The Dallas Architecture Forum
Presents Landscape Architect
Michelle Delk
Wednesday, May 19, 2021, 7 pm
The Dallas Architecture Forum, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing public education about architecture, landscape architecture, design and the urban environment, is pleased to present esteemed landscape architect Michelle Delk on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 in a virtual lecture via Zoom.
Michelle Delk, a passionate champion of the public realm, is a Partner and Director of Landscape Architecture for Snøhetta New York City. She works to cultivate trans-disciplinary collaboration for the creative advancement of our public environment. With a natural ability for engaging diverse community and client intricacies, Michelle guides complex projects ranging from master plans and brownfield redevelopments to realizations of urban plazas, parks, streetscapes, and riverfronts. Currently, she leads several efforts with Snøhetta, including the design of the Willamette Falls Riverwalk in Oregon, the Blaisdell Center Master Plan in Honolulu, and the re-imagined design of a significant public plaza in midtown Manhattan. She is a Board member of the Urban Design Forum and speaks for influential groups around the world.
For more than 30 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world’s most notable public and cultural projects. Among its iconic, award-winning projects are the monumental library of Alexandria, Egypt; the Norwegian National Opera House; and the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York City. The firm has received many honors including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Mies van der Rohe Award, and the Wall Street Journal Innovator of the Year Award.
“Snøhetta is one of the world’s top architectural firms with projects and offices around the world. As the a Partner and Director of the Landscape Practice for Snøhetta New York, Michelle Delk brings extensive and broad experience across all project types to her work,” said Nate Eudaly, Executive Director of The Forum. “We believe Ms. Delk will provide a program of great interest to attendees.”
The lecture will occur at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19th and will be presented virtually via Zoom. It is presented at no charge to all Forum members and sponsors, and anyone may join The Forum at www.DallasArchitectureForum.org to attend this and other upcoming lectures. Advance registration for the lecture is required. Forum members will receive information about registration.
Dallas Architecture Forum members receive free admission to all regular Forum lectures as a benefit of membership, and AIA members can earn one hour of CE credit for each lecture. For more information on The Dallas Architecture Forum, visit www.dallasarchitectureforum.org or call 214-764-2406.
Sponsors for Ms. Delk’s Lecture include Season Sponsors Maharger Development | Reggie Graham and SMINK, Inc. Series Sponsors are Architectural Lighting Alliance, Bentley Tibbs Architect, Bodron / Fruit, DLR Group | Staffelbach, Faisal Halum Group, Headington Companies, Jackson Walker, Kafka Properties LLC, modernDallas, O’Brien Architects, Perennials & Sutherland LLC and Scott + Cooner. Lecture Sponsors are The AD EX Foundation, BOKA Powell, Bonick Landscaping, HOCKER, James R.Thompson Inc., and studioOutside. Reception Sponsors are Cawley Partners, Landscape Forms, New Era Companies, Panoramic Doors and Pritchard Associates.
MICHELLE DELK
PARTNER and DIRECTOR OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
SNOHETTA
NEW YORK
19 May 2021
Wednesday, 7:00 pm
Virtual Lecture Presentation via Zoom
Snøhetta (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈsnøːˌhɛtɑ]) began as a collaborative architectural and landscape workshop, and has remained true to its trans-disciplinary way of thinking since its inception. Today, Snøhetta has grown to become an internationally renowned practice of architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, product, graphic, digital design and art, with 280 employees of more than thirty different nationalities, and an equal gender distribution. The practice has a global presence, with offices spanning from Oslo, Paris, and Innsbruck, to New York, Hong Kong, Adelaide and San Francisco. For more than 30 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world’s most notable public and cultural projects. Snøhetta kick-started its career in 1989 with the competition-winning entry for the new library of Alexandria, Egypt. This was later followed by the commission for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, and the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City, among many others. Since its inception, the practice has maintained its original transdisciplinary approach, and integrates architectural, landscape, interior, product, graphic, digital design and art across its projects. The collaborative nature between Snøhetta’s different disciplines is an essential driving force of the practice. A definite relationship between multiple disciplines is a driving force in all of Snøhetta’s work. This is demonstrated through the company’s long history, where landscape and architecture work together without division, from the earliest stage possible.
