The Dallas Architecture Forum Presents
Acclaimed Landscape Architect
Thomas Woltz
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
At the Horchow Auditorium, Dallas Museum of Art
The Dallas Architecture Forum is pleased to continue its 2018-2019 lecture season with acclaimed landscape architect Thomas Woltz, principal and owner of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW) based in Charlottesville, Virginia and New York City.
Over the past two decades of practice, Thomas Woltz has forged a body of work that integrates the beauty and function of built forms with an understanding of complex biological systems and restoration ecology. NBW projects have created models of biodiversity and sustainable agriculture within areas to reclaim damaged ecological infrastructure and create working farmland, that has yielded hundreds of acres of reconstructed wetlands, reforested land, native meadows and flourishing wildlife habitat.
Presently, Thomas and NBW are designing major public parks across the United States, Canada and New Zealand. These projects include Memorial Park in Houston, Hudson Yards in New York City, NoMA Green in Washington DC, Cornwall Park in Auckland, the Aga Khan Garden in Alberta, Canada, and three parks in Nashville, including Centennial Park. Other significant projects by the firm include landscape designs for The Rothko Chapel in Houston, historic sites Olana and Monticello, and Guggenheim Venice.
Woltz was educated at the University of Virginia in architecture, landscape architecture, fine art and architectural history. In 2011, he was invested into the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows, among the highest honors in his profession, and in 2013 was named Design Innovator of the Year by the Wall Street Journal magazine. Fast Company recently named Woltz one of the most creative people in business for 2017. His firm’s work has been recognized with more than 90 national and international awards and has been published widely.
nbwla.com
Additional Media Coverage: Introspective Magazine, Garden & Gun Magazine, MySanAntonio.com, Fast Company Magazine
Introspective Magazine
https://bit.ly/2Wb2zBB
Garden & Gun Magazine
http://bit.ly/2Muo2Bb
MySanAntonio.com - The Rebirth of Houston’s Memorial Park
http://bit.ly/2B1H6Ce
Fast Company
http://bit.ly/2CKO66D
“Thomas Woltz has the unusual distinction of a being a landscape architect who has designed residential, corporate and public projects. He brings a unique approach to landscape design by pursuing thorough research to understand the ecology and history of an area as the basis for the design,” stated Forum executive director Nate Eudaly. “Because his goal is to move beyond just decorating the environment to improving the underlying eco-system and bringing forth the history of an area to create an identity that draws people from various backgrounds, he has been called a visionary and has attracted wide acclaim for his work.”
Woltz will speak on Wednesday, February 6 at 7:00 p.m., with check-in and a complimentary reception beginning at 6:15 p.m., at the Horchow Auditorium at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Tickets for this lecture are $20 for general admission, $15 for DMA members, and $5 for students (with ID). Tickets can be purchased at the door before the lecture. No reservations are needed to attend Forum lectures. Dallas Architecture Forum members receive free admission to all regular Forum lectures as a benefit of membership, and AIA members can earn one hour of CE credit for each lecture. For more information on The Dallas Architecture Forum, visit www.dallasarchitectureforum.org or call 214-764-2406.
Season Sponsors for The Dallas Architecture Forum’s 2018-2019 Season are Faisal Halum, Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, Maharger Development – Reggie Graham, and SMINK. Lecture Sponsors are Blum Consulting Engineers, Susan Marcus, Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, and J R Thompson, Inc. Reception Sponsor is Landscape Forms.
THOMAS WOLTZ, FASLA
PRINCIPAL, NELSON BYRD WOLTZ LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS NEW YORK CITY and CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA
6 February 2019
Wednesday, 7:00 pm
Horchow Auditorium, DMA
Forum Reception and check-in 6:15 pm
Over the past two decades of practice, landscape architect Thomas Woltz has forged a body of work that integrates the beauty and function of built forms with an understanding of complex biological systems and restoration ecology. As principal of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects (NBW), a 45-person firm based in Charlottesville, Virginia and New York City, Woltz has infused narratives of the land into the places where people live, work and play, deepening the public’s enjoyment of the natural world and inspiring environmental stewardship. NBW projects create models of biodiversity and sustainable agriculture within areas of damaged ecological infrastructure and working farmland, yielding hundreds of acres of reconstructed wetlands, reforested land, native meadows and flourishing wildlife habitat.
