In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La interviews Sheila O’Donnell, architect, educator and co-founder of O’Donnell + Tuomey.

Sheila reflects on the creation of O’Donnell + Tuomey, the practice she formed with John Tuomey in 1988. She traces the evolution of her practice through the workings of Group 91 and shares her insights on how their collective energy reshaped Dublin’s Temple Bar District.  She discusses how context fundamentally influences her design approach and the professional opportunities that opened for many of Ireland’s most successful practitioners.

Sheila describes the collaborative spirit within her firm, the challenge of competing against large corporate offices, and the creative benefits that a smaller, design-focused team offers its clients. She explores the evolving conversation around sustainability and material choice, offering a grounded yet optimistic view on how contemporary practices navigate design, context, and climate responsibility. The podcast highlights the early significance of working with existing buildings and honing an acute attention to context — characteristics that have become central themes of O’Donnell + Tuomey’s practice.

For more on Sheila O’Donnell, check out her GSD Department of Architecture lecture – “Conversations with Place.”  

Sheila O’Donnell established O’Donnell + Tuomey with John Tuomey in 1988. O’Donnell + Tuomey’s work is developed in the spirit of architectural, social and cultural investigation. The practice has been commissioned with a variety of work, including renowned projects such as the Photographers’ Gallery and LSE Student Centre, a new museum for the V&A and a dance theatre and academy for Sadler’s Wells. She is an Honorary fellow of the American Institute of Architects. In 2009 she was elected a member of Aosdána, an affiliation of Irish Artists. In 2015 she was joint recipient with John Tuomey of the RIBA Royal Gold Medal and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Brunner Prize, both awarded in recognition of a lifetimes work.  Sheila has been a lecturer in Architectural design in UCD since 1981 and a Professor since 2016. She has taught and lectured at schools of Architecture in Europe, Japan and the USA, including Harvard GSD, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, among others.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice. Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Principal of LA DALLMAN, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Talking Practice is produced and edited by Maggie Janik. Our Research Assistant is Victor Ohene.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La interviews Pier Vittorio Aureli, architect, educator, and co-founder of Dogma, an architecture and research-based practice in Brussels. Pier Vittorio reveals early beginnings of Dogma, which started as an academic comradery and became a professional cooperation. He expands on the reception and interpretation of his work and writing, including the contemporary challenges of housing.

As an educator, Pier Vittorio discusses the influence of his teaching and its role on his writing. The conversation sheds light on the imbrication of politics, housing, and social concerns. Pier Vittorio and Grace also discuss academia and why construction is at the “core” of the architectural discipline.

For more on Pier Vittorio Aureli’s work and teaching, check out his lecture –  “The Longhouse” and recent publication – “Architecture and Abstraction.”

Pier Vittorio Aureli is an architect and educator. He studied at the Istituto di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV) and later at the Berlage Institute and TU Delft where he earned his PhD. Aureli currently teaches at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne where he directs the Laboratory Theory and Project of Domestic Space. Together with Martino Tattara, he is the co-founder of Dogma, an office for architecture based in Brussels. Dogma has developed a specific interest in large-scale interventions, urban research, and especially domestic space and its potential for transformation.  Aureli has published many essays and several books, such as The Possibility of an Absolute Architecture (2011), Living and Working (with Dogma, 2022) and Architecture and Abstraction (2023). He is currently working on an anthology of Manfredo Tafuri’s writings.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice. Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Principal of LA DALLMAN, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Talking Practice is produced and edited by Maggie Janik. Research Assistance is provided by Victor Ohene and Ian Erickson. The show was recorded at Harvard University’s Media Production Center by Multimedia Engineer PJ Goodwin.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La interviews Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, partners and co-founders of Johnston Marklee and Professors in Practice of Architecture at the GSD. Sharon and Mark discuss the beginning of their partnership, which is deeply rooted in a shared connection to Los Angeles. The pair reflect on the demands of oscillating between project types– designing for single-family homes and for institutionally scaled projects– explaining how this spectrum of work influences their working dynamic and office culture. They provide insights into the “art of finding the problem” and how they foster an economy of means through strategies for building components. Mark and Sharon also describe their interest in exhibitions and the significance of interiors.

As practitioners and professors, Mark and Sharon discuss the role of art and history in designing spaces, teaching students and guiding academia. For more on Sharon and Mark’s work, check out Mark’s lecture – “Five Footnotes Towards An Architecture” and Sharon’s spring 2023 option studio – Barnes’ Barns in the Grid of Des Moines”.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice. Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Principal of LA DALLMAN, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Talking Practice is produced and edited by Maggie Janik. Research Assistance is provided by Victor Ohene. The show was recorded at Harvard University’s Media Production Center by Multimedia Engineer Jeffrey Valade.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La interviews Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam, principals and co-founders of Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects in Atlanta, Georgia.

