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Denise Scott Brown (born October 3, 1931) is a famous American architect, city planner, writer, and teacher. She was a main leader at the architecture company Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia.

This British surname is barrelled, being made up of multiple names. It should be written as Scott Brown, not Brown.
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Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown.jpg
Scott Brown in October 2012
Born
Denise Lakofski

(1931-10-03) October 3, 1931 (age 93)
Nkana, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)
Nationality South African
Alma mater University of the Witwatersrand
Architectural Association School of Architecture
University of Pennsylvania
Occupation Architect
Spouse(s)
Robert Scott Brown
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​
(m. 1955; died 1959)​
​
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(m. 1967; died 2018)​
Parent(s) Simon Lakofski
Phyllis Hepker
Practice Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates
Venturi and Rauch
Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown

Early Life and Education

Denise Lakofski was born on October 3, 1931. Her parents were Simon and Phyllis Lakofski. From the age of five, Denise knew she wanted to be an architect. To reach this goal, she spent her summers working with architects.

Studying Architecture in South Africa and London

From 1948 to 1952, after attending Kingsmead College, she studied in South Africa. She went to the University of the Witwatersrand. She briefly got involved in social issues. But she was frustrated because women were not easily accepted in that field.

In 1952, Lakofski moved to London. She worked for a modern architect named Frederick Gibberd. She continued her studies at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. She wanted to learn skills to help build a fair South Africa. This school was a great place for learning and welcomed women.

She met Robert Scott Brown at Witwatersrand. He joined her in London in 1954. She finished her architecture degree in 1955.

Moving to Philadelphia

Denise Lakofski and Robert Scott Brown got married on July 21, 1955. For the next three years, they worked and traveled around Europe. A friend, Robin Middleton, helped plan their trip to Italy.

In 1958, they moved to Philadelphia. They studied city planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Sadly, in 1959, Robert died in a car accident. Denise Scott Brown finished her master's degree in city planning in 1960. After graduating, she became a teacher at the university.

Career in Architecture and Planning

Teaching and Collaborating

Denise Scott Brown 1978 © Lynn Gilbert
Scott Brown in 1978

While teaching, she also earned another master's degree in architecture. In 1960, she spoke up against tearing down the university's library. This library is now the Fisher Fine Arts Library. It was designed by architect Frank Furness.

At that meeting, she met Robert Venturi. He was a young architect and also a professor. They started working together. They taught classes from 1962 to 1964. Scott Brown left the University of Pennsylvania in 1965.

She became an expert in urban planning (city planning). She taught at the University of California, Berkeley. Then she became a co-leader of the Urban Design Program at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Focus on Modern Cities

During her time in the Southwest, Scott Brown became very interested in newer cities. These included Los Angeles and Las Vegas. She invited Venturi to visit her classes at UCLA. In 1966, she asked him to visit Las Vegas with her.

Denise and Robert got married in Santa Monica, California, on July 23, 1967. Scott Brown moved back to Philadelphia in 1967. She joined Robert Venturi's company, Venturi and Rauch. By 1969, she was the main person in charge of planning.

Scott Brown later taught at Yale University. She created courses that encouraged architects to study problems in cities. She used ideas from social science and even pop culture. In 2003, she was a visiting teacher with Venturi at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.

Learning From Las Vegas

In 1972, Scott Brown, Venturi, and Steven Izenour wrote a famous book. It was called Learning From Las Vegas: the Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form. The book shared studies of the Las Vegas Strip. These studies were done with students in a special architecture class. Scott Brown taught this class with Venturi at Yale in 1970.

The book introduced terms like "Duck" and "Decorated Shed." These terms described different architectural styles. A "Duck" building looks like what it sells (like a hot dog stand shaped like a hot dog). A "Decorated Shed" is a simple building with big signs to tell you what it is.

This book, along with Venturi's earlier book, challenged old ideas about modern architecture. They showed that everyday American buildings and sprawl (spread-out cities) could also be interesting. Scott Brown continued to write about architecture and city planning.

Understanding Cities

Scott Brown and Venturi wanted to understand cities better. They looked at cities from social, economic, and cultural viewpoints. They saw cities as complex systems. Their company, Venturi, Scott Brown & Associates, studied trends in an area. They looked at how cities might grow or get crowded. These studies helped them create their plans and designs.

For example, for their Berlin Tomorrow Competition, they thought about how people move and live daily. For the Bryn Mawr College plan, they considered the old buildings and how the campus space was used before planning.

