James Corner
Encyclopedia
James Corner is a Landscape Architect
and theorist with numerous works to his credit which explore the contemporary meaning of architectural landscaping, with a focus on "developing innovative approaches toward landscape architectural design and urbanism." His designs of note include Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island
and the High Line in Manhattan
, both in New York City
.
Corner is a professionally registered landscape architect and the principal of James Corner Field Operations, a landscape architecture and urban design practice based in New York City and Philadelphia.
in England. He then received a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Certificate from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1986. He was employed by Wallace, Roberts and Todd on the New Jersey Hudson River Waterfront Development; for Richard Rogers and Partners on the redevelopment of the Royal Docks
in London
; and for William Gillespie and Partners on the design and implementation of the International Garden Festival Park in Liverpool
.
Corner began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 where he taught courses in media and theory, as well as design studios. He was elected Chair of the Landscape Architecture Department in 2000. As a professor, Corner's landscape design and environmental research and teaching interests are based upon "developing innovative approaches toward landscape architectural design and urbanism." He has also served as a visiting professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1998 and at the KTH School of Architecture in Stockholm, Sweden in 1999.
Corner's practice, Field Operations, was initially formed in collaboration with architect Stan Allen
, but the partners chose to focus on their individual practices in 2005. The firm is at the forefront of the landscape urbanism
movement, an interdisciplinary approach that, in theory, amalgamates a wide range of disciplines including landscape architecture, urban design, landscape ecology, and engineering, among other subjects. Corner argues that it is an approach that focuses on on process rather than a style and that it marks a productive attitude toward indeterminacy, open-endedness, inter-mixing, and cross-disciplinarity.
, except more unbridled.
completed when they published their Taking Measures Across the American Landscape which is a journey to explore the types of landscapes in the United States through essays and map drawings by Corner and aerial photos taken by McLean.
's School of Architecture and in 2000 he was the second landscape architect, after Achva Benzinberg Stein, to be chosen for the Daimler-Chrysler Award, which recognizes and promotes innovative design.
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
and theorist with numerous works to his credit which explore the contemporary meaning of architectural landscaping, with a focus on "developing innovative approaches toward landscape architectural design and urbanism." His designs of note include Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
and the High Line in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, both in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Corner is a professionally registered landscape architect and the principal of James Corner Field Operations, a landscape architecture and urban design practice based in New York City and Philadelphia.
Life and career
Born in 1961, Corner received a Bachelor's degree with first class honors in 1983 at Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
in England. He then received a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Certificate from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1986. He was employed by Wallace, Roberts and Todd on the New Jersey Hudson River Waterfront Development; for Richard Rogers and Partners on the redevelopment of the Royal Docks
Royal Docks
The Royal Docks comprise three docks in east London - the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are more correctly called the Royal Group of Docks to distinguish them from the Royal Dockyards, Royal being due to their naming after royal personages rather than...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
; and for William Gillespie and Partners on the design and implementation of the International Garden Festival Park in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
.
Corner began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania in 1988 where he taught courses in media and theory, as well as design studios. He was elected Chair of the Landscape Architecture Department in 2000. As a professor, Corner's landscape design and environmental research and teaching interests are based upon "developing innovative approaches toward landscape architectural design and urbanism." He has also served as a visiting professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1998 and at the KTH School of Architecture in Stockholm, Sweden in 1999.
Corner's practice, Field Operations, was initially formed in collaboration with architect Stan Allen
Stan Allen
Stan Allen is an American architect, theorist and dean of the at Princeton University. He received a B.A. from Brown University, a B.Arch. from the Cooper Union and an M.Arch. from Princeton University and has worked in the offices of Richard Meier and Rafael Moneo. He was formerly the director,...
, but the partners chose to focus on their individual practices in 2005. The firm is at the forefront of the landscape urbanism
Landscape urbanism
Landscape Urbanism is a theory of urbanism arguing that landscape, rather than architecture, is more capable of organizing the city and enhancing the urban experience. Landscape Urbanism has emerged as a theory in the last fifteen years...
movement, an interdisciplinary approach that, in theory, amalgamates a wide range of disciplines including landscape architecture, urban design, landscape ecology, and engineering, among other subjects. Corner argues that it is an approach that focuses on on process rather than a style and that it marks a productive attitude toward indeterminacy, open-endedness, inter-mixing, and cross-disciplinarity.
