Frances Halsband FAIA (born October 30, 1943, in New York City) is an American architect and educator. She is a founder, with Robert Kliment, of Kliment Halsband Architects, a New York City design firm widely recognized for preservation, adaptive reuse and master planning projects. Significant works include The Brown University Framework for Physical Planning, Long Island Railroad Entrance at 34 Street, Visitor Center at Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library, Mount Sinai Ambulatory Surgery Facility Kyabirwa Uganda. The firm received the AIA Firm Award in 1997 and the New York AIA Medal of Honor in 1998.
From 1991 to 1994 Halsband was dean of the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute, and she has taught at Harvard University, Columbia University, Rice University, University of Pennsylvania, University of California, Berkeley and other institutions. She was the first woman president of AIA New York and The Architectural League of New York. She is a former commissioner of the New York City Landmarks Commission. In 2018 Halsband lead a successful effort to amend the AIA Code of Ethics to prohibit harassment or discrimination and commit to fostering a professional environment of mutual respect and equity. In recognition of this effort she was named one of Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 25 Newsmakers. In 2019 she received an Honorary Doctor of Design from NewSchool of Architecture and Design.
Personal life and education She received her B.A. at Swarthmore College in 1965 and a master's degree from Columbia University in 1968.Lorenz, Clare, Women in Architecture: a contemporary perspective, Rizzoli, New York, 1990 p. 44 She has served on juries for design awards, chaired the 1999 American Institute of Architects Committee on Design, and served as AIA New York's first woman president in 1991.AIANY Leads Charge to Amend AIA Code of Ethics — AIA New York Halsband and Kliment were married in 1971 in Woodstock New York. Their son, Alexander Halsband Kliment was born in 1979. They made their home in New York City and Woodstock New York. Kliment retired from KHA in 2013, and died in 2017.
Halsband's interest in architecture was sparked by her grandmother and her mother, who were both involved in the field of art. She originally attended Swarthmore college as an English major, though she took an interest in hanging out at Penn with architecture students. She decided to switch to an art history major because of this to minimize the time she had to spend in class at Swarthmore. The time she spent at Swarthmore College made her decide to attend Columbia University for architecture classes where she made connections with important people. Once she finished her studies at Columbia, she began her work at Mitchell Giugola Architects, where she worked under Robert Kliment. After he had been her boss for a few years, they decided to start their firm together in 1972.
Professional practice
Kliment Halsband Architects, New York, New York – 2008–present R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects, New York, New York – 1978–2008 R.M. Kliment Architect, New York, New York – 1972–1977 Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, New York, New York -1968–1972
Selected projects This selection is specific to projects for which Halsband has been principally responsible
Arcadia University Commons, Glenside, Pennsylvania (2012) Arcadia University Landman Library, Glenside, Pennsylvania (2003) Avalon Morningside at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, New York (2008) Brown University Strategic Framework for Physical Planning, Providence, Rhode Island (2003/2009) Dartmouth College Roth Center for Jewish Life, Hanover, New Hampshire (1998) Friends Seminary, New York, New York (2019) Johns Hopkins University Gilman Hall, Baltimore, Maryland (2010) Long Island Railroad Entrance at Pennsylvania Station, New York, New York (1994) Mount Sinai Ambulatory Surgery Facility Kyabirwa Uganda, Africa (2019) University of Chicago Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, Chicago, Illinois (2015) University of Massachusetts Amherst South College, Amherst, Massachusetts (2017) Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Center, Hyde Park, New York (2004) Zen Mountain Monastery Sangha House, Mt. Tremper, New York (2013)
Personal achievements
Honors
Honorary Doctor of Design, NewSchool of Architecture and Design – 2019 Engineering News Record 2018 Top 25 Newsmaker – 2019 AIA Firm Award, R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects – 1998 AIA New York Medal of Honor, R.M. Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects – 1997 Fellow of the American Institute of Architects – 1986 Chancellor of the AIA College of Fellows - 2023
