For Immediate Release
Contact: Gloria Gottschalk, New School University
             (212) 229-5667, ext. 239
              Carole Schaffer, Parsons School of Design
              (212) 229-8950

"IN THE GARDEN"
Fontainebleau Associations of Fontainebleau, France and Parsons
School of Design's Department of Architecture to present a series of free lectures with
landscape architects Ken Smith, Gary Hilderbrand, and Michael Van Valkenburgh

Fontainebleau Associations of the American Arts School in Fontainebleau, France and Parsons School of Design's Department of Architecture will present a series of free lectures with landscape architects Ken Smith, Gary Hilderbrand, and Michael Van Valkenburgh this fall. Each lectures will be followed by a musical performance by alumni of the Conservatoire Américain.

The Ecoles d'Art Américaines is a summer school for American and European architects and musicians located in Fontainebleau, France. Comprised of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Conservatoire Américain, the Ecoles d'Art Américaines brings together students of music and students of the fine arts under a single roof, to be inspired and informed by each other's work as they pursue their respective studies. Most of the classes are held in a wing of the historic Palais de Fontainebleau, less than an hour southeast of Paris.

September 19, 6:30 PM

New York, New York

Ken Smith is a New York City based landscape architect. His background and training is in landscape architecture and public art. He practices landscape design primarily in the realm of public space. He is a Visiting Critic at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. His

recent work includes distinctive trackway paving for the Third Street Light Rail in San Francisco, modern-era landscape restoration for the Lever House in New York City, Malcolm X Plaza design in New York City and Hotel Eden, an artificial garden installation for Nest Magazine.

October 17, 6:30 PM

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Gary Hilderbrand is a landscape architect, teacher, writer, and critic. His design work and publications have been recognized through a number of award programs and design competitions. He is Adjunct Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate

School of Design and is Principal of Douglas Reed Landscape Architecture in Cambridge, Massachusett

November 7, 6:30 PM

Cambridge, Massachusetts / New York, New York

Michael Van Valkenburgh is the founding principal of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. of Cambridge, MA. and New York, NY. He is the Charles Elliot Professor of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. His current and recent works include Teardrop Park at Battery Park City, the master plan of the Brooklyn Waterfront Park, the Vera List Courtyard at New School University, and the master plan for Wellesley College.

Parsons School of Design, a division of New School University, offers a B.F.A. in Architectural Design and a Master of Architecture degree and a Master’s in Lighting Design. Students’ interdisciplinary training and digital expertise provide them with a range of career opportunities in the design world. Peter Wheelwright is the Chair of the Program.

The Conservatoire Américain was founded in 1921 to introduce American music students to the French musical tradition of teaching, composing and performing. Under its current Director, Philippe Entremont, the Conservatoire Américain continues to expand its mission, enlarging it to

include European and Asian students. The Conservatoire has included on its faculty Maurice Ravel, Marcel Dupre, Robert, Gaby and Jean Casadesus, Betsy Jolas and Leonard Bernstein. Among its students, the school's alumni include Aaron Copland, Virgil Thompson, Louise Talma, and Kenton Coe.

The Ecole des Beaux-Arts, founded two years later, adopted the same mission in the spheres of painting, architecture, and sculpture. Currently led by the architect Jean-Louis Nouvian, its faculty continues this tradition, inspired by surroundings of both the magnificent formal gardens and the particularly rich history of the Palais itself, which dates back to the Renaissance. The curriculum is characterized by its unique mix of courses ranging from architecture, landscape architecture, painting and sculpture to topics in fresco painting, stained-glass, mosaic and photography. Numerous voyages to Paris and to places like Versailles, La Tourette, Ronchamp and Lille introduce the students to the finest masterpieces of historic and contemporary French art and architecture.

Over the years, the Ecole des Beaux-Arts faculty has included Pierre Colboc, Jean Nouvel, Frei Otto, and Bernard Tschumi. The Ecoles d'Art Américaines' summer session is currently held for seven weeks in the Fine Arts and four weeks in Music. The majority of the students are American, joined by French students as well as students from Eastern Europe and the Far East.

The Fontainebleau Associations, based in New York, is comprised of alumni of both schools. The Association maintains critical links with the administering association in France, sustains endowed scholarships and provides an annual newsletter and special events for its alumni.