Lecture

20th Annual Landscape Design Portfolios Lecture Series: CHARLES BIRNBAUM | Change and Continuity

Oct 1 at 6:30–7:30pm
Scandinavia House, 58 Park Ave, New York, NY 10016
Organized by New York Botanical Garden

In honor of the 20th anniversary of this series, we invite you to hear three influential landscape architects showcase their signature projects, working methods, and design philosophies. This year’s lineup features a passionate and influential trio, each of whom is transforming cities around the world in their own way. Their timeless designs and tireless advocacy for public spaces, regenerated urban sites, and city centers tell stories that resonate on profound emotional, intellectual, and poetic levels—reflecting a deep, personal connection between people and place, history and ecology.

Change and Continuity

As urban growth continues a relentless pace, Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR, believes it is crucial for landscape architects to weave a site’s history into new designs, but not in ways that are nostalgic or staid. He points to the Lincoln Road Mall (Miami), the Russell Page Garden at The Frick Collection (NYC), the High
Line (NYC), Peavy Plaza (Minneapolis), and Spain’s Madrid RIO (Spain) as engaging examples of
how historic preservation can blend with modern design to showcase a city’s unique cultural assets. The founder and CEO of The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), Birnbaum is also at the forefront of efforts to save significant works of landscape architecture, including Chicago’s Olmsted and Vaux designed Jackson Park and Washington D.C.’s Modernist Pershing Park. Prior to establishing TCLF in 1998, Birnbaum served for 15 years as Coordinator of the National Park Service History Landscape Initiative. Currently a Visiting Professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture Planning + Preservation, he has authored and edited numerous publications and received many awards, most recently the ASLA Medal (2017).

Lecture
NYC’s architecture and design month features hundreds of events, tours, and exhibitions organized by more than 60 partners across the five boroughs.
Saturday, Oct 27
Event Title
Partner