Dan Kiley
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Daniel Urban Kiley (2 September 1912 – 21 February 2004) was an American
landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
, who worked in the style of
modern architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architectur ...
. Kiley designed over one-thousand landscape projects including
Gateway Arch National Park Gateway Arch National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a List of nationa ...
in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
.


Life and career

Kiley was born in the neighborhood of Roxbury in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, where his father was a construction manager. In 1930, Kiley graduated from Jamaica Plain High School. Two years later, he began a four-year apprenticeship with landscape architect Warren H. Manning, working without pay for the first year, during which he learned the fundamentals of the field and developed an interest in the role of plants in design. From 1936 to 1938, Kiley was a special student in the design program at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, now the Graduate School of Design, while continuing work with Manning. Among his classmates were Garrett Eckbo and James C. Rose, who also became influential landscape architects. After two years, upon Manning's death and the dissolution of his practice, Kiley left Harvard without graduating. He worked briefly for the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
in Concord,
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and later the
United States Housing Authority The United States Housing Authority, or USHA, was a Alphabet agencies, federal agency created during 1937 within the United States Department of the Interior by the Housing Act of 1937 as part of the New Deal. It was designed to lend money to the ...
, where he met architect
Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whil ...
. On Kahn's advice, Kiley left the authority in 1940 to become a licensed practicing architect. From 1943 to 1945, Kiley served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
as Captain in the Presentation Branch of the
Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...
, becoming its director after architect
Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...
stepped down. At the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Kiley designed the courtroom where the
Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
were held. While in Europe, he visited the Château de Villandry and the
Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, as well as the work of
André Le Nôtre André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...
, whose formality and geometric layout shaped his later classical modernist style. Following the war, Kiley found himself as one of the only modern landscape architects in the postwar building boom. In California, his colleagues Eckbo, Thomas Church, and others were also developing and practicing in the modernist style. Kiley reestablished his practice in
Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
,
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
, and later moved to Charlotte,
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
. In 1947, in collaboration with Saarinen, Kiley entered and won the competition to design the
Gateway Arch National Park Gateway Arch National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a List of nationa ...
(then known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial), a high-profile project that launched his career. Throughout Kiley's practice, he hired such designers as Cheryl Barton, Miho Mazereeuw,
Kevin Roche Eamonn Kevin Roche (June 14, 1922 – March 1, 2019) was an Irish-born American Pritzker Prize-winning architect. Kevin Roche was the Archetype, archetypal Modern architecture, modernist and "member of an elite group of third generation modern ...
, Harry Turbott, and Peter Walker.


Legacy

In 2000, the actor Paul Hopkins portrayed Kiley in the
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, featuring
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
. In 2013, The Cultural Landscape Foundation organized a traveling exhibition titled ''The Landscape Architecture Legacy of Dan Kiley'', which featured over forty newly commissioned photographs of Kiley's projects. The
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
Graduate School of Design has an endowed fellowship in his name: the Daniel Urban Kiley Teaching Fellowship in Landscape Architecture. There is also an endowed lecture series called the Daniel Urban Kiley Lecture, which has been delivered by such designers as Julie Bargmann and
James Corner James Corner (born 1961) is a landscape architect and theorist whose works exhibit a focus on "developing innovative approaches toward landscape architectural design and urbanism." His designs of note include Fresh Kills Park on Staten Island and t ...
.


The Kiley Gardens

The location of th
Kiley Gardens
is in the Downtown Tampa area. It is an urban area surrounded by libraries, popular eating places, the University of Tampa, and business headquarters. The gardens were originally a part of the NationsBank Plaza before being built on top of an underground garage. The site has been neglected for many years and is now being supported by th
Cultural Landscape Foundation
The foundation is currently trying to restore the gardens to their former glory. Kiley Gardens is currently under reconstruction and partnered with members and residents of Downtown Tampa in an effort to improve its current state. The gardens are accredited by th
Tampa Bay Foundation for Architecture and Design
The Kiley Gardens were designed by Dan Kiley with the help of Henry Wolf. The purpose of the gardens was to create some shade in the Downtown Tampa area and more importantly create the feeling of taking a walk in the woods in such an urban setting. The pattern of the garden was set to look like the Fibonacci mathematical sequence. The sequence is meant to start with the numbers zero and one and each number after that is the sum of the two previous numbers added together. When the gardens first opened in 1988 the goal was to have many more trees covering the area, five individual islands with a tree in the middle of each island, and plants such as palm allées and crepe myrtles. The garden was also supposed to have water features, such as basins and a water garden, and a view of the Hillsborough River and the
University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...
. The original design for the garden was never completed and later it created many structural issues with the underground parking garage leading to the garden being torn down. Before it was completely destroyed the garden was saved by the City of Tampa and partnerships between local businesses and community members who wanted to preserve the legacy Dan Kiley left behind. The gardens were meant to represent a connection to nature in an ever growing urban area.


