This Sunday, a tribute to Cornelia Oberlander, LMBCSLA, FCSLA, FASLA, CC, will take place in Vancouver, honouring the famed landscape architect who died earlier this year at age 99. Organized by UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), the tribute will feature a line-up of speakers associated with Oberlander and her work. On-site speakers will include UBC professors Susan Herrington and Daniel Roehr, Vancouver architects Eva Matsuzaki and Peter Busby, West Vancouver Art Museum curator Hilary Letwin, and others.
The virtual tributes will include Berkeley architectural historian Marc Treib, New York landscape architect Hank White, Toronto architect Shirley Blumberg, and Martien de Vletter at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.
Cornelia Hahn Oberlander was involved in numerous ground-breaking projects involving complex and forward-thinking technological approaches. She worked frequently with Arthur Erickson and became renowned across North America for her lectures and her work with Renzo Piano Building Workshop and HMWhite at the New York Times Building courtyard, as well as other high-profile projects.
Shortly before her death in May of 2021, the West Vancouver Art Museum mounted a retrospective exhibition of her work and conducted a panel discussion in partnership with the West Coast Modern League.
This Sunday’s tribute will take place at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at the University of British Columbia from 2:30-4 pm and will be live-streamed and recorded. The event is free, but in-person seating is strictly limited and attendees are required to follow current COVID-19 guidelines. Register here for in-person seating or live-stream attendance.