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Wyck-Strickland Award

Wyck Honors Alan Metcalfe and Aaron Goldblatt as the 2022 Wyck-Strickland Awardees

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 | Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania

6pm Reception | 7:30pm Award Presentation

Award Chairs: Amy & Michael Cohen

Address
Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania
100 E Northwestern Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19118

Agenda
6:00 PM drinks and heavy hors d’oeuvres, Out on A Limb
7:30 PM remarks & presentation of award
8:00 PM dessert and coffee

Attire
The suggested dress is business or cocktail attire, with a note to dress for the weather. The event is outdoors, please plan accordingly.
Ample warm cider and foods will be provided!
Additionally, Out on A Limb is made of boardwalk-style wood and metal decking, so please opt for sensible shoes. Narrow heels are not recommended.

Parking
Free parking is available in the parking lot just beyond the Arboretum’s Visitor Center. In the event that the lot is full, overflow parking is available near the entrance kiosk. Vehicles may use the loading zone in front of the Visitor Center to drop-off passengers if needed.

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About the Awardees

Alan Metcalfe

Committed to creative, intentional invention as a design process and an outcome, Alan Metcalfe, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, founded Metcalfe Architecture & Design in 2001. The firm is intensely focused on user experience and behavior, both within and around its architecture, combining physical, visual, and experiential elements to socially engage people in a space or a structure.  The practice has won many awards, including: the American Architecture Award (The European Centre & The Chicago Athenaeum), the Society of American Registered Architects National Design Award of Excellence, the AIA Philadelphia Awards for Design Excellence, Gold Medal Award, the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, Grand Jury Winner, and the American Association of Museums, Excellence in Exhibition Design Award.

Outside the studio, Alan is an advocate for responsive, high-quality design. A frequent lecturer and visiting critic at local architecture schools, he serves on the boards of multiple non-profit community and cultural organizations and is an amateur musician. Alan holds a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Tufts University.

Aaron Goldblatt

Joining Metcalfe in 2002, Aaron Goldblatt has devoted his career to creating environments for informal learning and play in museums, gardens, schools, and healthcare settings. His previous positions at the Please Touch Museum ®, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the Wagner Free Institute of Science formed the basis for his continuing work creating compelling physical and emotional experiences through self-directed learning.

Highlights of Aaron’s projects at Metcalfe include the National Museum of Industrial History, the Museum of the American Revolution, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary, Tree Adventure at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.  Aaron holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts).

About Metcalfe Architecture & Design

Metcalfe is an experience design firm focused on creating powerful physical environments for schools, museums, hospitals, and corporate clients through the disciplines of architecture, exhibition design, and graphic design. Founded in 2001, the Philadelphia-based practice is composed of a core team of design professionals who believe that intelligently organized buildings and social spaces are effective vehicles for informal education and interpersonal engagement. The firm’s holistic knowledge of design and people informs all of their work. With architecture and exhibition design being central to the practice, Metcalfe utilizes their diverse and collective design experiences to create compelling spaces that make visitors feel welcome, safe, and happy. They approach every project with an eye toward the stories it can tell.


The Wyck-Strickland award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural life of Philadelphia through work that reflects a drive for progress and modernity with a sensitivity to the past. 


About the Award

The Wyck-Strickland Award Dinner has been Wyck’s annual benefit for over 30 years.  The Award is inspired by the balance of tradition and innovation created at Wyck when architect William Strickland remodeled the house in 1824 for his friends, then residents Jane and Reuben Haines.  The award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural life of Philadelphia through work that reflects a drive for progress and modernity and a sensitivity to the past. This honor has evolved over the years to include architects, landscape architects, engineers, urban planners, historians, museum curators, and librarians. All share a love of Philadelphia and its rich history and cultural life.

Previous Recipients

1988  Ehrman B. Mitchell, Jr.

1989  Robert Venturi

1990  G. Stockton Strawbridge

1991  Edmund N. Bacon

1992  Denise Scott Brown

1993  Romaldo Giurgola

1994  Sir Peter Shepheard

1995  Nicholas Gianopulos

1996  Beatrice W. B. Garvan

1997  Vincent Scully

1998  David G. DeLong

1999  Laurie D. Olin

2000  Joseph J. Rishel

2001  Elliot L. Shelkrot

2002  Paul R. Levy

2003  Robert McCracken Peck

2004  Judith Rodin

2005  Ted and Stevie Wolf

2006  David Brownlee

2007  Jane Pepper

2008  Signe Wilkinson

2009  Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake

2010  Paul W. Meyer

2011  John Milner

2012  Alan Greenberger

2013  Meryl Levitz

2014  Paul B. Redman

2015  David Hollenberg

2016  Sam Katz

2017  John M. (Jeff) Groff

2018  Harris M. Steinberg, FAIA

2019 Penny Balkin Bach

2020 Wyck’s Way Forward

2021 Sharmain Matlock-Turner