Architectural League: Emerging Voices 2007

Emerging Voices 2007
The Architectural League’s Emerging Voices program is now in its 25th 
year and going stronger than ever.

In the 25 years of the Emerging Voices lecture series, the jurors have 
proven remarkably adept at picking men and women who have gone on to 
wide acclaim. It would be tempting to see it as a concise picture of the 
profession at a given moment, or an indicator of stylistic trends and 
preoccupations, but the reality is happily more complex. The list of 
past winners shows extraordinary diversity. Among the architects 
then-League president Emilio Ambasz selected in the inaugural year, 
1982, were Tod Williams, Steven Holl, and Laurinda Spear of 
Arquitectonica. The following year’s group included both Morphosis, and 
Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. All of these architects have 
been influential, but in very distinct ways. That they can share a 
platform makes the program perhaps a truer reflection of the state of 
architecture. As program director Anne Reiselbach explained, “When the 
selection committee is looking at portfolios, the most important 
criterion is how singular the voice is. The question they always ask is, 
‘Is this a voice, or is it just really good work? Can they speak about 
their work in a consistent way?’”

This year’s Emerging Voices continue the tradition: There is enormous 
variety both in the kinds of work and in the ways they go about it. 
Jared Della Valle and Andrew Bernheimer are bringing vertical 
integration to their practice—on a current project, their firm is acting 
as the developer and the architect, and has even designed most of the 
kitchen and bathroom fixtures, many of which will go into 
production—while An Te Liu is showing his installations “as an artist, 
among artists.” What they do share with each other and the six other 
winners is that they have something to say about architecture right now.

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http://www.archpaper.com/features/2007_04_emerge.htm