THIS THURSDAY! LAWRENCE HALPRIN'S SKYLINE PARK

Don’t miss a special evening at Van Alen Books on Thursday, October 25, when we’ll be joined by author Ann Komara and Charles Birnbaum of The Cultural Landscape Foundation for the launch of Lawrence Halprin’s Skyline Park, the inaugural publication from Modern Landscapes: Transition and Transformation, a Princeton Architectural Press series produced with The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Modern Landscapes focuses on mid-century works that have been demolished or have undergone a significant transformation, and Skyline Park is a fascinating look at the acclaimed landscape architect’s urban renewal effort for downtown Denver in the 1970s. Please join us!

NEW CITY BOOKS LAUNCH EVENT

And for a preview of our November lineup, mark your calendar for Thursday, November 8, when we host a launch party celebrating the New City Books series, a joint imprint of the Syracuse University School of Architecture and Princeton Architectural Press.

Keep an eye on www.vanalenbooks.org for upcoming events with Christoph Niemann, Stefan Sagmeister, Brian Rose, Sean Corcoran, Lynne Elizabeth, and more!

If you’ve missed any of our jam-packed fall season at the bookstore, we’ve posted clips on the Van Alen Vimeo page, where you can listen in on our conversations with John Loomis, Massimo Scolari, Glen Cummings and Craig Buckley, and other guests.

THE ARCHITECTURE PUBLISHING SUMMIT

On Friday, October 26, Van Alen hosts the Architecture Publishing Summit, a special gathering of publishers, designers, authors, media innovators, and others in the architecture publishing community to frame and debate the future of the architecture book. This dialogue reflects the broad ambition of Van Alen Books, launched last year with the generous support of Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and Van Alen Circle members, to create a destination for debate about architecture books and their role in remaking the world around us.

The Publishing Summit is the next step in this project: an exchange of ideas with invited participants from across the publishing community that takes stock of the past and maps models for the future. With support from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, we’ll consider how to best sustain scholarship, new ways of thinking about the book as a cultural platform, and opportunities in both print and digital media. We look forward to sharing with you the results of this series of conversations. For more information about the Summit, please contact us.

We invite you to join us for the Summit’s public keynote event, presented in association with the Designers & Books Fair. We’re pleased to offer the Van Alen community special discounted tickets for the evening program, which features a conversation with designers Michael Bierut, Irma Boom, Massimo Vignelli, and Lorraine Wild, moderated by Barry Bergdoll. Just click here and enter code KEYNOTE2012.

We’re also excited to host a Summit afterparty at Van Alen to celebrate with friends and colleagues in the world of architecture books. Just rsvp to rsvp@vanalen.org. We’ll see you at the Fair!

ACTION-PACKED ARCHTOBER AT VAN ALEN

Thanks to everyone who’s come out for an exciting Archtober—still going strong in its fourth week full of tours, lectures, and workshops across the city. This month at Van Alen, the exhibition and public programs of Brooklyn Bridge Park: Immensity + Intimacy brought together thinkers from architecture, planning, policy, community development, environmental science, and the broader public as part of our River City series to discuss critical issues in rethinking our urban waterways as valuable public spaces.

On October 10, we investigated the “urban polder,” as author and journalist Tracy Metz shared work from her new book Sweet & Salt: Water and the Dutch. Susannah Drake (dlandstudio), Klaus Jacob (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory), Michael Marrella (New York City Department of City Planning), and moderator James S. Russell (Bloomberg News and The Agile City) joined Metz to discuss how the impacts of climate change, the costs of large-scale infrastructure, and the shifting norms of personal and government responsibility have shaped the Dutch experience, and how such factors will shape New York. Click here to watch the video.

And our second panel, on October 15, took us to America’s urban waterfronts, as Alex Washburn of the New York City Department of City Planning led a conversation with Regina Myer of Brooklyn Bridge Park; Matthew Urbanski of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; Jonathan Marvel of Rogers Marvel Architects; Claire Weisz of WXY Architecture + Urban Design; Roland Lewis of the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance; and Michael Fishman of Stantec. Panelists shared their experiences working to bring city-dwellers to the water’s edge while navigating the challenges of regulation, public safety, economic feasibility, and environmental impact. Check out photos on our Facebook page.

We’ll have more to share this fall about our second exhibition in the River City series, which will feature the Cheonggyecheon River in Seoul, Korea, where a long-buried urban waterway has been remade as a metropolitan-scale public space through an unprecedented effort of contemporary urban planning and design.

SPOTLIGHT ON LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

On October 13, the New York Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (NYASLA) and Van Alen hosted Landscape Architecture Design Speed Dating, a special edition of our seasonal portfolio review series for emerging architects. Many thanks to this round’s outstanding panel of critics: Thomas Balsley (Principal, Thomas Balsley Associates), Nancy Prince (Deputy Chief for Design, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation), Lacy Shelby (Director of Green Infrastructure, NYC Department of Transportation), and Denisha Williams (President, NYASLA). And congratulations to our speed-daters: Emily Josephs, Ed Krafcik, Brian Schundler, and A. Zevi Thomas. Missed this round of Design Speed Dating? Check out the video here.

Archtober continued at Van Alen on Thursday, October 18, with Change Agents: Landscape Architects on the Innovation Forefront. A festive evening of light-speed presentations over food and drink, this Pecha Kucha night co-hosted with the NYASLA featured twelve speakers presenting twenty slides at twenty seconds per slide, sharing their own efforts to push the boundaries of the profession, advocate for positive change, and create quality spaces for civic life. Click here to check out the photos, and here for the full list of inspiring presenters.

SAVE THE DATE: VAI AND NYASLA HOLIDAY PARTY

For a festive celebration marking this season of collaboration with the landscape architecture community, Van Alen is partnering with the New York Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects to jointly host a holiday party on Wednesday, December 5 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Van Alen. Stay tuned for details and to rsvp for this special evening.

AWARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR DESIGNERS

The Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant provides up to $15,000 in support toward travel for emerging and mid-career architects to explore a select topic of interest. Apply by November 1.

The World Habitat Awards honor projects from the global north as well as the south that provide practical, innovative solutions to current housing needs and problems. Apply by November 1.

With a jury of 200 and categories including weather, farming, urban transformation, and living small, the Architizer A+ Awards celebrate the world’s best structures and spaces. Submit by November 9.

The NYCEDC in collaboration with the Hudson River Park Trust present Change the Course: NYC Waterfront Construction Competition, seeking proposals to build and maintain waterfront infrastructure in a more cost effective and sustainable manner. Enter by November 16.

The 2013 Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence showcases excellence in placemaking that transforms urban problems into creative solutions through architecture, urban design, and planning. The Gold Medal is a $50,000 award, and the Silver medals are $10,000 each. Submit by December 10.

BE INSPIRED BY INNOVATIVE PUBLIC REALM DESIGN

Van Alen is all about bringing together diverse audiences to reimagine public life through design competitions, fellowships, exhibitions, and public programs. Come be a part of our effort to advance design innovation in the public realm by joining us today. Your membership provides essential support in sustaining all the work we do to bring the best design ideas to civic life through innovative programs, inclusive dialogue, and visionary public architecture. Find out more about our membership opportunities and how you can join our diverse network of supporters here.