Curriculum Vitae

Education

Ph.D. in American Civilization, The George Washington University, 1996
M.C.P. (City Planning), Harvard Graduate School of Design, 1971
B.A. (High Honors in Art History), Wellesley College, 1968

Honors and awards

• Fulbright-Hays Federal Assistance Award to advance U.S. Embassy Oslo’s goal of “deepening relations between the US and Norway” (2011);

• Outstanding Recognition Award, Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, U.S. Department of State (2010);

• UMD Faculty Mentor recognition for teaching excellence, School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Philip Merrill Presidential Scholars Program (2010);

• Nelson B. Delavan Foundation grant to support book publication and further American diplomacy (2010);

• Member, The American Institute of Architects’ 21st Century Embassy Task Force (2008-9);

• Expert witness before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on Fortress America Abroad: Effective Diplomacy and the Future of U.S. Embassies (2008);

• Member, Office of the Architect of the Capitol’s Expert Advisory Panel (2004);

• Secretary of State’s Open Forum Distinguished Public Service Award, U.S. Department of State (1998);

• Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts research support grant (1998);

Earlier awards : American Studies Alumni Fellowship Award, George Washington University (1990); Elizabeth F. Fisher Graduate Fellowship Award, Wellesley College (1971); Mellon Scholarship (1970); Plogsterth Prize in Art History, Wellesley College (1968).

Selected professional experience:

Visiting Associate Professor, Honors College, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (2001-11); Adjunct Professor of Landscape Architecture, Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland; School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Interior Architecture Design Studio; Literary Executor of the Frederick Gutheim Papers and Curator, Gutheim Visual Resources Collection; Adjunct Professor of Art History, George Mason University; Visiting Scholar, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Curator, National Building Museum; Consultant, National Gallery of Art; Research consultant, Dunlap Society; Urban planner in association with Frederick Gutheim (1972-82); Administrator, The Frederick Law Olmsted Sesquicentennial (1972).

Lectures, talks, and presentations:

“U.S. Embassies as Modernist Icons: A Rapidly Disappearing Legacy of the Cold War,” at Columbia University, Department of History, “Cold War Public Diplomacy: Cultural Battles” (Oct 27, 2016);

“Modern (Embassy) Architecture in Washington, DC,” visiting lecturer, University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (Oct 22, 2015);

“When an Icon Needs a New Life: Designing a Future for Saarinen’s U.S. Embassy, London,” at Columbia University, GSAPP, Joint Studio in “Recombitant Architecture” (Sep 17, 2015);

“Observations on Architecture and Diplomacy,” Blinken European Institute, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University (Sep 9 & 11, 2014);

“The Canadian Embassy: The Only Embassy on Main Street,” Government of Canada School of Public Service Program on “How Washington Works” at the Embassy of Canada (Jan 27, 2014);

“From Manila to Belmopan: What Embassy Architecture Tells Us,” Columbia University, GSAPP (Apr 30, 2013);

“Architecture of Diplomacy in Two Capitals: Washington and Oslo” Embassy of Norway, Washington, DC (Oct 25, 2012);

“Architect as Diplomat: Embassies and What They Communicate,” Architecture & Design Film Festival, Tribeca Cinemas, New York City (Oct 21, 2012);

“Modern (Embassy) Architecture in Washington, DC,” visiting lecturer, University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (Oct 16, 2012);

Jugendstilsenteret, Alesund (Norway): “The Architecture of Diplomacy: America’s Changing Overseas Presence,” (Sep 22, 2011);

Oslo (Norway) School of Architecture and Design (AHO): “The Architecture of Diplomacy: America’s Changing Overseas Presence,” (Sep 20, 2011);

“The Architecture of Diplomacy: America’s Changing Overseas Presence” at U.S. Embassy, Oslo (Residence, Villa Otium) (Sep 19, 2011);

American Foreign Service Association, Washington, DC: “The Architecture of Diplomacy: Building America’s Embassies,” (Apr 14, 2011);

“The Olmsted Legacy in the Nation’s Capital: An Overview,” Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, Symposium, The Catholic University of America: (Mar 19, 2011);

HDR, Inc., Alexandria, VA: “The Architecture of Diplomacy: Building America’s Embassies,” (May 12, 2011);

U.S. Embassy, Beijing: “The Architecture of Diplomacy: America’s Changing Face Abroad” (Sep 23, 2010);