The firm places experience at the center of the design process, for a design that engages the senses and physicality of the body while fostering social interaction. This allows Snøhetta’s designs to promote both individual and collective empowerment in the communities where they work. At the heart of all of the firm’s work is a commitment to shaping the built environment both in the service of humanism and the longevity of our planet. Their interdisciplinary design process ensures that Snøhetta projects are both poetic and pragmatic, where high design works in conjunction with sustainable building performance. Snøhetta is currently involved in numerous projects in Europe, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. Working globally gives each designer valuable cultural and economic insight and creates the foundation of Snøhetta’s continuously evolving professional knowledge base.
ABOUT THE DALLAS ARCHITECTURE FORUM
The Dallas Architecture Forum educates, enriches and connects our community by presenting programs and events, creating experiences, and engaging global and local thought-leaders from the design fields to enhance how we live.
As a not-for-profit organization for design enthusiasts founded over two decades ago, The Forum explores ideas related to how and why design matters in our daily lives through dynamic programming centered on current topics and trends in architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, urban planning, engineering, construction, and other related fields of art and design. Our collaborative programming and community outreach are enriched by the active involvement and leadership of businesses, arts and cultural organizations, government and academic institutions at regional, national and international levels.
THE FORUM LECTURES | PANELS
The Forum Lecture Series features emerging voices as well as established leaders from the allied fields of architecture and design. Pritzker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, AIA and ASLA Gold Medal winners as well as internationally acclaimed designs, authors and critics are among the over 210 speakers from over 20 countries who have presented at The Forum over the last two decades. Some of those Lecture Speakers include Diller / Scofidio / Renfro, Kazuyo Sejima, Tsien / Williams, Deborah Berke, Annabelle Selldorf, Lake / Flato, Craig Dykers / Snohetta, Jeanne Gang, Marlon Blackwell, Kai-Uwe Bergmann / BIG, Rick Joy, Juhani Pallasmaa, Tom Phifer, Leo Marmol, Lee Mindel, Laurie Olin, Tsao/McKown, Thomas Woltz, Brad Cloepfil, Gordon Gill, Alex Krieger, Tom Kundig, Enrique Norten, Daniel Libeskind, Eric Owen Moss, Michael Van Valkenburgh, James Burnett, Brian Mackay-Lyons, Jamie Carpenter, Wang Shu, James Corner, Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Rafael Vinoly, Reed/Hilderbrand, Segiru Ban, Peter Bohlin, Thom Mayne, Michael Graves, Jorge Silvetti, and Peter Eisenman.
In 2018, The Forum established the Frank Welch Memorial Lecture to honor Frank Welch, the Dean of Texas Modernist architects and great friend of The Forum. Past presenters include Ted Flato, Co-Founder of Lake | Flato Architects and Rick Joy, Founder and Principal, Studio Rick Joy.
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
The Forum organizes and presents an annual series of interactive, educational, and informal panel discussions about topics and issues of local and regional interest. The panels are moderated by community leaders and design professionals, and feature panelists recognized as experts in their fields. In addition, The Forum highlights regional design talent focusing on both their design inspirations and award-winning projects. Panels are presented as a service to the community at no charge.
DESIGN SYMPOSIUM
The Dallas Design Symposium brings thought leaders from architecture, art and design together to explore the intersection of these fields for thoughtful and critical conversation. Past participants have included: environmental artist Christo, New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman, Aaron Betsky, Leo Marmol, Tom Kundig, Brad Oldham, Johnston Marklee, Terrence Riley, Karim Rashid, artists Walead Beshty and Jorge Pardo, and the Directors of the Chinati Foundation and MASS MoCA.
