The ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 14th at 9a.m. in Hendricks Chapel; Dean Michael Speaks will preside.
“Annabelle Selldorf is among the most highly regarded architects practicing today,” says Dean Michael Speaks. “She has incredible range as an architect and has brought the same refined design sensibility to both industrial projects and high-end residential work. She is perhaps best known, however, for her exquisite gallery and museum designs, including the David Zwirner Galleries in Chelsea in NYC and the recently opened Hauser Wirth & Schimmel Art Complex in Los Angeles. We’re very fortunate, indeed, to have her as our convocation speaker. I’m so pleased our students will have the opportunity to learn more from her insights and experience.”
“It is such an honor to have been asked to be the convocation speaker this year, “says Selldorf. “I know that I would not be the architect I am today if it were not for the experience and education I received from Syracuse. When I arrived in the first M.Arch 2 program that Syracuse held in Florence I was immensely lucky that the brilliant dean, Werner Seligmann, came to Florence to teach the first semester, and the second semester Colin Rowe was there inspiring us. They were both exceptional teachers and mentors who I think of often. My classmates were incredible as well and several of my closest friends and colleagues date to the period when I was studying for my degree.”
Born and raised in Germany, Annabelle Selldorf received a bachelor of architecture degree from Pratt Institute prior to her master’s study at Syracuse. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and serves on the board of the Architectural League of New York and the Chinati Foundation. In 2014, Selldorf was the recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ prestigious Award in Architecture. She recently received a 2016 Medal of Honor from the American Institute of Architecture New York City chapter.
Annabelle Selldorf founded architectural design practice Selldorf Architects in 1988. Now a 65-person firm, Selldorf Architects has worked on public and private projects that range from museums and libraries to a recycling facility, and at scales encompassing large new construction, historic renovations, and exhibition design. Clients include cultural institutions and universities such as the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Neue Galerie New York, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, and Brown University. In addition, the firm has created numerous galleries for David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Gladstone Gallery among others, and designed exhibitions for Frieze Masters and the 2013 Venice Art Biennale. A monograph of the firm’s work, “Selldorf Architects: Portfolio and Projects,” published by Phaidon, will be released this spring.
“At a time when architecture seems to be obsessed with grand gestures … the work of Annabelle Selldorf speaks to the transformative power of sculpting space in subtle and dignified ways.” (Carolina A. Miranda, L.A. Times, March 13, 2016)
