Designers Helle Søholt, John Bela to Present Fay Jones School Lecture on Sept. 2

Photo Submitted

Architect Helle Søholt will present a lecture Sept. 2, with John Bela, in Vol Walker Hall, as part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design lecture series. Both with Gehl Architects in Copenhagen, Denmark, they are this year's Garvan Chairs and visiting professors in landscape architecture for the Fay Jones School.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Helle Søholt and John Bela will present a lecture at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2, in Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Room 250 of Vol Walker Hall, on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, as part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design lecture series.

Søholt is the founding partner and chief executive officer of Gehl Architects, which she started in 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Jan Gehl, a professor. The office has developed a knowledge base and experience respected internationally in the fields of urban design and development. The firm has garnered multiple prizes and recognitions for contributions to making cities more livable and sustainable.

Søholt was educated as an architect at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and at the University of Washington in Seattle. She has extensive international design experience at various levels of intervention and at a multitude of scales that include urban analysis, visioning, strategy and design development.

With that knowledge and experience, Søholt has served as a member of professional boards, juries and advisory committees since 2008. She was awarded member of the Danish Art Society in 2010, as well as the Danish Dreyer's Prize of Honor for architects in Denmark. In recent years, she has been advisor to the cities of Copenhagen; Vancouver, Canada; Mexico City; New York; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Bela is an urbanist and public space designer. He combines a background in art, science and environmental design to create vibrant, dynamic, and resilient urban human habitats. A pioneer in user-generated urbanism, Bela has successfully completed many projects that involve radical new formulations of social space. He is a Senior Lecturer at the California College of Arts in San Francisco and a Distinguished Lecturer at UC Berkeley. He holds degrees in landscape architecture and environmental design, biochemistry and sculpture.

Søholt and Bela are this year's Garvan Chairs and visiting professors in landscape architecture for the Fay Jones School.

The public is invited to attend. Admission is free, with limited seating.

For more information, contact 479-575-4704 or architecture.uark.edu.