Works
Corner's designs bring back the open spaces of the natural wild with a rough, natural, and ecologically sound approach; this could be compared to the works of Frederick Law OlmstedFrederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, except more unbridled.
- The High LineHigh LineThe High Line is a New York City linear park built on a section of the former elevated freight railroad spur called the West Side Line, which runs along the lower west side of Manhattan; it has been redesigned and planted as an aerial greenway...
is a 1.5 miles (2.4 km)-long stretch of abandoned railroad viaduct that runs from the Meatpacking district to Hell's KitchenHell's Kitchen, ManhattanHell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
. The proposed design by Field Operations is meant to transform it into a 1.5 miles (2.4 km)-long park. Corner envisioned "fantastic, mixed perennialPerennial plantA perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
landscape" interspersed by "event spaces." Since its completion,it has made an impact on the surrounding blocks with the addition of 27 new residential towers, hotels, offices, and museums.
- Corner's Field Operations headed up a team that won the international design competition with its "Lifescape" design for the redesign of Fresh KillsFresh KillsFresh Kills is a stream and freshwater estuary in the western portion of the New York City borough of Staten Island...
Park, a project intended to salvage a massive landfill on Staten Island. The landfill is the largest in the country at 2200 acres (8.9 km²), or three times the size of Central ParkCentral ParkCentral Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
in Manhattan. Today, it is one of the largest publics work projects in the world. The winning design incorporates a World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
memorial, because the landfill was temporarily reopened to accommodate the remains of the towers, as well as a strong, central focus on programs, habitat, and circulation throughout the new park. Fresh Kills Park is reminiscent of Olmsted's massive design for Central Park as far as work load, scale, and project purpose and design. Fresh Kills Park is said to be "one of the most ambitious public works projects in the world," considering 45% of the area is landfill and the remaining land is wetlands and lowlands. The goal of Fresh Kills Park is to create a world class large-scale park which restores the ecological systems, yet allows New York to optimize its local and regional access while reducing traffic congestion. The park will be developed as a setting for a range of outdoor activities, programs, and recreation that are unique to New York.
Books
A new aspect of Corner's approach, one that was responsible for his receiving the Chrysler Design Institute Award in 2000, is his plan of working with graphic artists, photographers, and other artists from various fields. An example of this is the project Corner and photographer Alex MacLeanAlex MacLean
Alex S. MacLean is an American photographic artist who's best known for his spectacular aerial photographs.MacLean graduated as a BA in 1969 from Harvard. He continued his studies to become an architect in 1973. He became interested in aerial scenery while he studied community planning and got a...
completed when they published their Taking Measures Across the American Landscape which is a journey to explore the types of landscapes in the United States through essays and map drawings by Corner and aerial photos taken by McLean.
- (with Alex McLean) Taking Measures Across the American Landscape (Yale, 1996) ISBN 0-300-06566-3 Received the AIA International Book of the Year Award and the ASLA Award of Honor.
- (editor) Recovering Landscape: Essays in Contemporary Landscape Architecture (Princeton, 1999) ISBN 1-56898-179-1, a book focused on the revitalization of landscape architecture as a critical cultural practice, it offers insight on how contemporary landscapes are "designed, constructed and culturally valued".
- (editor with Lynn MargulisLynn MargulisLynn Margulis was an American biologist and University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is best known for her theory on the origin of eukaryotic organelles, and her contributions to the endosymbiotic theory, which is now generally accepted...
and Brian Hawthorne) Ian McHarg: conversations with students: dwelling in nature (Princeton Architectural Press, 2006) ISBN 978-1-56898-620-3 - (with Michael Spens and Peter Lantz) Landscapes Transformed (Academy Editions, 1996), 112 pages. ISBN 1-85490-452-3. This book examines the condition of the modern landscape. It presents an international collection of projects which challenge old perceptions and give good cause for confidence in the future of landscape design.
Awards and honors
James Corner was the first landscape architect to receive many of the awards that he has won. In 1996, Corner received the G. Holmes Perkins Award for "distinguished and innovative teachings and methods of instruction in design". The following year, in 1997, he was the first recipient of the Jens Jensen Professorship in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Illinois at ChicagoUniversity of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
's School of Architecture and in 2000 he was the second landscape architect, after Achva Benzinberg Stein, to be chosen for the Daimler-Chrysler Award, which recognizes and promotes innovative design.