Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Oral History

The Waterfall Building in Vancouver - Photo by Gerry Kopelow, 2011

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Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Oral History

Recognized as a national treasure in Canada, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander has been creating innovative landscapes for more than sixty years.

A leader in the profession, her work with preeminent architects throughout Canada and the United States has provided sustainable solutions for private gardens and public spaces alike.

Oral History Framework

Video Clips are divided into three categories: BIOGRAPHY, DESIGN, and PROJECTS.

Each clip is between 30 seconds and 5 minutes long.

Interview: Cornelia Hahn Oberlander was interviewed on August 3-5, 2008 by Charles Birnbaum at her home, office, and at residential and civic projects in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Oral History Transcript

Reflections: A commitment to informed and appropriate landscape solutions has been the hallmark of the Oberlander office for more than sixty years. Personal relationships with friends, clients and associated professionals have been developed over those years. ��ұ�� contacted many of them and asked them to share their reflections.

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Reflections

Clip Listing by Category


BIOGRAPHY 1. Her goals for the profession are disclosed. 2. A love of landscape which begins in Germany continues her whole life. 3. College professor, Kate Ries Koch makes landscape come alive. 4. Interaction with professors and students offers creative opportunities. 5. A Harvard friendship spans more than fifty years. 6. Oberlander reveals the challenges of working in Charlotte, Vermont. 7. Oberlander relocates to Canada from the United States and begins a new practice. 8. The importance of play informs home life and professional practice. 9. The efficiency of a modern workplace leads to design excellence. 10. Collaboration and respect produces many years of successful projects. 11. Discover how teamwork created environmentally responsible design.		DESIGN 1. Harvard lessons learned from planners Wright and Stein shape her thinking. 2. Ideas gleaned from travel and contemporary literature inform Oberlander’s work. 3. The essential skills needed to produce quality work and become team leaders. 4. Risk Taking, Research and Responsibility – cornerstone ideas for practice. 5. Oberlander reveals her secrets for selecting and presenting plant material. 6. Oberlander shares her thoughts regarding rooftop designs. 7. Working with teams builds better projects.		PROJECTS 1. Lessons learned by working for Oscar Stonorov and Lou Kahn. 2. An early residential project is still fresh fifty years later. 3. A design competition results in a place to live. 4. Expo ’67 in Montreal was an opportunity to show the world new ideas. 5. The family property evolves to suit the Oberlander’s needs for over forty years. 6. Oberlander reminisces about her collaboration with Arthur Erikson on the design for the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, British Columbia. 7. Oberlander illuminates design changes at the Vancouver Museum of Anthropology. 8. How this three-acre roof garden in the heart of Vancouver came to be. 9. Stewardship challenges for this seminal work are explored. 10. Learn how the landscape for Ottawa’s premiere museum was inspired by its collections. 11. Collaborating with Hank White makes this an exciting project.

Production Credits and Acknowledgments

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR

DIRECTOR/EDITOR

Taylor Sullivan

Sullivan Entertainment

INTERVIEWER

Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR

VIDEOGRAPHER

Tom Fox, Principal,

SWA Group

PROJECT MANAGER

Nancy Slade, ASLA

��ұ�� would like to thank the many people who contributed to making the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Oral History a reality.

From the beginning, thanks goes to Cornelia Oberlander whose boundless enthusiasm and energy made the three day interview in Vancouver, BC a delight. Thank you also to Elisabeth Whitelaw whose capable assistance with all manner of requests both during production and post production insured that this undertaking ran smoothly. We are grateful for the technical skills provided by Tom Fox and the SWA Group, Inc., without which this project would not have been possible.

Special thanks go to Sullivan Entertainment executive producers Kevin Sullivan and Trudy Grant, who provided the time and talent of their production company to transform this project from the video interview to the final module; and to Taylor Sullivan and Christian Frias for their editing skills which crafted the individual segments.

��ұ�� would like to thank Janet Rosenberg and Doug Reed who helped garner financial support for this project. Thank you to the following individuals, firms and Societies: Barbara David; Moshe Safdie; the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects; (CSLA) the British Columbia Landscape Architects, (BCSLA); the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF); KPMB Architects; Bing Thom; Susan Cohen; Paula Deitz; Janet Rosenberg and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Jarvis.

Photographs, prints, and drawings reproduced courtesy of the following individuals and institutions:

Thank you to: Charles A. Birnbaum; Cheryl Cooper; the Heinz Awards, Jonathan Greene photographer; Milton Hicks, photographer; Joseph Karr; Aaron Kiley; Nick Milkovich Architects, photographer, Gerry Kopelow; the office of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander; Safdie Architects; HM White Site Architects, Aaron Booher, Huei Ming Juang, photographers; and the University of British Columbia, Centre for Humans Settlements.

University and Museum Archives:

Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal - Archive of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, landscape architect

National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

Completed in 1988 printed material enhanced with colour marker, mounted on cardboard,

overlaid by red acetate AP075 .S2.D001 .P002

Playground for Children's Creative Centre, Canadian Federal Pavilion, Expo '67

Completed in 1967 diazotype on paper, ink, graphite, dry transfer and coloured paper collaged elements AP075 .S1 .D001.P024

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, photographer

Playground for Children’s Creative Centre, Canadian Federal Pavilion, Expo '67October 1967 gelatin silver print AP075.S 1.D001 .P070.011

Playground for Children's Creative Centre, Canadian Federal Pavilion, Expo '67

October 1967 gelatin silver print AP075 .S 1.D001 .P070.013

Playground for Children's Creative Centre, Canadian Federal Pavilion, Expo '67

October 1967 gelatin silver print AP075 .S 1.D001 .P070.014

Perspective view, Children's Creative Centre and Play Area, Canadian Government Pavilion,

Expo 67, Montréal, Québec 1967 or before, dry transfer on negative Photostat printed on cardboard ARCH252723

Perspective view, Children's Creative Centre and Play Area, Canadian Government Pavilion, Expo 67, Montréal, Québec, 1967 or before, dry transfer on negative photostat printed on cardboard ARCH252724

Cornell University - Cornell University Library: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collection

Image # RMC2005_0643, RMC2005_0642, RMC2004_0437 from Clarence Stein papers, 1905-1983

University of Pennsylvania - The Architectural Archives, the University of Pennsylvania:

Image 292: Edmund N. Bacon Collection. The Architectural Archives, the University of Pennsylvania

074.IV.B.25a: Anne Griswold Tyng Collection, The Architectural Archives, the University of Pennsylvania

Cherokee 5 : Oscar Stonorov Collection. The Architectural Archives, the University of Pennsylvania

Cherokee 2: Oscar Stonorov Collection. The Architectural Archives, the University of Pennsylvania

030.I.A.375.17: Louis I. Kahn Collection, the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

030.I.A.375.18: Louis I. Kahn Collection, the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

030.I.A.375.23: Louis I. Kahn Collection, the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Smith College - Smith College Archives:

Paradise Pond and Boat House (5816) Photographer: Smith College, Copyright: Smith College

Archives (39, Publications (Administrative))

Chapin House (5817) photographer: unknown, Copyright: unknown, Smith College Archives (22.Buildings)

The Library Front of William A. Nielson Library in 1945 (5817) photographer: unknown, Copyright: Smith College, Smith College Archives (22.Buildings)

Dewey House (5819) photographer: unknown, Copyright: Smith College, Smith College Archives, (39, Publications (Administrative))

University of Wyoming - American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming:

Oskar Stonorov Collection, Box 13, Folder 3

Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Oral History

Recognized as a national treasure in Canada, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander has been creating innovative landscapes for more than sixty years.

Oral History Framework

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