Founders Architecture Talk | Francine Houben, Dorte Mandrup, and Sharon Prince with Julia Gamolina
Saturday, October 24, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
This ‘Archtober’, four founders — Francine Houben (Mecanoo), Dorte Mandrup (Dorte Mandrup Arkitekter), Sharon Prince (Grace Farms, Grace Farms Tea & Coffee), and Julia Gamolina (Madame Architect) share dynamic perspectives to inspire greater connection with our irreplaceable planet and people through architecture. Moderated by Julia Gamolina, Editor-in-Chief at Madame Architect, the panel will explore visual examples of materiality, sustainability, and the diverse beauty of our global landscape, set at peak fall foliage at Grace Farms.
Hear Dorte Mandrup describe the way she designed the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, a climate visitor center on Greenland’s rugged coastal landscape, with a lightweight form akin to “a snowy owl’s flight through the landscape,” with spaces beneath the building for wildlife habitat.
Learn about Francine Houben‘s approach to designing Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi in the Saadiyat Cultural District, which resonates with natural rock formations, reflecting the museum’s goal of improving understanding of and engagement with the natural world.
And hear Sharon Prince describe how Grace Farms becomes part of the landscape and her approach to creating a building that becomes part of a local and global context for 100 years and more. Learn about projects Prince is spearheading through Design for Freedom research and Pilot Projects that embed values of human dignity into space.
At Grace Farms, this dialogue about the way space communicates continues year-round through architecture programming that invites deeper engagement, including an upcoming documentary film, weekly Architecture Tours of the River building and Barns, school tours by our Education Team, and the annual Design for Freedom Summit, which brings together industry leaders to address forced labor in the building materials supply chain, next held on March 31, 2027.
Registration is now open for Grace Farms Members
General Registration opens at 10 am on Monday, May 18, 2026
About Francine Houben
Francine Houben is founding partner of Mecanoo (1984) and has led the firm to success in The Netherlands and abroad, amassing a portfolio of work that is wide-ranging, inspired by global challenges and with a sustainable view on society.
Mecanoo combines the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, interior design, and restoration to produce unorthodox design solutions born from a strong sensitivity to context and a highly interdisciplinary design process.
Each of her projects illustrates the four fundamental elements of her architectural vision: People, Place, Purpose, Poetry.
Francine Houben was professor of mobility aesthetics at Delft University of Technology and taught at the universities of Harvard, Yale and Mendrisio. As curator of the First International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (2003), she brought the theme of the aesthetics of mobility to the forefront of international design consciousness.
Francine holds Honorary Fellowships of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and was granted lifelong membership to the Akademie der Künste in Berlin as well as receiving the International Honorary Fellow Award by the Architecture Institute of Taiwan.
In 2014 Francine was named Woman Architect of the Year by the Architects’ Journal and in November 2015 Queen Máxima of The Netherlands presented her with the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize for her wide-ranging career. Francine was awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Université de Mons, Belgium (2017) and the Utrecht University (2016).
In 2018 she received the BNA Kubus Award for her oeuvre; the International Prize, Prix des Femmes Architectes (2019) and distinguished with the TU Delft Alumnus of the Year (2020). In 2024, King Willem-Alexander appointed Francine Houben as a Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
About Dorte Mandrup
Studies in both sculpture and ceramics, and medicine have influenced Dorte Mandrup’s approach to architecture, which has always been ‘hands-on’. Shape and form constitute the company ethos – to create spaces that are aesthetically pleasing, contextually relevant, and invite people to engage.
Dorte Mandrup graduated from the Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark in 1991. Eight years later she founded her Copenhagen-based studio where she continues to be Creative Director. Her design philosophy and artistic yet systematic mindset permeate the entire office as she is design responsible for all projects.
As a humanist with a distinct nonconformist outlook, Dorte Mandrup is well known for her commitment to the development of the architectural practice and her frequent participation in public debates. Receiving national and international acclaim for her work, in 2018 Dorte headlined at the curated international exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia.
Dorte is member of the Architecture Section in Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Vice Chairman of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, former member of the Historic Buildings Council in Denmark, Chair of the prestigious Mies van der Rohe Award 2019, Adjunct Professor at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and holds frequent visiting professorships abroad, in 2018 at Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and from 2021 at Mendrisio Accademia de Architettura, Switzerland.
About Sharon Prince
Sharon Prince is the CEO and Founder of Grace Farms, a boundary-defying public space and cultural and humanitarian center. Prince commissioned SANAA to design Grace Farms’ internationally recognized River building, an open, porous structure embedded within 80 acres of biodiverse landscape. Designed to dissolve barriers between people and sectors, the building invites reflection and engagement across Grace Farms’ initiatives of nature, arts, justice, community, and faith. The building has earned the AIA National Architecture Honor Award and the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize.
Recognizing exploitation in the construction industry, Prince mobilized leaders of the built environment to launch Design for Freedom, the global movement to eliminate forced and child labor from the building materials supply chain. She edited and published the groundbreaking Design for Freedom Report and International Guidance & Toolkit. The exhibit With Every Fiber at Grace Farms brings this issue to the public. Prince is also the Co-Founder of Grace Farms Tea & Coffee, a certified B Corp that demonstrates ethical and sustainable supply chains.
Prince has been recognized by Fast Company as among the Most Creative People in Business and has received the AIA NY NYC Visionary Award and the 2026 AIA NY Champion of Architecture Medal.
About Julia Gamolina
Julia Gamolina is an Associate Principal at Ennead Architects and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect, a boutique media and events platform spotlighting women shaping the built environment. Since launching in 2018, she has led all editorial, partnerships, and strategy, growing it into an award-winning publication with a global readership spanning 100+ countries.
At Ennead, Julia focuses on building visibility and strategic positioning for the firm, creating platforms that connect the practice to different audiences and opportunities. She previously worked across mixed-use, residential, retail, and cultural projects in the U.S. and internationally.
A frequent speaker, Julia presents on architecture and entrepreneurship at universities and institutions worldwide. Her writing has appeared in Fast Company, Metropolis, and The Architect’s Newspaper. She has taught at Pratt Institute and served as a juror and reviewer for leading schools and awards programs.
She holds a B.Arch from Cornell University and is based in New York City.
2026-2027 season
The 2026/2027 season deepens our ongoing exploration of the programmatic theme, We all build, through a new slate of one-of-a-kind experiences rooted in our mission to foster more grace and peace locally and globally. Join us for unforgettable musical performances, stirring dialogue from today’s leading thinkers, and community moments — each held in an immersive setting where boundaries between people, architecture, and landscape dissolve. Visit us throughout the seasons to sit at this unique intersection and explore topics that aim to inspire both introspection and joy. From there, we hope you connect with our theme that encourages all to build a more graceful and peaceful world, every day.
thank you to our 2026-2027 season sponsor