Shortly after their studies, Mack and Merrill began their professional careers at Heery and Heery in Atlanta, Georgia, where the duo developed a deep appreciation for the productive nature of diversity and a pioneering knowledge of project management. Merrill’s MBA background further enabled her to speak the language of business, a skill that later proved vital when they began their independent practice. Recounting early projects such as the Morrow Branch Library, the Clayton County Headquarters Library, and a factory building for Herman Miller, Mack and Merrill articulate their understanding of architecture as responsive to the people and contexts it serves. Finally, reflecting on the state of architectural education today, Mack and Merrill share their excitement about the entangled conditions of our time and underscore the importance of using computation intelligently.

For more on the practice of Mack Scogin Merril Elam Architects, check out Harvard Design Magazine no. 48, America.

Mack Scogin and Merrill Elam are principals at Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects in Atlanta, Georgia. With over forty years of experience, Mack and Merrill have completed a wide variety of projects including single-family residences, public libraries, university dormitories, and, most recently, a federal courthouse in Austin, TX. Their work has received over fifty awards, including six national AIA Awards of Excellence, and has been featured in international publications and museum exhibitions. From 1990 – 1995, Mack served as the chairman of the department of architecture at the GSD, and is the Kajima Professor in Practice of Architecture, Emeritus.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice. Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Principal of LA DALLMAN, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Grace La is Professor of Architecture, Chair of the Practice Platform, and former Director of the Master of Architecture Programs at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is also Principal of LA DALLMAN Architects, internationally recognized for the integration of architecture, engineering and landscape. Cofounded with James Dallman, LA DALLMAN is engaged in catalytic projects of diverse scale and type. The practice is noted for works that expand the architect’s agency in the civic recalibration of infrastructure, public space and challenging sites.

Talking Practice is produced and edited by Maggie Janik. Our Research Assistants are John Wang and Reuben Zeiset.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode, host Grace La interviews Kersten Geers, who is a founding partner together with David Van Severen of OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen and the Kenzo Tange Design Critics in architecture at the GSD. Kersten recounts his early encounters with David in Belgium and the U.S., and the influence of Iñaki Ábalos and Juan Herreros during their studies in Spain. Commenting on the nature of collaboration with David, Kersten underscores the significance of dialogue in their process, in which design is understood as a cultural project and a conversation between people and across time. Reflecting on their long-standing academic inquiry of “Architecture without Content,” Kersten comments on the incapacity of architecture to keep pace with changes in technology, program, lifestyle and behavior; instead, he argues for space that is pleasurable and for an understanding of architecture as well-proportioned frames within which the complexities of life unfold.

Discussing the purpose of representation, Kersten describes how simple, collage drawings are leveraged as design guides from the initial concept stage to construction detailing. For more on Kersten and David’s investigation into the history and representation of American architecture, please see their fall 2019 GSD option studio.

This episode of Talking Practice was recorded prior to the pandemic, and as we resume programming this Spring of 2022, we are delighted to release it and future episodes.

Kersten Geers and David Van Severen are the founding partners of the Brussels-based OFFICE Kersten Geers David Van Severen and the Kenzo Tange Design Critics in architecture at the GSD. Spanning a wide range of programs and types, the work of OFFICE has been the subject of multiple international publications and was awarded the Silver Lion in the 2010 Venice Biennale. In addition to their architecture practice, Kersten and David have taught widely in the U.S. and Europe and served as the curators of two recent exhibitions at the Canadian Center for Architecture. Together with Pier Paolo Tamburelli, Kersten was also one of the founding editors of the San Rocco magazine. Kersten and David taught their fall 2019 studio at the GSD titled “An American Section.”

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice. Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Principal of LA DALLMAN, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Grace La is Professor of Architecture, Chair of the Practice Platform, and former Director of the Master of Architecture Programs at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. She is also Principal of LA DALLMAN Architects, internationally recognized for the integration of architecture, engineering and landscape. Cofounded with James Dallman, LA DALLMAN is engaged in catalytic projects of diverse scale and type. The practice is noted for works that expand the architect’s agency in the civic recalibration of infrastructure, public space and challenging sites.

