This year, Van Alen Institute advanced a number of exciting initiatives and launched new programs to champion excellence in design and foster dialogue about architecture as a public practice.
December 2012 Newsletter

WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN 2012

This year, Van Alen Institute created and sustained a number of key projects that champion excellence in design and foster dialogue about architecture as a public practice. As we look forward to 2013, we want to thank you for your support and participation in all that we've done to bring innovative design ideas to the public realm, and invite you to join us for an exciting new year of projects in public architecture.

In September, we concluded our design competition Parks for the People with a ceremony in Washington, D.C., where we celebrated a project that brought hundreds of university students and faculty together with the National Park Service to envision the next century of park design. Over the summer, we launched the River City exhibition series to investigate the potential of urban waterways to serve as accessible, equitable, and culturally vibrant public spaces. Convening experts from across disciplines to debate the role of the water’s edge in civic life, we explored challenges and opportunities that waterfronts present in designing resilient cities.

Through our Design Speed Dating program, we gathered emerging designers and prominent practitioners to review their portfolios, and discussed how design ideas can be most effectively communicated to audiences both within and outside the design disciplines. With over forty events at Van Alen Books in 2012, we’ve continued to sustain an energetic dialogue around a diverse collection of architectural publications. Building upon this conversation, we organized the Architecture Publishing Summit on the past, present, and future of design publishing.

And we hosted special events in association with organizations including the New York Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Next American City, the Fine Arts Federation of New York, the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, and others who joined us in partnership to envision the future of the public realm.

With more than a century-long history of spirited investigation into architecture and its role in civic life—and as we head toward our 120th anniversary in 2014—we look forward to expanding Van Alen’s role as a resource and a partner for critical inquiry in the world of architecture and design. Next year, we’ll continue to debate innovative design ideas and their role in creating exceptional public spaces. We’ll have more on the exploration of waterfront design in our River City exhibition series. Stay tuned for additional programs and events launching in the new year.

And at Van Alen Books, we’ll continue to provide a forum for conversation about architecture books and the ideas within them through a lively dialogue that connects our diverse community of thinkers, readers, and designers. In early 2013, we look forward to a full roster of events featuring titles including Cities Without Ground, Tectonic Acts of Desire and Doubt, Beyond Zuccotti Park, and many more.

We want to thank everyone who joined us at our public programs throughout 2012 to listen, discuss, and debate at Van Alen. We couldn’t have done all we did this year without your support—as active participants in our programs and as part of our diverse membership community. If you’re not yet a member, please join us today. Find out more about our membership opportunities and the many ways you can be a part of our network of supporters here. We thank you again for joining us in all we do at Van Alen, and we’ll look forward to seeing you in 2013!

From all of us at Van Alen Institute


Van Alen Institute’s ongoing programs are made possible through the generous assistance of our individual contributors and partners, and are supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. We also acknowledge the generous support of Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund and Seed Fund, as well as the following organizations:

Funders National Endowment for the Arts IMLS Environmental Defense Fund NPCA Jewish Communal Fund NYSCA Graham Foundation Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Social Science Research Council NYCulture

Van Alen Institute promotes innovative thinking about the role of architecture and design in civic life. Our programs engage a broad constituency of people in New York City, the nation, and around the world who participate in shaping the designed environment, from architecture students to emerging and established professionals to the interested public. For more information, please visit www.vanalen.org.

Van Alen Institute | 30 W. 22nd St., 6th Floor | New York, NY 10010 | 212–924–7000 | www.vanalen.org

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