Scott Brown used a systematic way to plan, called "FFF studios." This means that the form (shape), forces (like traffic or nature), and function (what the building is for) help define the city environment. For instance, for Dartmouth College, their firm studied both the campus growth and the wild areas around it.

International Projects

The Nikko hotel chain shows a mix of Eastern and Western ideas. It combines Western comfort with traditional Japanese patterns. The buildings have a modern feel, but they also look like a traditional Japanese shopping street. Guest rooms are designed with Western tastes. The fabrics, wallpaper, and carpet reflect the outside scenery. But the outside "street" areas look like Japanese city life.

The firm was renamed Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown in 1980. Then it became Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in 1989. Scott Brown led many city planning projects. More recently, she directed university campus planning. By the early 1980s, people saw them as very important architects. They had clear ideas and new theories about design.

She also worked as a main leader with Robert Venturi on larger projects. These included the Sainsbury Wing of London's National Gallery. Also, the government building in Toulouse, France, and the Nikko Hotel and Spa Resort in Japan.

Learning From Pop Culture

In 1973, Denise Scott Brown wrote an essay called "Learning From Pop." In it, she said it was important to think about pop culture when designing buildings. This added a symbolic part to architecture. It used the feeling of the time, known as the "zeitgeist" of the postmodern era. This included using bright colors and signs in buildings. This idea was very similar to her book "Learning From Las Vegas."

Speaking Out for Women

In 1989, Scott Brown published her famous essay, "Room at the Top? Sexism and the Star System in Architecture." She actually wrote it in 1975. But she decided not to publish it then. She worried it might hurt her career.

The essay talks about her struggle to be seen as an equal partner in her architecture company. The world of architecture was mostly male at that time. Since then, she has been a strong supporter of Women in Architecture. She has spoken out many times about unfair treatment in the profession.

Architecture Projects

Denise Scott Brown and her firm worked on many projects. Here are some of them:

Awards and Recognition

Denise Scott Brown has received many awards for her work:

  • Soane Medal; 2018
  • Jane Drew Prize; 2017
  • European Cultural Centre Architecture Award; 2016
  • AIA Gold Medal; 2016 (with Robert Venturi)
  • Edmund N. Bacon Prize, Philadelphia Center for Architecture; 2010
  • Design Mind Award, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards, 2007 (with Robert Venturi)
  • Athena Medal, Congress for the New Urbanism, 2007
  • Vilcek Prize in Architecture, The Vilcek Foundation, 2007
  • Membership, American Philosophical Society, 2006
  • The Carpenters' Company Master Builder Award; 2005
  • Harvard Radcliffe Institute Medal; 2005
  • Visionary Woman Award, Moore College of Art & Design; 2003
  • Vincent Scully Prize, National Building Museum, 2002, with Robert Venturi
  • Topaz Medallion, American Institute of Architects, 1996
  • National Medal of Arts, United States Presidential Award, 1992 (with Robert Venturi)
  • Chicago Architecture Award, 1987
  • ACSA (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture) Distinguished Professor Award, 1986-87
  • AIA Firm Award, to Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown; 1985

She is also one of four female architects featured in the 2018 documentary film City Dreamers. The film also includes Phyllis Lambert, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, and Cornelia Oberlander.

Published Works

Denise Scott Brown has written several important books and essays:

  • Learning from Las Vegas: the Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form, (with Robert Venturi and Steven Izenour), Cambridge: MIT Press, 1972; revised edition 1977. ISBN: 0-262-72006-X
  • Denise Scott Brown, Learning from Pop, 1973.
  • A View from the Campidoglio: Selected Essays, 1953–1984, (with Robert Venturi), New York: Harper & Row, 1984. ISBN: 0-06-438851-4
  • Urban Concepts, Architectural Design Profile 60: January–February 1990. London: Academy Editions; distributed in U.S. by St. Martin's Press. ISBN: 0-85670-955-7
  • Denise Scott Brown, Room at the top? Sexism and the Star System in Architecture, 1989, in: RENDELL, J., PENNER, B. and BORDEN, I. (ed.): Gender Space Architecture. An Interdisciplinary Introduction, Routhledge, New York, 2000, p 258-265
  • Architecture as Signs and Systems: for a Mannerist Time (with Robert Venturi), Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004. ISBN: 0-674-01571-1
  • The art in waste (article), In:Distoriones urbanas / Urban Distorisions, Madrid: Basurama, 2006. ISBN: 978-84-95321-85-5
  • On Public Interior Space (with Maurice Harteveld), In: AA Files 56, London: Architectural Association Publications, 2007.
  • Denise Scott Brown, Having Words (London: Architectural Association, 2009)

See also

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