David Rubin | LAND COLLECTIVE - Vol. #2 Two Academies

David Rubin | LAND COLLECTIVE  Two Academies Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Broad Street, Philadelphia              © DR|LC In October of 2011, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts opened Lenfest Plaza at Broad and Cherry Streets in Philadelphia. Michael O’Reilly, producer at public television station WHYY created a short documentary film about the project for their Friday Arts series. In it, O’Reilly highlights the artists, Claes Oldenburg and Jordan Griska, as well as the design of a socially-sustainable, arts-rich public space that serves to unify PAFA’s campus, the creation of an arts identifier for the State of Pennsylvania opposite the newly opened convention center, and the establishment of a gateway to Philadelphia’s Museum Mile. August is the close of term for the 2011–2012 Class of Fellows at the American Academy in Rome. The year coalesced with Trustee’s Week and the Open Studio Exhibition, which showcased the work of all of the Fellows participating in the Arts. David A. Rubin was honored to receive visits in his studio by Academy Trustees Billie Tsien (Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects), Thom Mayne (Morphosis), Mary Margaret Jones (Hargreaves Associates), and Walter Hood (Hood Studio), among others. In addition to his Academy project, Food for Thought, Rubin's studio showcased explorations in drawing, painting, and writing, and the formation and branding of David Rubin | LAND COLLECTIVE. Food For Thought: Sustenance & Sustainability AAR Existing Conditions     © David Rubin | LAND COLLECTIVE The American Academy in Rome is an “Embassy of Knowledge”—an institution dedicated to the creation and dissemination of new thinking, American thinking—and like political embassies in foreign lands, whose ground is understood as U.S. soil, so too the American Academy in Rome should have a landscape that represents the best of American ideals. It should not only foster the creative process, allowing those in attendance to undertake their greatest work, it should be representative of the best of current and progressive sustainable practices and be a model institution among those here in Rome and elsewhere. The best landscape framework should holistically support the enterprise of this prestigious institution in a manner that allows it to be perpetually relevant—the model Academy. David A. Rubin's American Academy in Rome Shoptalk outlines these goals and can be seen here: Food For Thought. Landscape Architecture Fellows have long used the Academy’s campus as a template for exploration, and in the weeks following Open Studio, Rubin was honored to meet and collaborate with Alice Waters, whose Rome Sustainable Foods Project has transformed the Academy and the way that Fellows communicate with one another. She was generous in her suggestions for improving Food For Thought and the ideas that support it. Alice is a force of nature, and her efforts to improve America’s schools can be found here: The Edible Schoolyard Project. Although the late summer brings slower times, David A. Rubin is looking forward to upcoming speaking engagements at Cornell University, at Yale University, and at the Garden Club of America Chapters in Charleston, South Carolina, and Indianapolis, Indiana, beginning in September.

Shoptalk at the American Academy In Rome

Fellows at the American Academy in Rome have the opportunity to speak to their colleagues and invited guests about their project undertakings while studying at the Academy. David Rubin, 2011-12 recipient of the Garden Club of America Rome Prize in Landscape, spoke in March about his work in a presentation called: Food For Thought - Sustanance and Sustainability.

Rubin, in the tradition of Landscape Architect Fellows, uses the Academy campus as a canvas to explore his ideas in socially-sustainable landscape architecture, suggesting a 21st-century vision plan for the McKim Mead & White property and the adjacent Married Fellows' Residence (5B), Triangle Garden, and Chiaraviglio properties. The goal of the vision plan is to reinforce the Academy as an "Embassy of Knowledge" - the extant leader among academies worldwide - increasing the productivity in both academic and landscape terms, while reducing the expense and energy required to maintain a symbolic creative landscape.

Lenfest Plaza Reviewed by Inga Saffron

Lenfest Plaza                                                            © David Rubin | LAND COLLECTIVE

Lenfest Plaza, which opened in October 2011 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, was reviewed by Inga Saffron for Metropolis Magazine in an article entitled "Pied Piper Park". In the article, Ms. Saffron cites recent park-building in the City of Philadelphia, comparing David Rubin's design for Lenfest Plaza to the recently completed Race Street Pier by Field Operations:

"The last few years have seen a frenzy of park-building all over the city, but the two best results are near downtown: Lenfest Plaza, by Olin’s David Rubin, and Race Street Pier, by James Corner Field Operations. Located just over a mile apart, the parks are intended as urban lounges but are also expected to perform the role of a pied piper, guiding people to less-traveled parts of the city."

A New Beginning: Land Collective - April 2012

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Even though we are already in the month of April, I want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy New Year. 2012 represents a milestone year: I am honored to be the recipient of the Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture. My time at the American Academy in Rome has been extraordinarily productive and continues to revitalize my enthusiasm for learning; I am benefiting from the presence of my fellow Rome Prize winners, some of the most talented, gracious, and collaborative artists and scholars from the United States and the world.

2012 is also the year in which I launch my own practice in landscape architecture and urban design: a new firm called Land Collective.

Land Collective is committed to a practice that emphasizes socially-purposeful design strategies. We recognize that a successful space is one that’s well attended, and the best landscapes, whether public parks, urban plazas, campuses, or cityscapes, are those in which all sectors of society have the opportunity to participate. Land Collective recognizes that innovation is achieved through collaboration and that demonstrable leadership and the synthesis of multiple disciplines result in design excellence. I look forward to sharing more with you as Land Collective develops over the coming months.

I wish you all a joyful 2012.

Auguri!

David

David A. Rubin
Founder, David Rubin | LAND COLLECTIVE
Fellow, American Academy in Rome

David A. Rubin launches Land Collective after twenty-one years at the acclaimed firm OLIN where he was a Partner, Co-Owner, and Board Member.  During that time, he focused on finding new opportunities and expanding the range of practice and OLIN’s presence within the disciplines of landscape architecture and urban design.  These accomplishments include: OLIN Placemaking, OLIN’s first monograph, representing the work of all of its partners;  securing a position on three of the four recent London Embassy competition teams and developing a newly revitalized presence in Europe; participating in the ARC Wildlife Crossing Competition in Colorado; visioning the re-use of a 600-acre Limestone Quarry; designing Potomac Park Levee on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; creating a new campus and commons for Eskenazi Health Services Hospital in Indianapolis; designing two parks --one on each coast -- Canal Park in Washington, D.C., and Plummer Park in West Hollywood, California; completing the recently opened, critically acclaimed Lenfest Plaza in Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and defining a new framework and development plan for Temple University’s main campus entitled Temple 20/20, also in Philadelphia.