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Grace La
NationalityKorean American
Alma materHarvard College (A.B., 1992), Harvard University Graduate School of Design (M.Arch., 1995)
Occupation(s)Principal, LA DALLMAN Professor of Architecture, Harvard University GSD
AwardsProgressive Architecture Award (2021)

Rice Design Alliance Prize (2011)

Emerging Voice of the Architectural League (2010)

Bruner Award for Urban Excellence Silver Medal (2007)

Boston Society of Architects (2) (2017)

Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Faculty Design Award (4) [1]

American Institute of Architects Wisconsin Design Awards (8)
PracticeLA DALLMAN (1999-present)
ProjectsKilbourn Tower, Marsupial Bridge & Media Garden, Miller Brewing Company Meeting Center, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall & New Riverwalk Entrance, Master Plan for the Menomonee Valley 2.0
Websiteladallman.com

Grace La (United States, 1970) is a first generation, Korean-American designer, Professor of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), and Principal of LA DALLMAN.[2] Co-founded with James Dallman, LA DALLMAN is a design firm recognized for the multidisciplinary integration of architecture, infrastructure, and landscape, with offices in Boston, MA and Milwaukee, WI.[3] La is the Chair of the Harvard GSD's Practice Platform and served as GSD's Director of the Master of Architecture Programs (2014–17).[4]

Early life and education

La was raised in the New England area and studied at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. As a boarding student, she studied visual arts in the Andover curriculum pioneered by Gordon "Diz" Bensley [note 1] and was awarded the Pamela Wiedenman Memorial Prize in Art.[5] At Andover, she also participated in the Dakar Project involving the renovation of an elementary school on Goree Island in Senegal, West Africa, which was formative to her later pursuit of architecture. She joined the Andover Exeter Washington Intern Program, in which she interned for Congressman Gerry Studds of Massachusetts.

La received her professional degree of Master of Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design; her thesis was granted the honor of distinction and her project won the Clifford Wong Housing Prize.[6] In college, she was a recipient of the Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Award and the John Harvard Scholarship, graduating A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard College in Visual and Environmental Studies.

Family

La[note 2] is the granddaughter of Na Duk Whan,[note 3] a South Korean leader recognized for his role in the resistance to the Japanese occupation of Korea, for which he was twice imprisoned in 1921 and 1940,[note 4] and for his charitable acts as memorialized in the book, A Beautiful Heritage of Faith.[note 5] La's design work for non-profit and mission based entities is rooted in the deep appreciation for service and civic engagement, which were instilled in her from her grandfather.

As noted in La's 2014 One Harvard address, La is the middle of three siblings, all educated at Harvard University.[7] La's parents, Dr. and Mrs. Jea Min La of Long Island, NY, were scholars who immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. La is the younger sister of Elinor L. Hoover (Harvard Business School, ‘94), Global Co-Head of Consumer Products and Vice Chairman of Capital Markets Origination at Citigroup.[note 6] La is the older sister of Daniel La, an organic chemist who is a Senior Director at Fog Pharma and a former Postdoctoral Fellow of the renowned David Evans Lab at Harvard University.

Career

Grace La is Principal of LA DALLMAN, co-founded with James Dallman in 1999. Since 2013, she is the Professor of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD).[8] She also served as Director of the GSD's Master of Architecture Programs in 2014–17.[4] La is the Chair of the GSD's Practice Platform (2014–present), an interdisciplinary committee focused on issues of contemporary and future design practice. Prior to these academic positions, she was a tenured faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture & Urban Planning, holding the positions of Professor (2013), Associate Professor (2005-13) and Assistant Professor (1999-2005). She held visiting appointments at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (2010) and Syracuse University.

LA DALLMAN, her practice with partner James Dallman, is engaged in the transformation of site through spatial and material investigations ranging in type and scale.[9] Noted for their unusual ability in the design and execution of complex projects by the Architectural Record,[10] the firm has received numerous professional honors and exhibited and published widely.[11]

Grace La co-edited Skycar City [12] with Winy Maas, co-founded and edited UWM's Calibrations, and was a member of the design editorial board of the Journal of Architectural Education for two terms. Her past research and teaching at UWM were funded by the international furniture manufacturer, KI, and resulted in numerous designed objects and prototypes, including a mass-customized public seating prototype exhibited at Discovery World.[13][14][15] This work was featured in the Design Innovations Panel of the Metropolis Conference at ICFF in 2010.[16]

