Wednesday, March 6, Mikyoung Kim will share the work of the Mikyoung Kim Design firm and their research and development of landscapes that focus on environmental and physiological health and well being in the public realm in a lecture titled, "Navigating the Art & Science of the Landscape." She will discuss the scientific research that shapes their interest in human centered design and the way that pressing hydrological issues that face our cities have become a foundational issue in all their work. 

About the Douglas C. Allen Lecture

This annual lecture on landscape architecture was established and endowed by alumni, faculty and friends in honor of Professor Douglas C. Allen (1947-2014) in appreciation for his long-time dedication to the College of Design (formerly the College of Architecture) as a teacher, colleague and leader.

A Georgia native and landscape architecture graduate of the University of Georgia and Harvard Graduate School of Design, Allen joined the School of Architecture in 1977. Over his career, he introduced thousands of architecture students to the history and design of landscapes and cities and to the inextricable bond between architecture and urban design. In addition to his teaching, he was honored as a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and served as Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the College of Design.

About Mikyoung Kim

Mikyoung Kim is an international landscape architect and urban designer and founding principal of Mikyoung Kim Design in Boston, MA. This year, her firm has been awarded the prestigious Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Museum National Design Award and the American Society of Landscape Architects National Design Medal.

The design critic Sarah Goldhagen writes, “Mikyoung shows that landscape design and environmental art can be a public amenity, a social condenser, and a sustainable practice…” Goldhagen affirms, her work does so “while simultaneously being a poetic art that captures and … instigates deep imaginative thought about the many ways that every day landscapes can enrich people’s individual experience and social congress.”

With a uniquely holistic approach, her firm’s exceptional body of work has redefined the discipline of landscape architecture, inhabiting the intersection of art and science. From the art of ecology and restorative landscapes, Mikyoung Kim Design’s work addresses the most pressing environmental and health-related issues, while creating innovative and immersive human experiences.

The work of her firm has been highlighted in numerous publications including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the Guardian Newspaper, National Geographic, Dwell Magazine, and the Chicago Tribune. Mikyoung was named as an AD innovator by Architectural Digest and her firm has received numerous national awards from the ASLA, the American Architecture Prize, the AIA and the GSA. Her life’s work is featured in the Smithsonian Museum American Voices Collection.