Talking Practice is produced and edited by Maggie Janik. Our Research Assistant is John Wang.  The show is recorded at Harvard University’s Education Support Services by Multimedia Engineer Jeffrey Valade.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La moderates a special roundtable, Practice in an Uncertain World. This informal event was recorded over zoom in May 2020, after the Harvard GSD evacuated its campus due to the COVID pandemic. The occasion gathered thirteen prominent architectural practitioners, who assembled on an early Saturday morning to share candid thoughts on the complexities of practice at this unprecedented moment. Featuring GSD faculty and alums, and representing different ages, geographic regions, and architectural practice type, the roundtable speakers include:  Jeffry Burchard, Elizabeth Christoforetti, Scott Cohen, Jeanne Gang, Eric Howeler, Grace La, Mark Lee, Rahul Mehrotra, Toshiko Mori, Paul Nakazawa, Lyndon Neri, Jacob Reidel, and Mack Scogin.

The conversation reveals a broad spectrum of insights and experiences. From the structuring of a fledgling office to the value of diversifying project type, the guests communicate the means by which they survived past recessions.  They also discuss the importance of educating oneself outside the academy, acquiring “fitness” in new modes of thinking, and developing networks based on values and priorities. Spanning topics from the philosophical to the practical, they share their unique stories, advice, and reflections.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice.  Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Chair of Practice Platform, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Grace La is Professor of Architecture, Chair of the Practice Platform, and former Director of the Master of Architecture Programs at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.  She is also Principal of LA DALLMAN Architects, internationally recognized for the integration of architecture, engineering and landscape. Cofounded with James Dallman, LA DALLMAN is engaged in catalytic projects of diverse scale and type.  The practice is noted for works that expand the architect’s agency in the civic recalibration of infrastructure, public space and challenging sites.

This special episode of Talking Practice is recorded and edited by Maggie Janik. Research, organization, and support for this episode is provided by John Wang. 

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La interviews Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, partners and co-founders of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, and the John C. Portman Design Critics in architecture at the GSD. Lyndon and Rossana reflect on the beginnings of their personal and professional partnership, and the deep significance of founding their practice in Shanghai. Discussing the risks and rewards involved in starting a practice in a foreign city, Lyndon and Rossana provide insights into their working dynamic and the ways in which they leverage China as a laboratory for product design and architectural production. Presenting an inside glimpse into the logistics of their office, they stress the importance of moving beyond an “idealized practice” by experimenting with different business models. As practitioners working across multiple scales, cities, and industries, they articulate their attempts to balance tactility and diagrammatic thinking while leveraging the unique cultural contexts of their practice.

Lyndon and Rossana also describe the ways in which their practice serves as a catalyst for the revitalization of China’s depopulated rural villages, and how their work with adaptive reuse projects lies at the core of their relationship with developers. For more on Lyndon and Rossana’s work in adaptive reuse, check out their fall 2019 option studio.

Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu are partners and co-founders of the Shanghai-based Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, and the John C. Portman Design Critics in architecture at the GSD. Lyndon and Rossana are known internationally for their work in adaptive reuse projects, including the Waterhouse at South Bund, the Aranya Art Center, and the Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat. Working across disciplines in industrial and product design, they are also the creative directors of the furniture brand Stellar Works and founders of Design Republic, a retail brand and online platform that showcases the work of internationally renowned designers. Lyndon and Rossana are the recipients of the Elle Décor International Design Awards, and have been inducted in the U.S. Interior Design Hall of Fame. They are currently teaching a studio at the GSD entitled “Reflective Nostalgia: Alternative Futures for Shanghai’s Shikumen Heritage.”

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice.  Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Chair of Practice Platform, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Grace La is Professor of Architecture, Chair of the Practice Platform, and former Director of the Master of Architecture Programs at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.  She is also Principal of LA DALLMAN Architects, internationally recognized for the integration of architecture, engineering and landscape. Cofounded with James Dallman, LA DALLMAN is engaged in catalytic projects of diverse scale and type.  The practice is noted for works that expand the architect’s agency in the civic recalibration of infrastructure, public space and challenging sites.

Talking Practice is produced by Ronee Saroff and edited by Maggie Janik. Our Research Assistant is Jihyun Ro.  The show is recorded at Harvard University’s Media Production Center by Multimedia Engineer Jeffrey Valade.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode, Talking Practice host Grace La interviews Preston Scott Cohen, founder and principal of Preston Scott Cohen Inc, and Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture at the GSD.

