The Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize was founded in 2019 to celebrate the late, great designer’s often-overlooked field, as well as honour her influential and pioneering work. Architectural gardens, sustainability and the need for communities to connect with green, open spaces are all critical aspects of the profession that Oberlander was deeply passionate about – and the Vancouver-based landscape architect was talking about them long before most others did. Now, aiming at continuing her legacy, the prize will be given every two years and the inaugural award has just been announced: crowning American landscape architect Julie Bargmann as the 2021 Oberlander Prize winner.
The Oberlander Prize was set up by The Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington DC. It includes a cash prize that comes accompanied by two years of public engagement activities focused on the laureate and landscape architecture. The recipient is an individual who is ‘exceptionally talented, creative, courageous, and visionary' and has ‘a significant body of built work that exemplifies the art of landscape architecture', say the organisers.
Julie Bargmann, 2021 Oberlander Prize laureate.
Bargmann is the founder of D.I.R.T. (Dump It Right There) studio, and a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. Through her three-decade career, the landscape architect has tirelessly championed the power of designing for the outdoors. Her work focuses on contaminated, neglected, and forgotten urban and post-industrial sites, transforming them into artfully designed havens of green and calm.
2021 Oberlander Prize jury recognise ‘impact on the public landscape’
‘Unearthing the raw ingredients of design from waste and wastelands defines my life’s work,' Bargmann explains. ‘Both the pedagogy of my teaching and my methodology as a designer address the social and ecological imperatives to reclaim degraded land. Integrating regenerative technologies with design propositions and built landscapes embodies my contribution to the discipline of landscape architecture.'
The jury, including chair Dorothée Imbert, architect Tatiana Bilbao, and designer Walter Hood, was impressed by her body of work. They awarded her the 2021 Oberlander Prize for ‘her leadership in the world of ideas, her impact on the public landscape, her model of an activist practice, and her commitment to advancing landscape architecture both through teaching and design.’
Core City Park Detroit, MI, Spring 2021.
Turtle Creek Water Works, Dallas, TX, 2021.
Turtle Creek Water Works, Dallas, TX, 2021.
Urban, Outfitters, Philadelphia, PA, 2021.
Vintondale Excavated Ponds
INFORMATION
-
This nostalgic exhibition dives into a century of British surfingCornwall's National Maritime Museum charts the history of waveriding on England's south coast
-
Waiheke Island is a must-visit for oenophiles and aesthetes alikeDiscover what to do during this New Zealand destination's annual Walking Festival and beyond
-
Bold colours and tactile textures: inside Bottega Veneta's second fine jewellery dropThe collection is composed of two parts: Enlaced and Alchemy
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
-
Why this rare Frank Lloyd Wright house is considered one of Chicago’s ‘most endangered’ buildingsThe JJ Walser House has sat derelict for six years. But preservationists hope the building will have a vibrant second act
-
Buy a slice of California’s midcentury modern history with this 1955 Pasadena houseConrad Buff II Residence has been fully restored and updated for the 21st century
-
Step inside a writer's Richard Neutra-designed apartment in Los AngelesMichael Webb, invites us into his LA home – a showcase of modernist living
-
Join our world tour of contemporary homes across five continentsWe take a world tour of contemporary homes, exploring case studies of how we live; we make five stops across five continents
-
The Architecture of Seduction: how Horace Gifford built a modernist, queer paradiseFire Island is explored through a new edition of Christopher Rawlins’ seminal architectural and social history book on the life and work of Horace Gifford
-
Step inside this furniture gallerist's live-work space by Steven Holl in upstate New YorkDesigned by Steven Holl for modern furniture gallerists Mark McDonald and Dwayne Resnick, this live-work space in upstate New York is a midcentury collector’s paradise
-
Remembering architect Ricardo Scofidio (1935 – 2025)Ricardo Scofidio, seminal architect and co-founder of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, has died, aged 89; we honour his passing and celebrate his life