Presently, Thomas and NBW are entrusted with the design of major public parks across the United States, Canada and New Zealand. These projects include Memorial Park in Houston, Hudson Yards in New York City, NoMA Green in Washington DC, Cornwall Park in Auckland, the Aga Khan Garden in Alberta, Canada, and three parks in Nashville, including Centennial Park.
Woltz was educated at the University of Virginia in architecture, landscape architecture, fine art and architectural history. He holds master’s degrees in Landscape Architecture and Architecture. After working in Venice and Paris, he returned to the United States to launch his career in landscape architecture. Today, Woltz serves on the Boards of Directors of the Cultural Landscape Foundation and University of Virginia School of Architecture Foundation. In 2011, he was invested into the American Society of Landscape Architects Council of Fellows, among the highest honors in his profession, and in 2013 was named Design Innovator of the Year by the Wall Street Journal magazine. Fast Company recently named Woltz one of the most creative people in business for 2017. His firm’s work has been recognized with more than 90 national and international awards and has been published widely.
In the founding tradition of landscape architecture NBW is committed to aesthetic and environmental excellence, social commitment and innovation. The firm has been instrumental in steering landscape architecture towards integrated, ecologically performative design, relying on science-based methodology and collaboration with a wide range of systems-experts. It has dramatically expanded the traditional role of landscape architecture into the areas of restoration ecology, urban planning, civil engineering, and agriculture. In the past two years NBW has been entrusted with the design of significant public parks and cultural institutions in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand, placing 30 years of design innovation in greater service to the public realm. These projects include Hudson Yards Public Square and Garden, The Rothko Chapel, The Peabody Essex Museum, Olana, and the Omega Institute.
Firm Philosophy
NBW creates resilient landscapes by artfully combining eco-technologies, aesthetics, and the imbedded histories of a site. They understand that resilient landscape architecture design succeeds when it is based on a process of research, ecologic performance, beauty, and an authentic engagement with the client and stakeholders. They employ an iterative process of information gathering and design to arrive at the essence of a landscape; which then leads to the expression of the profound narratives inherent in a place. Clear and consistent communication with the Client Group and with sub-consultants is likewise key to a project’s efficiency and success. NBW uses this process to guide the client toward the common goal of design excellence and ecological stewardship.
About the Dallas Architecture Forum
The Dallas Architecture Forum is a not-for-profit civic organization that brings leading architectural thought leaders from around the world to speak in Dallas and also fosters important local dialogue about the major issues impacting our urban environment. The Forum was founded in 1996 by some of Dallas’ leading architects, business, cultural and civic leaders, and it continues to benefit from active support and guidance from these citizens. The Forum fulfills its mission of providing a continuing and challenging public discourse on architecture and urban design in - and for - the Dallas area. The Dallas Architecture Forum's members include architects, design professionals, students and educators, and a broad range of civic-minded individuals and companies intent to improve the urban environment in North Texas. The Forum has been recognized nationally with an AIA Collaboration Achievement Award for its strategic partnerships with other organizations focused on architecture, urban planning and the arts. For more information on The Forum, visit www.DallasArchitectureForum.org.
Among the over 230 speakers who have addressed The Forum’s Lecture Series are Shigeru Ban, Brad Cloepfil, Diller + Scofidio, Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Daniel Libeskind, Thomas Phifer, Rafael Vinoly, Juhani Pallasmaa, AIA Gold Medal Winner Peter Bohlin, and regional architects David Lake and Ted Flato. Pritzker Prize winners speaking to The Forum have been Kazuyo Sejima, Rafael Moneo, Thom Mayne, Rem Koolhaas and Norman Foster (the latter two in collaboration with the ATT Performing Arts Center). Other speakers for The Forum have been leading designers Calvin Tsao, Andrée Putman, and Karim Rashid; landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh; and National Trust President Emeritus Richard Moe. Important critics, authors and patrons who have spoken to The Forum include Emily Pulitzer, Terence Riley, Pulitzer Prize winners Robert Campbell and Blair Kamin, Aaron Betsky, and the late David Dillon.
The Forum organizes and presents an annual series of Panels—local, informal, open, and offered free of charge as a public service to the community—led by a moderator who brings a subject of local importance along with comments by participating panelists. Moderators and Panelists have also come from both other Texas cities as well as from national institutions that were connected with particular Panel subjects. Panels offer attendees the opportunity to participate in creating discourse. Important topics addressed in Panels in recent years include: “Thoughts on the Dallas Comprehensive Plan”; “The Kimbell Expansion: A Discussion”; “Filling Out the Dallas Arts District”; and “Re-envisioning the Trinity”.
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