National Building Museum and the Embassy of Denmark, The Architecture of Diplomacy Symposium: “U.S. Embassies: America’s Face Abroad” (Jun 4, 2010);

Eckerd College (FLA): “Embassy Tour in Washington, DC,” (Oct 13, 2009);

Cosmos Club, Washington, DC: “Architecture as Public Diplomacy: Embassies in Washington” (May 8, 2009);

“Embassy Architecture: The Changing Face of America Abroad,” Architecture, Diplomacy and National Identity: Sir Basil Spence and Mid-Century Modernism Symposium, The British School at Rome (Dec 4, 2008);

Prior talks/presentations to:
MIT Club of Washington (Nov 6, 2008); Thomas Jefferson Chapter SAH at the University of Virginia, School of Architecture (Oct 30, 2008); Stroom Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands (Sep 8, 2008); “U.S. Embassies: America’s Face Abroad” U.S. Embassy, Berlin, Design and Diplomacy Symposium (Sep 5, 2008); House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, “Fortress America Abroad: Effective Diplomacy and the Future of U.S. Embassies” (Jan 23, 2008); “Branding a Nation: Design as a Tool in Public Diplomacy” Wellesley College Summer Symposium (Jun 6, 2007); “Embassies in Washington, D.C.” National Capital Planning Commission, Washington, DC (May 2007); “The Olmsted Legacy in the Nation’s Capital” The National Cathedral, All Hallows Guild (Nov 1, 2006); “Building America’s Embassies” DACOR (Mar 15, 2006); Embassy of Sweden, Washington, D.C. (Oct 2006); “The U.S. Capitol Grounds: Frederick Law Olmsted’s Legacy in the Nation’s Capital,” U.S. Capitol Historical Society (Nov 18, 2005); rebroadcast on CSPAN; “Washington Builds for War: Defense, the Home Front, and Security in the Capital Region,” Latrobe Chapter SAH, UMD (Mar 2005); “Embassy Residences in Washington,” Embassy of Colombia, Latrobe Chapter SAH (Mar 30 2004); Distinguished Lecture Series in the History of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UMD (Mar 2003); College Art Association Annual Meeting, New York City (Feb 21, 2003); “Understanding the Finnish Embassy” Catholic University Series, Embassy of Finland (Nov 11, 2002); “Washington and Ottawa: A Tale of Two Embassies,” Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS-in-Canada Colloquium), University of Ottawa (Canada) (Sep 2002); “Government Buildings and Security,” U.S. Embassy, Ottawa (Canada): (Sep 2002); Virginia Society of the AIA, “Power and Public Policy in Embassy Architecture,” Richmond, VA (2001); Youth for Understanding Program with Sen. Richard Lugar, Embassy of Finland (Apr 28, 2001); Design Diplomacy: Public Policy and the Practice of Architecture, U.S. Embassy, Copenhagen (Denmark) (2000); “Exporting Modern Architecture,” The American Architectural Foundation, The Octagon (2000); Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the U.S. Department of State (Student Design Competition at the AIA, Washington, D.C.); Johns Hopkins University SAIS (May 22, 2000); Balancing Security and Openness, GSA, U.S. Department of State, and AIA symposium (Fall, 1999); “Ralph Rapson and the Architecture of Diplomacy,” Minnesota Institute of Art (Apr 20, 1999); Embassy of Finland: Television film for Finnish TV (1999); “The Legacy of Frederick Gutheim,” Potomac River Basin Consortium (1999); “Cold War Conversation,” Latrobe Chapter, SAH (1998); “U.S. Embassies Abroad and Foreign Embassies in DC,” Embassy of Austria (1999); “When Preservation Means Planning,” Montgomery County Historical Society (1997).

Programs tied to The Architecture of Diplomacy

The Women’s National Democratic Club, Washington, D.C. (1999);
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, Chicago (1999);
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (1999);
U.S. State Department’s Secretary’s Open Forum (1998);
Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C. (Oct. 22, 1998);
Harvard Club of Washington (1998);
Wellesley College (1998);
National Building Museum (1997);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Environmental Design Forum (1994).

