After practicing for over fifty years as one of the world’s most preeminent architects, Robert Venturi, FAIA, has retired. The Philadelphia-based, American architect became known as the father of postmodernism and, together with his wife and partner, Denise Scott Brown, FAIA, he changed how the world perceives architecture with his maxim, “Less is a bore.”
Now, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, which Venturi co-founded with his wife, has relaunched as VSBA under the new leadership of president and principal Daniel K. McCoubrey, AIA. Together with principal Nancy Rogo Trainer, FAIA, McCoubrey will continue to build under the founders’ values – “bringing creative design, thoughtful analysis, and responsive service” to each client. Meanwhile, Scott Brown will continue publishing and presenting her work.
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“As we’ve evolved as a firm, our approach to design has remained deeply rooted in understanding and responding to context at many levels,” said McCoubrey, as reported on newsworks.
After working with Venturi since 1981, Dan McCoubrey will now act as president and principal of VSBA. He was principal-in-charge for the Curtis Institute of Music’s Lenfest Hall as well as for the renovations and additions for the Allentown Art Museum. He recently directed a series of commissions for Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC, and has experience leading projects for Penn, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, the Barnes Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and more. A graduate of Penn’s School of Architecture, he has taught at Drexel since 1986, lectures extensively, and is a member of the Philadelphia Historical Commission Architectural Review Committee.
“Our office is full of talented people who bring the social, environmental, and practical aspects of a project together in creative and beautiful ways,” said Trainer.
Nancy Rogo Trainer has worked under Venturi since 1987. She has provided planning and design serves for many academic and cultural institutions. Most recently, Trainer was principal-in-charge for renovation of historic Fay House at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard, where she directed renovation of Schlesinger Library and campus planning. She is also a graduate of Penn’s School of Architecture, teaches at Drexel, lectures extensively, and is a member of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.