A teacher at the GSD since 1989, Cohen reflects upon his distinguished career as an educator and describes the ever-evolving dynamics between teaching and practice. Informed by his deep knowledge of the discipline, Cohen shares his early memories of architecture, and his belief in the catalytic role architecture must play in the transformation of our urban context. Discussing the mechanics of contemporary practice, Cohen reveals how his practice approaches the intensive process of project development with a progressive attitude, and how a permutational approach can sidestep the pitfalls of conventional value engineering. Looking back on his 2013 Walter Gropius Lecture and his 2018 GSD studio titled “The Future Provincetown,” Cohen furthers his analysis of the challenges confronting architecture today. Cohen ends by asserting his hope for a more symbiotic interaction between architecture and urban planning.

Preston Scott Cohen is the founder and principal of Preston Scott Cohen Inc, and Gerald M. McCue Professor in Architecture at the GSD, where he served as Chair of the Department of Architecture from 2008 – 2013. Cohen’s work encompasses diverse scales and types of buildings, including houses, educational facilities, cultural institutions, and urban design. His work has been the subject of a wide range of publications and exhibitions and is held in various collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Cohen is the author of Contested Symmetries and numerous theoretical essays on architecture. In 2018, Cohen taught a studio at the GSD titled “The Future Provincetown,” which focuses on redesigning Provincetown in the face of rising sea levels.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice.  Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Chair of Practice Platform, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Grace La is Professor of Architecture, Chair of the Practice Platform, and former Director of the Master of Architecture Programs at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.  She is also Principal of LA DALLMAN Architects, internationally recognized for the integration of architecture, engineering and landscape. Cofounded with James Dallman, LA DALLMAN is engaged in catalytic projects of diverse scale and type.  The practice is noted for works that expand the architect’s agency in the civic recalibration of infrastructure, public space and challenging sites.

Talking Practice is produced by Ronee Saroff and edited by Maggie Janik. Our Research Assistant is John Wang.  The show is recorded at Harvard University’s Media Production Center by Multimedia Engineer Jeffrey Valade.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].

In this episode of Talking Practice, host Grace La interviews Gary Hilderbrand, founding principal and partner at Reed Hilderbrand, and Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at the GSD. Discussing his deep engagement with living systems, Gary describes the intrinsic properties of landscape architecture that differentiate it from the other design disciplines, and the significance of treating temporality as a medium for design. Commenting on the trajectory of landscape urbanism, he highlights the ways in which new modes of representation have impacted the scope and capacity of landscape architecture to imagine larger systems, and to engage with pressing problems of equity and climate change. Gary also reflects on the organization of his own firm as a cultural practice, its benchmarks, periods of stability, and growth, as well as the need for flexibility within the practice of negotiated boundaries.

Gary asserts the importance of trust in practice and the ways in which the pressing questions found in practice inform his efforts in the academy. For more information about Gary’s work with landscape urbanism and living systems, check out his Fall 2018 option studio, Now Arriving: A Manhattan Transit Landscape.

Gary Hilderbrand is the founding principal and partner of Reed Hilderbrand, and the Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at the GSD.  As a practitioner, academic, and writer, Gary works at the confluence of landscape architecture, infrastructural design, and sustainable urbanism. His projects range from university campus design, to the intimate landscapes of residences, and to the prominent landscape renewal and design for major cultural institutions such as the American Museum of Natural History, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Clark Art Institute, as well as the Harvard Business School, the sculpture park at the Storm King Art Center, and the expansion of the Boston Public Library. Gary is the recipient of the 2017 ASLA Design Medal, and is currently teaching a studio at the GSD entitled “Now Arriving: A Manhattan Transit Landscape,” which focuses on the redesign of New York City’s Penn Station.

Developed by Harvard Graduate School of Design, Talking Practice is the first podcast series to feature in-depth interviews with leading designers on the ways in which architects, landscape architects, designers, and planners articulate design imagination through practice.  Hosted by Grace La, Professor of Architecture and Chair of Practice Platform, these dynamic conversations provide a rare glimpse into the work, experiences, and attitudes of design practitioners from around the world. Comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely, Talking Practice tells the story of what designers do, why, and how they do it—exploring the key issues at stake in practice today.

Grace La is Professor of Architecture, Chair of the Practice Platform, and former Director of the Master of Architecture Programs at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.  She is also Principal of LA DALLMAN Architects, internationally recognized for the integration of architecture, engineering and landscape. Cofounded with James Dallman, LA DALLMAN is engaged in catalytic projects of diverse scale and type.  The practice is noted for works that expand the architect’s agency in the civic recalibration of infrastructure, public space and challenging sites.

Talking Practice is produced by Ronee Saroff and edited by Maggie Janik. Our Research Assistant is Jihyun Ro and John Wang.  The show is recorded at Harvard University’s Media Production Center by Multimedia Engineer Jerry MacDonald.

For all inquiries, please email [email protected].