Following last week’s look at an opening for the Executive Director of The Architectural League of New York, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open position on Archinect Jobs for an Associate Director of Cultural Planning, Design & Placemaking at DVDL.

The newly-created role calls for an individual who will be a “resourceful multitasker, curious innovator, and creative designer, with proven ability to lead ambitious projects and hold strong client relationships,” according to the job ad. Responsibilities will include managing projects that rethink public, communal, and cultural spaces, and providing creative direction for external architects and designers.

Why the role interests us

The open role at DVDL offers us the opportunity to highlight the wide variety of specialists and strategists needed to deliver contemporary cultural projects. As we reported on late last year, DVDL formed part of an MVRDV-led team shortlisted for the $100 expansion of the Portland Museum of Art, while previous projects have seen the agency collaborate with Frank Gehry on the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, and with Cooper Robertson on the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas.

In many projects, DVDL’s role centers on providing the design team with “cultural forecasting,” which the agency describes as “intuitive assessments from a cultural and institutional context.” Such forecasting allows the wider team to understand audience expectations for the cultural center, analyze future space needs, and develop design suggestions.

“We constantly scan and visualize data to harvest and analyze information for our projects, but what sets us apart from other forecasters is that we understand the value of bringing the human and the emotional into the process,” DVDL says about their approach. “We look at topics ranging from the future of work, leisure, travel, education, and many other topics to determine foresight for each of our projects. For some projects, we roll this research out as a radio program, while for others we produce reports or documentaries.”

Interested reading for future candidates

• Portland Museum of Art unveils competing conceptual designs for new $100 million expansion (November 2022)
• The Revival of Human-Centered Architecture (November 2022)
• Incorporating Culture Into Design: How Lessons Learned From Tribal Clients Shaped the Architecture of the Choctaw Nation Headquarters (October 2022)
• Private Interests and the Public Good: Could an Office of Public Space Management Fix New York’s Chaotic and Unfriendly Public Realm? (August 2021)
• Archinect’s ongoing coverage of cultural architecture
• DVDL’s Archinect profile
• Archinect Tips: Employment Edition (November 2020)

Job Highlights is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Meet Your Next Employer series profiles and interviews interesting studios with open positions currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.