THE DESIGN SOCIETY
The Design Society is a satellite established to enhance and expand The Forum’s relationships with a broader audience and new constituencies. This group is led by visionary and emerging leaders in the design professions and offers additional programs, outreach and engagement primarily designed for a younger audience. Activities include: casual gatherings after Forum events, Pecha Kuchas, design-related community projects, informal design tours and Happy Hours. Design Society events are detailed on their Facebook page.
365 MODERN LIVING | DESIGN EXPERIENCES
“365 Modern Living” is a series of receptions hosted by The Forum focused around living with great design every day of the year. “365 Modern Living” features some of Dallas’ most architecturally significant modern and contemporary residences and explore the ideas surrounding design, inspiration, and innovation. Attendees have the opportunity to converse with the homes’ design teams of architects, interior designers, and landscape architects as well as owners. Experiencing architecture and design first-hand is vital to fulfilling the Forum’s mission. The Forum hosts its Annual Members’ Meeting and other special events at significant buildings in Dallas. Study Tours have been conducted to Spain, Switzerland, Finland, and Mexico City. Forum Study Groups have visited mid-century modern residences in Palm Springs in association with the University of Texas at Austin, and toured art and architecture in Los Angeles in conjunction with the Nasher Sculpture Center.
PUBLICATIONS
Dallas Modern is a monograph published by The Forum featuring twenty of the most architecturally outstanding modern and contemporary residences in Dallas. With over 200 pages and 250 color photographs as well as insightful essays written by Maxwell Anderson, Mark Gundersen and Jeremy Strick, the book advances The Forum’s mission to explore how design matters in daily life. The Forum also produced a limited-edition folio featuring important Dallas-Fort Worth cultural buildings designed by some of the most influential architects from the twentieth and twenty first centuries. The Forum commissioned esteemed photographer Laura Wilson to take original images for this folio celebrating these civic treasures in North Texas. The Forum plans to produce future publications about the significant architecture of the North Texas region.
OUR COMMUNITY | COLLABORATIONS | ACCOLADES
Since its founding, The Forum has fostered vibrant partnerships with over fifty regional, national and international educational, civic and cultural organizations. These collaborations produce meaningful discussions that connect the community to the importance of design in modern life. Among our collaborators is the College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs (CAPPA) at the University of Texas at Arlington. Recent collaborations between CAPPA and The Forum explored issues and topics related to architecture and urban planning, including Texas Regional Architecture and Affordable Housing in cooperation with bcWorkshop (Building Community Workshop).
The Forum also works closely with Preservation Dallas, the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects and its affiliated Architecture and Design Exchange. Other cultural, education and civic partners include: Dallas City Design Studio, DoCoMoMo North Texas, Meadows School and Museum at SMU, The MAC, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Contemporary, and the Kimbell Art Museum. The Forum also collaborates with other national organizations focused on stimulating discourse on architecture, design and urbanism. Among the groups with whom The Forum has cooperated are: Aga Kahn Foundation, Auburn University’s Rural Studio, Architectural League of New York City, Harvard Graduate School of Design, National Building Museum, Rice Design Alliance, Texas Tech University andthe University of Texas at Austin.
The Forum’s successful collaborative initiatives and leadership have been recognized with numerous awards and accolades, including an AIA Dallas Community Honor Award, a Citation of Honor from the Texas Society of Architects, and a Collaborative Achievement Award from the national offices of the American Institute of Architects. The Forum is a founding member of the Association of Architecture Organizations (AAO), an international organization dedicated to enhancing public dialogue about architecture and design. The Forum’s Executive Director serves on the Board of Directors of the AAO.
For more information on The Dallas Architecture Forum, visit www.dallasarchitectureforum.org. For questions about The Forum, call 214-764-2406.
To follow us on Facebook visit https://www.facebook.com/DallasArchitectureForum?ref=bookmarks
For Twitter, our account is DallasArchForum.