As Director of the GSD's M.Arch Programs, La was responsible for both the M.Arch I and M.Arch II architecture degree programs, the largest department constituency at the GSD. During this period, she re-tooled the architecture department's admissions process, resulting in the highest admissions yield in the history of the school.[17] As Chair of the Practice Platform, La oversees curriculum development and programs in the area of design practice and is the host of Talking Practice, Harvard GSD's inaugural podcast series launched in October 2018.[18] Exploring matters and methods of practice, La has engaged podcast interviews with renowned designers such as Shohei Shigematsu, Jeanne Gang, Reinier de Graaf, Anna Heringer, Paul Nakazawa, Gary Hilderbrand, Preston Scott Cohen, and others.

In September 2019- January 2020, La co-curated with Jeremy Ficca and Amy Kulper, an exhibition entitled, "Drawing Attention," at the Roca London Gallery. The exhibition, gathering more than seventy five exemplary contemporary architectural drawings, opened during the London Design Festival. The exhibit was reviewed by the Royal Institute of British Architects among others, and was noted as a top exhibit to see in November 2019 by London's Guardian.

Honors and awards

La received four Faculty Design Awards from Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, honoring her for her projects that have "advance[d] the reflective nature of practice and teaching".[19][20] La received a university-wide honor from UWM for her exemplary teaching and research with the UWM Distinguished Teaching Award in 2005.[21]

La's award-winning practice, LA DALLMAN, is honored with a 2021 Progressive Architecture Award, eight Design Awards from the American Institute of Architects Wisconsin, two Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Design Awards, and multiple international design competition awards. LA DALLMAN was named a 2010 Emerging Voice by the Architectural League of New York and received the Bruner Award for Urban Excellence Silver Medal.[22] The firm received the international Spotlight: The Rice Design Alliance Prize in 2011, honoring "exceptionally gifted architects in the early phase of their career." [23] Grace La and James Dallman are the first North American practitioners to receive the prize, which was previously awarded to architects Antón García-Abril of Spain and Sou Fujimoto of Japan.[24]

LA DALLMAN's work is featured in publications by Spain's a+t, Architect Magazine,[25] Architectural Record,[26] Azure, Praxis,[27] Princeton Architectural Press,[28] Routledge, and Topos. They had exhibitions at the Carnegie Museum of Art Heinz Architectural Center and the Danish Architecture Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark. LA DALLMAN has given lectures in numerous symposia and esteemed institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., and the New Museum in New York City.

Notable projects

LA DALLMAN is renowned for the design and execution of the Crossroads Project: Marsupial Bridge and Media Garden, and urban transformation project begun in 1999 and lasting more than a decade.[29] This four-phased infrastructural transformation for public use includes a pedestrian bridge of 700 feet length named Marsupial Bridge, a bus shelter, a media garden, and a viewing deck.[30] The project has been published and exhibited broadly, including a full-scale mock-up of the media garden "lightslabs", in the Reprogramming the City exhibit at the Danish Architecture Centre.[31][32]

Among others, La's completed projects co-authored with partner, James Dallman, include the Miller Brewing Company Meeting Center (headquarters originally designed by mid-century architect, Ulrich Franzen), permanent science exhibits for Discovery World, the Marsupial Bridge and Media Garden, the Kilbourn Tower, the UWM Hillel Student Center, and several prominent residences including the Levy House in Wisconsin. At the time of its completion in 2005, Kilbourn Tower was the tallest residential building in Wisconsin and ranks as the 14th tallest building designed by a woman.[33] Known for expertise of mid-century modern buildings, LA DALLMAN was shortlisted in 2018 for the renovation of the American Repertory Theater, originally designed by Hugh Stubbins. LA DALLMAN completed the renovation of Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall and a new river entrance at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, originally designed by Harry Weese.

Further reading

Fabricated Landscapes: LA DALLMAN (UWM School of Architecture, 2009). Essays by Raymund Ryan, Filip Tejchman, Grace La, and James Dallman. Foreword by Robert Greenstreet.

