DANIEL URBAN KILEY

“Kiley was among the most important, influential, and idiosyncratic landscape architects of the 20th century.”

— Charles Birnbaum, The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Born in Boston, MA, Dan Kiley (1912-2004) spent the majority of his professional career living and working in Charlotte, VT. From his rural office came landscape designs for projects as diverse as the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs; the Ford Foundation Atrium in New York City; L’Esplanade du General de Gaulle in Paris; and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Working with design principles inspired in part by the work of Andre le Notre, a 17th-century French landscape architect, Kiley developed a rigorous appreciation of the structural integrity that formal landscape design can provide to a site. Kiley’s approach did not try to mimic natural settings; instead, he organized spaces geometrically and used plantings, pathways, and sight lines to define outdoor spaces.

Throughout his long career, Kiley collaborated with the leading architects of the 20th century on projects around the country and the world. For more detailed biographical information, please visit The Cultural Landscape Foundation or read his obituary in the New York Times.

“Dan Kiley has the rare ability to work with architects, not as a decorator who comes in to add frills, but as a true partner. He supports the architecture, and, more importantly, he adds whole new dimensions. His work has structure. He never thinks small. He always sees the big picture. There is no one like him.”

— Edward Larrabee Barnes, Architect