Style

The geometric layout of allees, bosques, water, paths, orchards, lawns, and other landscape features characterize Kiley's style. To him, regular geometry was at the heart of his design. Like his predecessors,
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...
and Le Nôtre, Kiley believed that geometry was an inherent to humans. It was the structure one could use to gain comprehension and create stabilization of surroundings. Kiley also believed that humans were a part of nature, rather than being separate from it. Rather than imitating curvilinear forms in nature, he asserted mathematical order onto landscape. His designs overstepped their boundaries rather than ending elements neatly on a suggested edge. Kiley called this approach, ''slippage'', or an extension beyond the implied boundary, creating ambiguous relationships in the landscape.


Awards

*
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
Election (1963) * Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture (1987) *
American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
Election (1996) *
National Medal of Arts The National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and Patronage, patrons of the arts. A prestigious American honor, it is the highest honor given to artists and ar ...
Lifetime Honors (1997) *
National Design Awards The American National Design Awards, founded in 2000, are various awards funded and bestowed by the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. There are seven official design categories, and three additional awards when applicable. Any supplement ...
Lifetime Achievement (2002)


Selected projects

* Irwin Conference Center, Columbus (1954) * United States Air Force Academy, Cadet Area,
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...
(1954) *
Miller House and Garden The Miller House and Garden, also known as Miller House, is a mid-century modern home designed by Eero Saarinen and located in Columbus, Indiana, United States. The residence, commissioned by American industrialist, philanthropist, and archite ...
, Columbus (1955) * Seymour Krieger House, Bethesda (1958) * Independence Mall,
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
(1963) *
Gateway Arch National Park Gateway Arch National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in St. Louis, Missouri, near the starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In its initial form as a List of nationa ...
,
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
(1965) * Milton Lee Olive Park,
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
(1965) * Art Institute of Chicago Building, Chicago (1965) *
Ford Foundation Building The Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice (also known as 321 East 42nd Street, 320 East 43rd Street, or the Ford Foundation Building) is a 12-story office building in Midtown Manhattan, East Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Completed in ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
(1967) *
Jardine Water Purification Plant The Jardine Water Purification Plant, formerly the Central District Filtration Plant, is the world’s largest water filtration plant, purifying 1.4 billion gallons per day. It is located at 1000 East Ohio Street, north of Navy Pier in Chicago, Il ...
, Chicago (1968) *
Oakland Museum of California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
,
Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
(1969) * Benjamin Banneker Park, Arlington (1970) * Constitution Gardens,
Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
(1976) * Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Burlington (1977) * NationsBank Plaza,
Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
(1985) * Fountain Place,
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
(1986) *
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (PCT) is an American, nonprofit, arts organization that was formed in 1984 to promote economic and cultural development in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The "Trust" has focused its work on a fourteen-square block ...
Plaza,
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
(1999)


See also

*
List of Harvard University non-graduate alumni This is a list of some notable people who attended Harvard University, but did not graduate or have yet to graduate. See ''List of Harvard University people'' for a more comprehensive list of people affiliated with Harvard. , - , Bonnie Raitt , ...
*
List of members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Art This List of members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Department of Art shows the members of one of the three departments of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. After being nominated by current members, new members are selected i ...
*
List of landscape architects A landscape architect is someone who practices landscape architecture. Regulations of the profession vary by country and state. The terminology has evolved to include those once known as List of professional gardeners, landscape gardeners, landsc ...
* List of people from Vermont


References


External links


Cultural Landscape Foundation profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiley, Daniel Urban 1912 births 2004 deaths Architects from Boston American landscape and garden designers American landscape architects Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni National Park Service personnel United States Army officers United States National Medal of Arts recipients Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters National Design Award winners People of the Office of Strategic Services