Time magazine names Elizabeth Diller as world's most influential architect

Elizabeth Diller has been named the world’s most influential architect in 2018 by Time magazine.
In a citation for the publication’s list of its 100 most influential people, entrepreneur Eli Broad described the American architect as a visionary who “imagines things the rest of us have to see to believe” and “can turn a metaphor into brick and mortar.”
He added: “Maybe it’s because she’s a woman in a male-dominated field, or because she was originally a conceptual artist – along with her partner in art, architecture and life, Ric Scofidio – but whatever the reason, Liz sees opportunities where others see challenges. She can do the impossible.”
Diller has appeared in the Time list before, in 2009, alongside Scofidio. This time, she is named alone and is the only architect to feature.
Speaking about the 2015 collaboration which saw Broad commission Diller and her studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) to create The Broad contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, the philanthropist said: “Liz and the DS+R team had a tricky assignment: build a museum that is iconic, but that doesn’t clash with Disney Hall across the street. They called their design ‘the veil and the vault.’
“The veil – a white, porous overlay – brings diffused light in to meet the art. And the vault, hovering within the building, its contents visible through plate-glass windows, shows visitors the great potential of our collection to keep offering more art and ideas. We thought this was a brilliant concept.”
DS+R are best-known for cultural and leisure projects including the High Line in New York, The Broad in LA and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
They are currently working on a new home for Brazil’s 50-year-old Museum of Image and Sound (MIS) in Rio; a Centre for Music in the City of London; a museum in Colorado Springs dedicated to the Olympic movement; a 250 hectare eco-tourism hub for Haikou Bay in China’s Hainan province; a multi-year expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and configurable cultural centre The Shed in the same city’s burgeoning Hudson Yards district.
Last year, Sir David Adjaye was the sole architect to make Time’s annual list, while Bjarke Ingels was recognised in 2016.
Elizabeth Diller Time magazine Eli Broad DS+RRio's beachfront Museum of Image and Sound enters final development stages ahead of 2018 opening
Diller Scofidio + Renfro announced for 'transformative' London Centre for Music
MoMA unveils completed renovation and reveals plans for Diller Scofidio + Renfro expansion
Time magazine names Sir David Adjaye as world's most influential architect
Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell Group reveal The Shed – a vast New York arts venue on wheels
Diller Scofidio + Renfro triumph in competition to design vast tourist hub on artificial Chinese island
New York MoMA unveils revised US$445m expansion plans


BIG's designs Prague concert hall to be vibrant centre of life

Mather & Co-designed Gretna Green Experience opens to the public

Project to save last major bellfoundry which cast bells for St Paul's and Washington National Cathedral

Perkins & Will reveals designs for net-zero sports and cultural centre in Toronto

World’s first living waterslides announced for Therme Manchester

Heatherwick reveals Volcano-inspired opera house designs for Hainan

Natural history museum planned for Abu Dhabi

Controversial London music venue, MSG Sphere, gets full planning permission

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Clifford's Tower opens to the public after £5m redevelopment

Glasgow's iconic Burrell Collection reopens after five-year, £68.5m revamp

SB Architects delivers Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Costa Rica with tree-house spa and private residences

Ole Scheeren designs vertical jungle resort complex in China

Designer Brian d’Souza launches Swell to create evocative soundscapes for physical environments

Basalt Architects create geothermal Forest Lagoon in the wilds of Iceland

Hot Pickle design £73m Guinness visitor attraction for Diageo in London

Amsterdam's new digital art centre Fabrique des Lumières will use tech to bring art alive

Pharrell Williams to launch tropical Bahamian beach resort

Banyan Tree curating solar-powered wellness retreat on private Mozambican island

Dubai Expo hits 10 million visits

Foster + Partners designs Dorchester Collection's first hotel in Middle East

Neil Jacobs reveals Six Senses Places concept for major cities

Orient Express returns to Italy after 46 years with six trains designed by Dimorestudio and new Rome hotel

400-year-old mineral spring will power Preidlhof’s €2m medicinal bath experience

Universal Beijing Resort reveals expansion plans for second phase

Pop-up stadium built with shipping containers opens ahead of 2022 World Cup

Playfulness will inspire Serenbe’s new wellness community, Spela

John McAslan + Partners-designed M7 cultural hub and museum opens in Doha

LPO Architects and GrecoDeco create vast subterranean wellness retreat for Oslo