Selected media appearances

BBC World Service “New Embassy in London” 2/23/10;
ABC News “US Picks Design for London” 2/23/10;
BBC-World Service “The New US Embassy in Berlin” 7/4/08;
KCRW-FM “Politics Meets Design” on Design and Architecture, 1/15/08;
C-SPAN “Washington Journal” 9/4/07;
CNN International TV “Giant new U.S. embassy in Iraq” 9/14/07;
KCRW-FM “Soft Power” on To the Point, 10/30/07;
“The World” PRI 10/26/07;
WAMU-FM “Architecture and Security After 9/11”
Kojo Nnamdi Show, 9/11/07;
WBUR-FM Here and Now, 8/31/07.

Publications

Books:
The Architecture of Diplomacy: Building America’s Embassies (Princeton Architectural Press, 1998; Princeton Architectural Press, revised second edition in paperback, 2011; Electronic edition from Lulu.com via iTunes, 2012) See also Chinese language edition published by China Financial & Economic Publishing House, Beijing (2010)

The United Nations (History interpreted through the photographs of Ezra Stoller) Building Blocks Series (Princeton Architectural Press, 1999)

Contributing author to other books, including:

“The American Ambassador’s Residence in Oslo: A Short Diplomatic History,” in Villa Otium: A Diplomatic Home (published by U.S. Embassy Oslo, Norway, 2012): 4-21

“A Key Role in Defining Modernism,” in Architect Ladislav Rado: The Principles of Architecture are Absolute, by Peter Lizon (Slovak Architects Society, 2012): 32, 60 (in English and Slovakian)

“Finland in D.C.” in The Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. (published by the Embassy of Finland, Washington, D.C., 2005): 34-48

“Embassy Architecture as Politics and Symbol,” in Building Diplomacy by Elizabeth Gill Lui (Cornell University Press, 2004)

“Introduction,” to Embassy Residences in Washington, D.C., with Lily Urdinola de Bianchi (Villegas Editores, 2003): 33-45

Selected articles in journals:
“The State Department and the Politics of Preservation: Why Few U.S. Embassies Are Landmarks,”  (Summer, 2016) in Future Anterior, journal published by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

“America’s Diplomats” (film review) Foreign Service Journal (Mar, 2016).

“Beyond the Fortress Embassy,” Foreign Service Journal (Dec 2012): 20-28

“Fortress America,” Foreign Policy (Sep/Oct 2007): 54-7

“Búnker en Bagdad,” Foreign Policy Edición Española, (Oct/Nov 2007): 62-66

“Embassy Design: Security vs. Openness,” Foreign Service Journal, (Sep 2005): 44-51

“Washington and Ottawa: A Tale of Two Embassies,” with Isabelle Gournay, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (Dec 2002): 480-507

“The Identity Crisis of the American Embassy,” Foreign Service Journal (Jun 2000): 18-25

“Frederick Gutheim: Capital Catalyst,” Washington History (vol. 10, no. 1, Spring/Summer 1998): 24-45

“Landscape as Legend: Carleton E. Watkins in Kern County, California,” Landscape Journal (vol. 11, no. 1, Spring 1992): 1-21

“The Architecture of Diplomacy: Heyday of the U. S. Embassy-Building Program, 1954-1960,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (Sep 1990): 251-278

Selected articles in magazines and other publications:
“Building Hope Abroad,” World Policy Blog (Feb 11, 2009)

“The Rows on Embassy Rows,” Newsweek (International Edition) (Jul 7-14, 2008): 39-41

“The U.S. Capitol Grounds: Frederick Law Olmsted’s Legacy in the Nation’s Capital,” The Capitol Dome (vol. 43, no. 2, Spring 2006): 2-10

“The Importance of Openness in an Era of Security: A Conversation with Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer,” Architectural Record (Jan 2006): 80-83

“Mission Accomplished: Oklahoma City’s New Federal Building Combines Security and Openness in a Superior Way,” Architectural Record (Oct 2004): 105-10

“The American Embassy: Design Excellence vs. Security?” Architectural Record (Jul 2004): 67

“Stone’s New Delhi Embassy on State Department Register,” DOCOMOMO-US National News (Fall 2004): 1

“Recovered Memory,” Harvard Magazine (Sep/Oct 2002): 31-2

“Quietly Confident, New Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C.” World Architecture (vol. 91, Nov/Dec 2000):68-71

“Observations on Security in the Design of the Italian Chancery,” Architectural Record (Nov 2000): 117

