Conversations in Context invited leaders from creative fields to reflect on the site’s past, present, and future, and to contribute their perspectives on the Glass House and its significance to contemporary debates.

Elizabeth Diller is a founding principal of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, a ninety person interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture, the visual arts, and the performing arts. Ms. Diller attended the Cooper Union School of Art and received a Bachelor of Architecture from the Cooper Union School of Architecture. Ms. Diller is a Professor of Architecture at Princeton University. Photo by Iwan Baan.

Ricardo Scofidio is a founding principal of Diller Scofidio + Renfro, an 85 person interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture, the visual arts, and the performing arts. Mr. Scofidio attended The Cooper Union School of Architecture and received a Bachelor of Architecture from Columbia University. Mr. Scofidio is Professor Emeritus of Architecture at Cooper Union. Photo by Abe Morrell.

Among the various projects of Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s international body of work: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, including the redesign of Alice Tully Hall, the renovation and expansion of The Juilliard School, the Hypar Pavilion Lawn and Restaurant, and the expansion of the School of American Ballet; the High Line, an urban park situated on an obsolete elevated railway stretching 1.5 miles long through the Chelsea area of New York City; the Institute of Contemporary Art on Boston’s waterfront; the Creative Arts Center at Brown University; and Blur, built on Lake Neuchâtel for the 2002 Swiss Expo. Currently in design: the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Expansion project in New York City; the Broad Art Museum in downtown Los Angeles, CA; the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley; the Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York City; the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City; the Museum of Image & Sound on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Dongguan Factory and Housing Complex in Shenzhen, China; the new art and art history building for Stanford University; the Culture Shed and Tower D Residential Tower in the Hudson Yards Development in New York City; and the Hirshhorn Museum Seasonal Inflatable Pavilion on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Installation and performance projects recently completed include: The Art of Scent 1889-2010, an exhibition of olfactory art at the Museum of Arts & Design; Open House in collaboration with Droog; How Wine Became Modern for SFMOMA; Be Your Self with the Australian Dance Theatre; Exit (Terre Natale), an exhibition accompanying the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP15) in Copenhagen; Chain City for the 2008 Venice Biennale 11th International Architecture Exhibition; and Arbores Laetae for the 2008 Liverpool Biennial.

In 1999-2004, the MacArthur Foundation presented Mr. Scofidio and Ms. Diller with the ‘genius’ award for their commitment to integrating architecture with issues of contemporary culture. Both principals are fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Other prestigious awards and honors received by Diller Scofidio + Renfro include: the American Academy in Rome Centennial Medal of Honor; the National Design Award from the Smithsonian; the Brunner Prize from the American Academy of the Arts and Letters; an Obie for an off-Broadway theater production; the AIA President’s Award; the AIA Medal of Honor; and AIA Honor Awards for numerous projects. In 2003, the Whitney Museum of American Art held a retrospective of the studio’s work, recognizing the firm’s unorthodox practice. In 2009, all three partners were featured in a one-hour segment with Charlie Rose and in 2010, Fast Company named Diller Scofidio + Renfro the most innovative design practice in the profession and among the top 50 most innovative companies in the world.

The 2013 season of Conversations in Context was generously supported by Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope^®  

Additional support was kindly provided by Nat and Lucy Day.

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