Lafarge and National Building Museum to Spotlight Reed Hilderbrand and the Legacy of Dan Kiley on April 23

Founding principals Douglas Reed, FASLA, and Gary Hilderbrand, FASLA, will discuss their design firm's current projects and how the modern landscapes of Dan Kiley (1912–2004) influence their work.

Lafarge North America and the National Building Museum announce that this year's third "Spotlight on Design" lecture will feature Douglas Reed and Gary Hilderbrand, fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects and founding principals of the award-winning design firm Reed Hilderbrand.

Spotlight on Design is an ongoing lecture series that features architects and designers of distinction from around the world. Since its inception in 1997, the series has hosted many of the world's premier design voices in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning and design, including Pritzker Prize Laureates Tadao Ando, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, I. M. Pei and Glenn Murcutt. Lafarge has been the corporate sponsor of Spotlight on Design since 2001.

Reed Hilderbrand, recipient of the 2013 American Society of Landscape Architects' Firm Award, has received significant national recognition for its design, craftsmanship and extraordinary use of plants. The firm's work is wide-ranging, from residential and parks projects to cultural and academic institutions, and has garnered 12 ASLA awards over the past decade. Other honors include Garden Design magazine's Green Award, the Trustees Emeritus Award for Excellence in the Stewardship of Historic Sites from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a Society for College and University Planning/AIA Excellence in Planning Honor Award. In 2005, the firm's two principals were selected for The Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices program.

As a founding board member and co-chair of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Douglas Reed is a leader in national debates that frame landscape architecture's role in preserving and amplifying our design heritage. He held residency at the American Art Academy in Rome and served two terms as the landscape architect representative on the Design Review Board of The Ohio State University and the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Gary Hilderbrand is a professor in practice of landscape architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. A recipient of the Rome Prize in Landscape Architecture, he has served on the advisory boards of Land Forum, Harvard Design and Landscape Architecture magazines. Hilderbrand's widely acclaimed books and numerous essays have helped to position landscape architecture's role in reconciling intellectual and cultural tradition with contemporary forces of urbanization and change.

In a presentation introduced by Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, founder and president of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Reed and Hilderbrand will discuss some of their firm's recent projects and cite the modern landscapes of Dan Kiley as a major influence in their work. The Foundation organized the traveling exhibition The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley, which is currently on view at the National Building Museum through May 18. Featuring photographs of some of Kiley's more than 1,000 projects from around the world, the exhibit will be open for attendees to view before the program.

"As a leading provider of aesthetic solutions for building better cities, Lafarge emphasizes the importance of sharing innovative design and construction approaches for creating a more beautiful urban landscape," said Maik Strecker, vice president of marketing for Lafarge U.S. "We look forward to learning more about the projects of this award-winning design firm and how modernist landscape architect Dan Kiley's emphasis on formal geometry had a major influence on their work." The Reed Hilderbrand lecture is scheduled for April 23 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the National Building Museum. To attend the event, register by clicking here.

During the past several years, more than 30,000 people have attended lectures through the Spotlight on Design series, with audiences ranging from professionals, policymakers and students to the general public. The series also provides an opportunity for design professionals to achieve continuing education credits through the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System. Those not local to Washington, D.C., can access the lecture series and interviews with individual architects online by visiting the National Building Museum's website at www.nbm.org.