“Post-Terror Diplomacy,” Interiors (Apr 2000): 48-51

“Wooing Washington with a New Chancery,” Architectural Record (Apr 2000): 36

“Golden Child,” World Architecture (Feb 2000): 84-5

“Embassies Under Siege: They Deserve Better,” GW Magazine (Fall 1999): inside cover

“New Designs of Embassies and Courthouses Expose the Politics of Architecture,” Architectural Record (Aug 1999): 33-6

“Ambassadorial Architecture,” World Architecture (vol. 63, Feb 1998): 82-88

“Knowing Olmsted,” Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley College (1997)

“United States Embassies: America’s Face Abroad,” National Building Museum Blueprints (Fall 1996)

“Wellesley’s Vanishing Landscape,” Wellesley Magazine (vol. 79, 1995): 20-25

“Invisible Architects,” GSD NEWS, Harvard University (Fall 1993): 30

“Gutheim the Great,” Historic Preservation (vol. 42, 1990): 36

Frederick Law Olmsted/U.S.A. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1972)

Opinion pieces:
”Building a Good Federal Architecture Policy,” The Wall Street Journal, Letters (Feb 15-16, 2020)

“Diplomacy Doesn’t Belong in Bunkers,” The Washington Post, Outlook (Aug 23, 1998)

“Can an Embassy Be Open and Secure?” The New York Times, Op-Ed (Aug 14, 1998)

Selected book reviews:

“Atomic Spaces: Living on the Manhattan Project” by Peter Bacon Hales and “Disarming the Prairie” by Terry Evans, Design Book Review (44/45 Winter/Spring 2001); “Enclaves of America” by Ron Robin, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (Mar 1994); “Architecture, Power, and National Identity” by Lawrence Vale, GSD NEWS, Harvard University (Fall 1993); “Forms of Dominance”, ed. Nezar AlSayyad, Progressive Architecture (May 1993); “Architecture, Power, and National Identity” by Lawrence Vale, Progressive Architecture (May 1993); “The Politics of Design in French Colonial Urbanism” by Gwendolyn Wright, Progressive Architecture (May 1993); “The West as America”, ed. William Treuttner, Landscape Journal (Winter 1992); “Lewis Mumford, A Life” by Donald L. Miller, American Studies International (Apr 1992); “TVA’s Public Planning” by Walter L. Creese, Design Book Review (Fall 1991); American Studies International (Oct 1991); “Florentine New Towns: Urban Design in the Late Middle Ages” by David Friedman, Architecture (Nov 1989); “Helsinki Jugendstil Architecture: 1895-1915” by J. Moorhouse, et al., Architecture (Feb 1990); “Olmsted South: Old South Critic/New South Planner”, eds. D. White & V. Kramer, JAIA (Mar 1981); “The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, Vol. 1”, ed. Charles McLaughlin, JAIA (Apr 1978); “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian Houses” by John Sergeant, JAIA (May 1977); “Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present” by Geoffrey and Susan Jellicoe, JAIA (Aug 1976); “For Everyone A Garden” by Moshe Safdie, JAIA (Mar 1975); “FLO: The Biography of Frederick Law Olmsted” by Laura Wood Roper, JAIA (Jul 1974)

Other collaborative publications:
“Design for Diplomacy: New Embassies for the 21st Century”, Report of the AIA 21st-Century Embassy Task Force (The American Institute of Architects, Jul 2009)

“Working in Olmsted’s Shadow, Guidance for Developing a Scope of Services for the Update of the Master Plan for the U.S. Capitol and Grounds”, National Research Council/National Academies Press (2003)

“Report of the Visiting Committee on the Future of the Campus Landscape to the President of Wellesley College” (1996)

Congressional testimony:
House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, hearings titled: “Fortress America Abroad: Effective Diplomacy and the Future of U.S. Embassies,” testimony presented on January 23, 2008 by Jane C. Loeffler, et al.

Past memberships

The American Institute of Architects’ 21st Century Embassy Task Force (2008-9); Office of the Architect of the Capitol’s Expert Advisory Panel (2004); Visiting Committee on the Future of the Campus Landscape, Wellesley College (1996); Alumni Council, Harvard University Graduate School of Design Alumni Association (1980-83); National Committee, Wellesley College Friends of Art

Current Memberships

The Cosmos Club; Society of Architectural Historians and DC Latrobe Chapter, SAH, DC Preservation Roundtable; National Association for Olmsted Parks, Cultural Landscape Foundation, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.

Charitable Focus

Levine Music