we create demonstrable outcomes that will usher in our next 125 years.”

In addition to her MLA, Marton received a JD from New York University School of Law.

Learn more.

Image courtesy of Van Alen Institute.

posted June, 2019

Andre Kikoski MArch ’95 Designs Interior for One Hudson Yards; Speaks at New York Design Center Showcase Sept 13, 2018

Andre Kikoski MArch '95

Andre Kikoski Architect, the firm of Andre Kikoski MArch ‘95, has designed the interior for One Hudson Yards, a 33-story luxury apartment building on the south side of Hudson Yards in New York City. The tower includes 178 residences and various amenity spaces including an art filled lobby, galleries, resident lounges, entertainment spaces, and athletic facilities. Read an interview with Kikoski about the project in Architectural Digest.

Kikoski will speak about the project on Thursday, September 13, 2018, as part of New York Design Center’s 10th annual showcase, What’s New, What’s Next. The panel, entitled We Built This City” and moderated by Interior Design Magazine Managing Editor in Chief Cindy Allen, will offer a chance to hear about the design forces shaping the New York skyline. Kikoski will discuss how his firm’s work at One Hudson Yards actively shapes the landscape of New York City from the inside out. Learn more and RSVP.

Photo by Scott Frances/OTTO. Courtesy of Andre Kikoski Architect.

posted September, 2018

Alumni Projects Receive 2018 MASterworks Awards

Susannah Drake MArch '95, MLA '95, Stephen Cassell MArch '92, Amale Andraos MArch '99

Projects by three alumni have been honored with 2018 MASterworks Awards from the The Municipal Art Society of New York. The awards celebrate designs that make a significant contribution to the built environment of New York City. DLANDstudio, the firm founded by Susannah Drake MArch ’95, MLA ’95, won “Best Urban Landscape” for the project Gowanus Canal Sponge Park; ARO, the firm of Stephen Cassell MArch ’92, won “Best New Building” for their Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse; and WORKac, the firm of Amale Andraos MArch ’99, won “Best New Urban Amenity” for the Kew Gardens Hills Library project. Recipients will be honored at an event on April 11 that will also toast to MAS’s 125th Anniversary.

Image: Gowanus Canal Sponge Park, courtesy of MAS.

posted March, 2018

Alumni Honored at 7th Annual BSA Design Awards Gala

Henry Cobb AB '47, MArch '49, Matthew Kiefer LF '96, Roger P. Ferris MDes '93, LF92, Sheila Kennedy MArch ’85, J. Frano Violich MArch ’84, Grace La AB '92, MArch '95, James Dallman MArch '92, Nader Tehrani MAUD ’91

The Boston Society of Architects celebrated its 2017 Design Award recipients at a gala on January 18, 2018. A number of Harvard University Graduate School of alumni and their firms were recognized, including Henry Cobb AB 47, MArch 49 who received the 2017 BSA Award of Honor.

Other alumni honored include Matthew Kiefer LF ’96 (BSA Honorary Membership); Roger Ferris + Partners, firm of Roger P. Ferris LF 92, MDes 93 (Category: Housing Design, Project: Green House, Client: Private (award)); Kennedy and Violich Architecture, firm of Sheila Kennedy MArch ’85 and J. Frano Violich MArch ’84 (Category: Small Firms/Small Projects Design Awards, Project: Meister Consultants Group—A Cadmus Company Offices, Clients: Meister Consultants Group (award)); La Dallman Architects, firm of Grace La AB 92, MArch 95 and James Dallman MArch 92 (Category: Unbuilt Architecture and Design, Projects: Industrial Capriccio: Floating Garden (honor award) and Waterlily Landing (citation)); and NADAAA, firm of Nader Tehrani MAUD ’91 (Category: Unbuilt Architecture and Design, Project: Justice in Design (award); Category: Honor Awards for Design Excellence, Project: Tanderrum Pedestrian Bridge with John Wardle Architects, Client: Major Projects Victoria (honor award)).

See the full list of 2017 Design Award winners.

Read more about the Gala.

Image courtesy of the Boston Real Estate Times.

posted January, 2018

Society of Architectural Historians to Honor Ralph Johnson MArch ’73, Sharon Johnston MArch ’95, Mark Lee MArch ’95

Ralph Johnson MArch ’73, Sharon Johnston MArch ’95, Mark Lee MArch ’95

The Society of Architectural Historians will present the SAH Awards for Architectural Excellence at its 8th Annual Awards Gala on November 17, 2017, at The Racquet Club of Chicago. Those being honored by SAH include architect Ralph Johnson MArch ’73, Global Design Director at Perkins+Will, and architects Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95, founders and principals of the architecture firm Johnston Marklee.

Ralph Johnson MArch ’73 will receive the Award for Excellence in Design, Planning, and Sustainability. His projects have been honored with more than 150 design awards, including eight national Honor Awards, more than 50 regional Honor Awards from the American Institute of Architects and a Progressive Architecture Design Award. He was honored in 2015 as a newly elected member of the National Academy—one of the highest honors in American art and architecture.

Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95 will receive the Award for Excellence in Public Engagement with the Built Environment. Their firm, Johnston Marklee, has been recognized nationally and internationally with over 30 major awards and numerous publications.

Read the full press release.

