Kathryn Gustafson to Receive Arnold Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture

Gustafson Guthrie Nichol's Lurie Garden in Chicago is a welcomed refuge from the city?EUR??,,????'???s hardscapes and towering buildings.

Kathryn Gustafson of Gustafson Guthrie Nichol (GGN) is the recipient of the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Gustafson is only the third landscape architect in 57 years to receive the honor.

Gustafson, who has practiced landscape architecture for over 30 years from her offices in Seattle and London, said she was ''honored and humbled'' by the award. ''Bestowing the award on another landscape architect will elevate the discourse and give prominence to external space as places, ensuring the significance of these spaces to be of quality and integral to people?EUR??,,????'???s lives,'' she added.

James Polshek, a member of the awarding jury, notes the best examples of her work were the ''poetic and sublime'' Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London, and the Lunar Garden (Arthur Ross Terrace) that frames the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History.

Among Gustafson's other notable projects are the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard in Washington D.C.; the Lurie Garden in Chicago; the Towards Paradise installation at the Venice Biennale; Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam; and Valencia Parque Central in Valencia, Spain

''The power of her imagination and the precision of her execution have enriched the many natural and man-made places she has touched with her magic,'' says Polshek. She's an artist of space who has moved far beyond the boundaries of landscape architecture or environmental design.''

In addition to the Brunner Prize, the Academy will also present Arts and Letters awards to American architects Hilary Ballon, Marlon Blackwell, Elizabeth Gray, Alan Organschi and Michael Maltzan for the strong personal direction of their work.

The American Academy of Arts and Letters presents its awards on May 16 at the Academy galleries on Audubon Terrace in New York City.