Institute for Urban Design » Jane Thompson

Fellows in the News: Bubriski, Flint, Frugiuele, Greenberg, Griffin, Hoal, Holl, Kazi, Kerr, Mayne, Pasquarelli, Rogers, Thompson, Whalley, & Williamson

admin — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:38:48 +0000

Wanda Bubriski jumped into the public debate surrounding Architect Barbie at BWAF’s new blog; a recent CNN feature on urban agriculture included two projects by Colin Cathcart; Anthony Flint (whose Wrestling With Moses has been garnering fresh attention lately) wrote an article for Boston.com on Ben and Jane Thompson’s storied Design Research store in Cambridge, calling Jane’s new book on DR’s history “wonderful”; a developer announced plans for a floating marina complex (pictured at left), designed by Carlo Frugiuele, on the Jersey City waterfront; Ken Greenberg is working on a plan for the pedestrianization of part of Toronto’s famed Yonge Street; Board Member Toni Griffin and Fellow June Williamson both contributed to a Times Room for Debate feature on “the Incredible Shrinking City”; John Hoal is leading a six-team visioning process for St. Louis’ Ackert Walkway; Stephen Holl talked to the Scotland Herald about his Glasgow School of Art project, which was unanimously approved by the city; Olympia Kazi’s Van Alen Institute has been busy, announcing the mid-April opening of its design bookstore in Manhattan and launching the Life at the Speed of Rail design competition, the jury for which will include IfUD Board Member Thom Mayne; Treehugger talked to Laurie Kerr about NYC’s pioneering Local Law 84; the Architect’s Newspaper posted video of Gregg Pasquarelli discussing SHoP’s design for the Botswana Innovation Hub; Rob Rogers’ firm Rogers Marvel will handle restoration work on Manhattan’s Pier A, which will become a retail and event space; and Metropolis visited Andrew Whalley at Grimshaw Industrial Design’s new Chelsea office.

Fellows in the News: Arad, Brandt, Gans, Libeskind, Scheerlinck, Thompson, Walker

admin — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:33:30 +0000

MassLive reviewed Michael Arad’s lecture on the design of the 9/11 Memorial; C-Burbia, a design concept created in part by Denise Hoffman Brandt, was a jury-selected winner in the Build a Better Burb competition; The Museum at Eldridge Street unveiled their new stained glass window (pictured at left), designed by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans; the Institute for Democracy and Conflict Resolution has selected Daniel Libeskind to design their new International Beacon for Democracy in Essex, UK; Kris Scheerlinck recently accepted a teaching position at WENK Sint Lucas Ghent/Brussels, where he has been invited to run an Urban Design studio and set up an International Master Studio in the spring of 2011; Jane Thompson’s new book Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes was reviewed in the NY Times and the Architect’s Newspaper; Peter Walker was interviewed about the Oakland Museum site in Metropolis P/O/V.

Fellows’ Work on View: Dattner, Dykers, Greenberg, Libeskind, Portman, Terragni, Thompson, Wakeman

admin — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:54:23 +0000

Jane Thompson will give a lecture at D-Crit in New York, entitled Rediscovering Design Research, on 9/22; Rosemary Wakeman will discuss her book, The Heroic City: Paris 1945-58, at NYU’s La Maison Française, also on 9/22; Richard Dattner will join a panel about the Lindsay administration’s adventure playgrounds at the Museum of the City of New York on 9/27; Craig Dykers will participate on the panel Universities as City Builders, to be moderated by Ken Greenberg, in Toronto on 9/29; the exhibition Interior Urbanism/Portman Space, featuring the work of John Portman, will be on view at the University of Technology Sydney through 10/1; a pavilion designed by Daniel Libeskind will serve as one of the centerpieces of the Seoul Design Fair 2010, which will run through 10/7; and Elisabetta Terragni’s adaptive reuse of the Trento Tunnels will be on view at the Venice Biennale, which runs through 11/21.

Fellows in the News: Bee, Blaik, Dixon, Durst, Dykers, & Thompson

admin — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 15:03:46 +0000

A group of innovative multifamily infill housing developments produced by Carmi Bee’s firm RKT&B was covered recently (photo at left); Omar Blaik’s firm U3 Ventures produced a report of their own on an exciting strategy for recovery in Detroit’s Midtown district (subscription required); David Dixon led a team that produced a 25-page report challenging the current plans for the massive Charity Hospital reconstruction project in New Orleans; Douglas Durst was recently profiled for his leadership of the Durst Organization; Craig Dykers’ firm Snøhetta was just profiled in the Wall Street Journal; and don’t miss Boston.com’s look back on the storied careers of Jane Thompson and her husband Ben, who founded Design Research in 1953.

Jane Thompson Honored at White House Event

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:02:15 +0000

Long-time Fellow Jane Thompson was honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at a White House ceremony for the winners of the 2010 National Design Awards on July 21st. Ms. Thompson, of the Thompson Design Group, has been selected to receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her pioneering work in the field of urban design. The luncheon was held ahead of the official presentation ceremony, which is scheduled to take place in New York on October 14th.

NEW YORK \ 2030 Fellows Dinner, Harvard Club, New York

admin — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:00:25 +0000

In preparation for the New York 2030 symposium, Institute fellows hosted a dinner and informal discussion with some of the symposium’s speakers. This was an occasion to exchange ideas on the future of the Institute in view of its 30th anniversary in October 2008. A special surprise tribute was given to Ann Ferebee by two longstanding fellows, Jane Thompson and Lance Brown. Leaving the Institute after thirty years, Ann would focus on writing a design history book for which she was awarded a Fellows Grant from the Institute. She would also have a visiting research fellowship at the Canadian Center for Architecture.