Karen Van Lengen (born 1951) is an American architect, educator, and artist. She has designed residential and institutional projects, founding the office Karen Van Lengen Architects in 1986. Van Lengen is also known for her work on the sonic atmospheres of space and extensive academic leadership, serving as the Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture from 1999 to 2009. Her books include Soundscape Architecture (2025), Urgent Matters: Designing the School of Architecture at Jefferson's University (2009), Vassar College: The Campus Guide (2004), and Cityscapes (1999).
Early life Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1951, the second of five children of Robert Warner Van Lengen, a lawyer, and Carol Freiberger Van Lengen, a self-taught architect and family counselor. She grew up in a house designed and built by her mother, which she documented almost 50 years later.
Van Lengen graduated from Vassar College in 1973 with honors in Psychology while developing an interest in architecture. She earned her MArch degree from Columbia University 1976.
Architectural practice She began her architectural career at the office of I.M. Pei & Partners, where she became one of the first female design associates in the firm. She left the firm to become a Fulbright Fellow in Rome and began teaching in the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, Rome Studies Program.
In 1986, she founded her own office, Karen Van Lengen Architects, based in New York City, completing many residential and institutional projects. She received third prize in the Formica 2000X Competition in 1988, with Joel Sanders.
Van Lengen won the 1988–1989 international, invitational competition for an addition to the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek (America Memorial Library) in Berlin. That design was 75% complete in 1992 when cancelled by the City of Berlin due to funding issues resulting from economic shifts after German reunification and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Academic work
Parallel to architectural practice, Van Lengen developed an academic career as Chair of Architecture at Parsons School of Design, The New School from 1995 to 1999, where she founded the Design Workshop Studio.
In 1999, she was named the first female Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture, (1999–2009). Working with the university's Institute for Practical Ethics, Van Lengen introduced the concept of the relation of ethics and aesthetics that became a central discussion in the interdisciplinary work of the school.
Known for her program “Campbell Constructions”, she deployed faculty and alumni to renovate and add to their existing building, Campbell Hall.
Following her deanship, as the Kenan Professor of Architecture, she developed an interest in the sonics of spaces with her artist collaborator, Jim Welty. She retired as Emeritus Dean and Emeritus Kenan Professor of Architecture in 2025 to continue this work. Their book, Soundscape Architecture (2025) includes essays as well as the multi-year process of recording spaces, creating interpretive sound drawings, animating these drawings and making digital paintings from these listening experiences.
Awards Van Lengen Lobby, Campbell Hall, University of Virginia School of Architecture, 2025 Fellow, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia, 2012-14 Elizabeth Zintl Leadership Award, Maxine Platzer Lynn Women's Center, UVA, 2010 Fellow, American Institute of Architects, 2010 Distinguished Achievement Award, American Institute of Architects, VA, 2009 First Prize and Final Winner of the Amerika Gedenkbibliothek Competition, Berlin, 1989 Fulbright Fellowship in Architecture, Rome, IT, 1982–83 American Association of University Women Fellowship, 1976
Sonic exhibitions “Listening Theatres: The Sounds of Iconic Landscapes and Architectural Spaces”, Branch Museum of Architecture and Design, Branch House, Richmond, VA, 2020 ”New York Public Library Animation” in, “The Senses: Design Beyond Vision” exhibition, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2018 https://www.cooperhewitt.org/channel/senses “Soundscape New York”, installation at the Museum of the City of New York, 2015 https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/soundscape-new-york "MIX House", (animation with Joel Sanders and Ben Rubin). Permanent collection of Art Institute of Chicago, 2010 https://www.artic.edu/artworks/204295/mix-house
Selected bibliography Books Van Lengen, K. (2025). Soundscape Architecture. Oro Editions. Van Lengen, K. (2009). Urgent Matters: Designing the School of Architecture at Jefferson's University. University of Virginia School of Architecture. Van Lengen, K. & Reilly, L. (2004). Vassar College: The Campus Guide. Princeton Architectural Press. Van Lengen. (2000). Cityscapes. Parsons School of Design.
Selected articles Van Lengen, K. Lacrimae Rerum and Tears of Memory: Sonic Encounters in the Public Realm. In, Sioli, A., & Kiourtsoglou, E. (2025). The Sound of Architecture: Acoustic Atmospheres in Place. Leuven University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv26dhjbs.17 Van Lengen, K. Chapter 5, “Architecture.” [71-88] In, Worthington, D. L., & Bodie, G. D. (Eds.). (2020). The Handbook of Listening. John Wiley & Sons. Lengen, K. V. (2019). Pedagogy and place: The legacy of the landscape at Vassar College. [147-176] In, Beardsley, J. & Bluestone, D. [Eds.]. Landscape and the Academy. Dumbarton Oaks. Van Lengen, K. (1996). “The Busy Woman’s Dream Home”. In Ladies Home Journal, February, 126–130.
References
External links Soundscape Architecture, Karen Van Lengen and Jim Welty. https://soundscapearchitecture.com/ Collection: Karen Van Lengen. "Competition Entry, The American Memorial Library (AGB), Berlin", 1988, Department of Drawings Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Women in Architecture Archive, Beverly Willis Foundation. https://dna.bwaf.org/architect/van-lengen-karen Karen Van Lengen, Interview by Charlie Rose, 2006. https://charlierose.com/videos/16873 Karen Van Lengen & Jim Welty, Sound Animations and MIX House Animation. https://vimeo.com/user23098867