Monday, June 20, 2011
8 PM
Channel Cafe
300 Summer Street
Fort Point, Boston

Free, public invited. Cash bar, light refreshments served. No advanced ticketing or reservations for this special event.




Much appreciation to Channel Cafe, Joyce Parlapiano (owner/proprietor), 300 Summer St. artists, residents and board for making this evening possible.

A Conversation with Jane Thompson

As our 2011 summer series in Fort Point continues, we present an evening in conversation with Jane Thompson, an urbanist who has made a mark on many cities in North America and the world, planning highly successful well-loved places that contribute to the economic health, vitality and identity of the cities in which they are located.

Thompson's projects include Chicago’s Navy Pier, Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Grand Central District BID and Times Square Center in New York. In 2010, Jane received a National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York and in 2011 was awarded an Honorary Degree of Design Research and Innovation from the Boston Architectural College (BAC).

For this evening's conversation we'll touch on number of topics ranging from Thompson's work as founding editor of ID Magazine; her involvement with and continued evolution of the Bauhaus movement; and her career working in the traditionally male-dominated fields of architecture and planning.

We'll also touch on Thompson's multidisciplinary work in fields ranging from product design to architecture and planning, from early work with architects including Philip Johnson and Walter Gropius and, moving forward, through her colorful life with husband and renown architect Ben Thompson.

To be sure, this is not going to be a dry, academic evening. Jane Thompson is one hell of a gal to be around, and it's always fun to share anecdotal stories with her. It's worth mentioning that Jane and her company Thompson Design Group are treasured friends of the Fort Point neighborhood.

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Thompson's book Design Research: The Store that Brought Modern Living to American Homes (Chroniclebooks, 2010), which chronicles the renowned “General Store of Good Design,” is available at Harvard Coop, Harvard Bookstore and 12 Chairs (319 A Street).

Source: National Design Awards @ Cooper-Hewitt