Civic and professional boards
AIA College of Fellows executive committee – 2019–present Harvard University, Design Review Panel – 2005–2009 Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, board of directors, (president 2008–2013) – 2003–present Brown University, architect advisor, board of trustees – 2002–2013 AIA Committee on Design, chair 1999 U.S. Department of State Office of Foreign Buildings Operations Architectural Advisory Board – 1998–2003 Smith College, architect advisor to the board of trustees – 1998–2003 U.S. General Services Administration National Register of Peer Professionals – 1998–2010 ACSA, northeast regional director – 1993–1995 Federal Reserve Bank Architectural Review Panel – 1993–2009 AIA New York Chapter, president – 1992 AIA New York Chapter Women in Architecture Leadership Network founder – 1991 New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, commissioner – 1984–1987 New York State Council on the Arts, Architecture Panel – 1980–1983 The Architectural League of New York, (president 1985–1989) - 1975–present
Academic appointments
University of Maryland, Kea Visiting Distinguished Professor – 2009 University of Cincinnati, visiting professor, Neihoff Studio – 2002 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Plym Professor – 2001 Ball State University, Emens Distinguished Professor – 1998–1999 University of California Berkeley, Howard A. Friedman Visiting Professor – 1997 Pratt Institute School of Architecture, dean – 1991–1994 Columbia University, visiting critic in design – 1987 University of Pennsylvania, visiting critic in design – 1981 Harvard University, visiting critic in design – 1980 University of Virginia, visiting critic in design – 1979 Rice University, visiting critic in design – 1979 North Carolina State University, visiting critic in design – 1978 Columbia University, visiting critic in design – 1975–1978
Selected publications
Published writings
“Not a Park.” In Maintaining: Public Works in the Next New York. New York, New York: Urban Design Forum, 2019. “A Different Kind of Place,” Faith & Form: The Interfaith Journal on Religion, Art, and Architecture, Vol. 52, No. 1, 2019 “Reverence and Reconstruction,” Faith & Form: The Interfaith Journal on Religion, Art, and Architecture, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2017 “Living and Learning: The Campus Redefined,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 28, 2006 “Charles Klauder’s Brilliant Invisible Hand.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 25, 2005 “Campuses in Place” In Places Journal: Considering the Place of Campus, Vol. 17, Issue 1, Winter 2005 "Introduction to The Inhabited Landscape: An Exhibition,” Places Journal, Volume 4/4, 1988
Illustrations
Halsband, Frances (Illustrator), Publishing: a writer's memoir, by Gail Godwin, Bloomsbury, 2015 Halsband, Frances (Illustrator), “Ulster County Ghosts,” by Gail Godwin, Kingston: The IBM Years, The Friends of Historic Kingston/Black Dome Press, Delmar New York, 2014 Halsband, Frances, (Illustrator), Evenings at Five, by Gail Godwin, Ballantine Books, 2003.
Works from Kliment Halsband Architects
New York University Advanced Research Institutes The New York University Advanced Research Institutes offers "open loft floors provide a range of innovative collaborative environments for research institutes, shared university classrooms, and a conference center." The offices are also enclosed by glass, which offer both a manner of interaction and privacy. The building offers several open work spaces and small offices that can be used as study rooms, classrooms, or workshops.
SUNY College of Optometry Lobby & Center for Student Life & Learning The College of Optometry is made up of a 10,517 square foot lobby and a 14,985 square foot student center, which is filled with light colors and bright non-glare lighting. The space is meant to be welcoming and encourage student interaction with patients.
References
External links Kliment Halsband Architects Kliment Halsband Architects records and architectural drawings, 1922–2007. Held by the Department of Drawings & Archives , Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Ehlenfeldt, Cara. “Framework for Hope.” Accessed October 24, 2021. Saunders, William S., and Peter G. Rowe, eds. Reflections on Architectural Practices in the Nineties. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996. Searing, Helen. Equal Partners: Men and Women Principals in Contemporary Architectural Practice. Smith College Museum of Art, 1998.