Notes

  1. ^ "Gordon Bensley, 84; advanced the teaching of visual arts". The Boston Globe. 24 July 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  2. ^ The surname of “Na” was transliterated to “La” upon immigration to the U.S. in the 1950s; all members of the Na family residing in the U.S. use the surname “La.” However, the surname of Na is actively in use in South Korea by all members of the family residing there.
  3. ^ Na Duk Whan was a distinguished theologian, intellectual, and South Korean Presbyterian minister, who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Korean Presbyterian Church in 1961. Na Duk Whan was exhumed from his original interment site and re-buried in the Daejeon National Cemetery of Korea as a national honoree in 1991.
  4. ^ As a proponent of religious and cultural freedom and for his resistance to the Japanese occupation of South Korea, Na Duk Whan was imprisoned twice, for 6 months in 1921 and for four years from 1940-1944.
  5. ^ A Beautiful Heritage of Faith(2012) by Na Key Yound outlines his founding of the First Presbyterian Church in Suncheon and his notable charitable acts, including his personal sacrifices for the independence of Korea.
  6. ^ In 2014, 2015, and 2016, Hoover was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance (American Banker). Hoover is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

References

  1. ^ "ACSA Faculty Design Award". ACSA. 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  2. ^ Ryan, Sean (18 Feb 2013). "Grace La of LA DALLMAN to become professor at Harvard University". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  3. ^ La, Grace; Dallman, James (2009). Fabricated Landscapes. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. pp. 29–31.
  4. ^ a b "Grace La". Harvard Graduate School of Design. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  5. ^ Phillips Academy Order of Exercises at Exhibition (PDF). Andover,MA: Phillips Academy. 5 June 1988.
  6. ^ "Past Winners of the Clifford Wong Prize in Housing Design" (PDF). Harvard GSD. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  7. ^ Grace La (April 2014). One Harvard 2014 Faculty Alumni Panel: Grace La (video). Harvard University.
  8. ^ Millard, Pete (6 Mar 2005). "Architectural Couple Agree on Dividing Duties, Pursuing Public Projects". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  9. ^ Galef, Julia (3 Mar 2010). "La Dallman". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  10. ^ Czarnecki, J. (December 2002). "Taking a Leap of Faith". Architectural Record. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Grace La appointed Full Professor at Harvard GSD, Department of Architecture". Archinect.com. 4 Mar 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  12. ^ Maas, Winny; La, Grace (September 2007). Skycar City. Milwaukee: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
  13. ^ Schumacher, Mary-Louise (4 Mar 2013). "Design Ideas: The Drift Bench". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  14. ^ "UWM students take their seat (to Discovery World)". UWM report. 10 Oct 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  15. ^ Rob Zdanowski (17 December 2011). Drift Public Seating (video).
  16. ^ "The Metropolis Conference @ ICFF: Design Entrepreneurs: What's Next". Metropolis. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  17. ^ "GSD Factbook" (PDF). Harvard GSD. Mar 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Graduate School of Design launches 'Talking Practice' podcast". Harvard Gazette. 5 Oct 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  19. ^ "ACSA Faculty Design Award". ACSA. 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  20. ^ "ACSA Faculty Design Award Recipients". ACSA. 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  21. ^ "UWM 2004-05 Annual Report Awards and Recognition Committee" (PDF). UWM. 14 Sep 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  22. ^ The Architectural League of New York (2015). 30 Years of Emerging Voices, Idea, Form, Resonance. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. p. 254.
  23. ^ "Spotlight Award Winners: LA DALLMAN". Swiss-Architects. 7 Sep 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  24. ^ "2017 Rice Design Alliance Spotlight Prize goes to OOPEAA". Bustler. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  25. ^ Capps, Kriston (June 2012). "Studio Visit with La Dallman". Architect: The Magazine of the American Institute of Architects: 82–85. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  26. ^ Czarnecki, J. (December 2002). "Taking a Leap of Faith". Architectural Record. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  27. ^ Tejchman, Filip (October 2008). "Out of Bonds". PRAXIS Journal of Writing and Building (10: Urban Matters). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  28. ^ Killory, C.; Davids, R. (May 2008). Detail in Process, AsBuilt Series II. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781568987187.
  29. ^ "Crossroads Project and Marsupial Bridge". Rudy Bruner Award. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  30. ^ Gould, W (26 Apr 2004). "Pockets of Orphaned Land are Opportunities for Lively Design". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  31. ^ "Reprogramming the City". Danish Architecture Centre. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  32. ^ Hauck, Thomas; Keller, Regine (2011). Infrastructural Urbanism: Addressing the In-between. Berlin: DOM Publishers. pp. 181–185. ISBN 3869221313.
  33. ^ Bamberger, Tom (29 Feb 2008). "Accidental Beauty". Milwaukee Magazine. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
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