Cocktails & Conversation: Annabelle Selldorf

Cocktails & Conversation is a series of dialogues about design that brings an architect together with a critic, journalist, curator, architectural historian, or colleague to discuss current architecture and urban design issues. For this program, Annabelle Selldorf, FAIA, will discuss her recent projects including the Frick Collection, as well as her extensive experience working with cultural institutions. She will be joined in conversation with architect Richard Olcott, Design Partner at Ennead, over a custom-crafted cocktail to be enjoyed by all attendees.

Speaker:
Annabelle Selldorf, FAIA, Principal, Selldorf Architects 

Moderator:
Richard Olcott, FAIA, FAAR, Design Partner, Ennead

About the Speakers:

Annabelle Selldorf is the Principal of Selldorf Architects, which she founded in 1988. Born and raised in Germany, she was educated at Pratt Institute and Syracuse University in Florence, Italy. As the lead designer on all the firm’s projects, she has shaped public and private projects that range from museums and libraries around the world to a recycling facility in Brooklyn. Recent work includes the renovation and expansion of the Frick Collection in New York and the National Gallery in London. In 2025, Annabelle was named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people, and in 2016 received AIANY’s Medal of Honor. She serves on the Boards of the Architecture League of New York, the World Monuments Fund, the Chinati Foundation, and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and received the organization’s prestigious Award in Architecture. In 2025, she was awarded the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal by the Municipal Art Society of New York.

Richard Olcott is a co-founder and Design Partner at Ennead Architects, established in 2010 as the successor firm to the Polshek Partnership. Over the last four decades, he has developed an award-winning body of work for leading cultural, civic, and educational institutions around the globe with projects that communicate the complexities of contemporary society and create a lasting cultural impact. Educated at Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art & Planning (AAP), Richard’s work has received numerous awards for design excellence including National AIA Honor Awards, New York State AIA Awards, New York City AIA Awards and American Architecture Awards from the Chicago Athenaeum. For eleven years he served on the New York City Landmarks Commission and in 2019 was inducted into the National Academy of Design. He currently serves as co-chair of the Board of Directors of the Municipal Art Society.