 

posted November, 2017

Dr. Kongjian Yu DDes ’95 Awarded Honorary PhD by Sapiensa University of Rome

Dr. Kongjian Yu DDes '95

Dr. Kongjian Yu DDes ’95 has been awarded an honorary PhD in Landscape and Environment by Sapiensa University of Rome. The award ceremony took place on Friday, April 7, 2017, in Italy.

posted April, 2017

GSD Alumni Honored with 2017 Progressive Architecture Awards

Jennifer Bonner MArch '09, Joshua Prince-Ramus MArch '96, Sharon Johnston MArch '95, Mark Lee MArch '95, Thom Mayne MArch '78, William O'Brien MArch '05, Edwin Chan MArch '85, Nader Tehrani MAUD ’91, Katherine Faulkner MArch ’93, Daniel Gallagher MArch ’91

The work of Harvard University Graduate School of Design alumni was recently recognized with 2017 Progressive Architecture Awards from Architect magazine. The jury, which included GSD alumna Jennifer Bonner MArch ’09,  was tasked with finding the best examples of works that “represent design that pushes the envelope, novel methods of representation, and an exploration of humble building types that can make peoples’ lives better.” Winning projects from firms led by GSD alumni include:

AWARDS

Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center
New York
REX, led by Joshua Prince-Ramus MArch ’96

Menil Drawing Institute
Houston
Johnston Marklee, led by Sharon Johnston MArch ’95 and Mark Lee MArch ’95

CITATIONS

Bloomberg Center
New York
Morphosis Architects, led by Thom Mayne MArch ’78

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Mask House
Ithaca, N.Y.
WOJR, led by William O’Brien MArch ’05

True North
Detroit
EC3, led by Edwin Chan MArch ’85

New Hampshire Retreat
Bethlehem, N.H.
NADAAA, led by Nader Tehrani MAUD ’91 in collaboration with partners Katherine Faulkner MArch ’93 and Daniel Gallagher MArch ’91

Image courtesy of Architect magazine.

 

posted March, 2017

Mark Pasnik MDes ’95 Honored with 2014 AIA Young Architects Award

Mark Pasnik MDes ’95

Mark Pasnik MDes ’95 was recently honored with a 2014 AIA Young Architects Award. Each year, the Young Architects Award is given to individuals who have shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession in an early stage of their architectural career.

March 2014

posted December, 2016

Andre Kikoski MArch ’95 Recognized as Top 20 “Power Player” in New York City Real Estate

Andre Kikoski MArch '95

Andre Kikoski MArch ’95 was named one of the “20 biggest power players in New York City real estate” by the New York Post. The article, which was published on June 23, 2015, can be found here.

June 2015

posted December, 2016

Rolando Kraeher MArch ’95 Interviewed about St. Patrick’s Cathedral Renovations

Rolando Kraeher MArch '95

Rolando Kraeher MArch ’95 was interviewed by a number of media for his role in the renovation of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, NY. You can learn more about the work he did, with Murphy Burnham & Buttrick, at the Wall Street Journal, WNYC, and CBS Sunday Morning.

September 2015

posted December, 2016

Mark Pasnik MDes ’95 and Michael Kubo MArch ’06 Publish Book, “Heroic: Concrete Architecture and The New Boston”

Mark Pasnik MDes '95 and Michael Kubo MArch '06

Mark Pasnik MDes ’95Michael Kubo MArch ’06, and Chris Grimley recently published the book Heroic: Concrete Architecture and The New Boston, which “presents the historical context and new critical profiles of the buildings that defined Boston during this remarkable period, showing the city as a laboratory for refined experiments in concrete and new strategies in urban planning.”  On Tuesday, March 15, 2016, 5:30 pm, the trio will appear on WBUR to discuss how politics influenced urban renewal in Boston during the 1960s and how it’s influencing renewal in Boston today.

February 2016

posted December, 2016

Susannah C. Drake MArch ’95, MLA ’95 Discusses Gowanus Canal in New York Times

Susannah C. Drake MArch '95, MLA '95

Susannah C. Drake MArch ’95, MLA ’95, was quoted in the New York Times article “A Park to Sop Up Pollutants Before They Flow Into the Gowanus Canal” that ran on December 15, 2015. Drake spoke to the Times about the Sponge Park project near the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn: “I didn’t want to go into a community and tell them that I’m putting a wetland in their backyard,” said Susannah C. Drake, a landscape architect and founding principal of DLANDstudio, which designed Sponge Park. “That wouldn’t fly. But everyone understands what a sponge does, even if they don’t understand green infrastructure or phytoremediation.” Additionally, Drake is the Morgen‎stern Visiting Chair at the Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture for the Spring 2016 semester.

December 2015

posted December, 2016

Susannah C. Drake MArch ’95, MLA ’95 to Speak at Seminario International Espaco Livre Na Cidade in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Susannah C. Drake MArch '95, MLA '95

Susannah C. Drake MArch ’95, MLA ’95 will be speaking at the Seminario International Espaco Livre Na Cidade sponsored by SESC and the Escola Da Cidade  in Sao Paulo, Brazil. From 11 to 15 April, São Paulo will host the XI International Seminar Free Space in the City, a result of the partnership between the School of City and SESC São Paulo, the event brings together professionals from Chile, USA, Denmark, Colombia, Turkey and Brazil to discuss experiences occupation of urban spaces available for enjoying leisure time.

April 2016

posted December, 2016

Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA, MArch ’78 and Andre Kikoski, AIA, MArch ’95 to Speak at Modernism Week CAMP

Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA, MArch '78 and Andre Kikoski, AIA, MArch '95

Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA, MArch ’78 and Andre Kikoski, AIA, MArch ’95 will lead a conversation as part of Modernism Week CAMP, Ferguson presents Design Insights with Andre Kikoski and Michael Lehrer: East Coast vs. West Coast Modernism. This insightful conversation will compare and contrast the movement on both coasts over the last century. What are some of the shared affinities and dispositional differences between the Coasts? Climate, culture, attitude, history? For more information, visit Modernism Week’s website.

February 2016

posted December, 2016