Denise Scott Brown
| Denise Scott Brown | |
|---|---|
Scott Brown in 1977
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| Born |
Denise Scott Lakofski October 3, 1931 Nkana, Northern Rhodesia |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
University of the Witwatersrand Architectural Association School of Architecture University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Scott Brown (m. 1955–59; his death) Robert Venturi (m. 1967) |
| Parent(s) | Simon Lakofski Phyllis Hepker |
| Practice | Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates Venturi and Rauch Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown |
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 2016 AIA Gold Medal: Denise Scott Brown, Hon. FAIA and Robert Venturi, FAIA on YouTube, 3:50 |
Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Denise Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, are regarded as among the most influential architects of the twentieth century, both through their architecture and planning, and theoretical writing and teaching.
Born to Jewish parents Simon and Phyllis (Hepker) Lakofski, Denise Lakofski had the vision that she would be an architect from the time she was five years old. Pursuing this goal, she spent her summers working with architects until she studied in South Africa at the University of the Witwatersrand from 1948 to 1952. She briefly entered liberal politics, but was frustrated by the lack of acceptance of women in the field and desired more contemporary theory. Lakofski traveled to London in 1952, working for the modernist architect Frederick Gibberd. She continued her education there as well, winning admission to the Architectural Association School of Architecture to learn “useful skills in the building of a just South Africa” and find an environment more intellectually rich and accepting of women. She was joined there by Scott Brown, whom she had met at Witwatersrand in 1954, and graduated with a degree in architecture in 1955.
Denise and Robert Scott Brown were married on July 21, 1955. The couple spent the next three years working and traveling throughout Europe. In 1958, the Scott Browns came to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to study at the University of Pennsylvania's planning department. In 1959, Robert Scott Brown died in a car accident. Denise Scott Brown completed her master's degree in city planning in 1960 and became a faculty member at the university upon graduation. She completed a master's degree in architecture while teaching. At a 1960 faculty meeting, Scott Brown met Robert Venturi, a young architect and faculty member, when she spoke against demolishing the university's library (now the Fisher Fine Arts Library), designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness. The two became collaborators and taught courses together from 1962 to 1964.Scott Brown left the University of Pennsylvania in 1965. Becoming known as a scholar in urban planning, she taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and was then named co-chair of the Urban Design Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. Scott Brown later taught at Yale University, and in 2003 was a visiting lecturer with Venturi at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. During her years in the Southwest, Scott Brown became interested in the newer cities of Los Angeles and Las Vegas. She invited Venturi to visit her classes at UCLA, and in 1966 asked him to visit Las Vegas with her. The two were married in Santa Monica, California on July 23, 1967. Scott Brown moved back to Philadelphia in 1967 to join her husband's firm, Venturi and Rauch, and became principal in charge of planning in 1969.
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