(Editors: Digital images are available from media officers.)
UCLA Architecture and Urban Design (A.UD) will carry the narrative of modern architecture in Los Angeles forward from its influential past to the future with "Extreme IDEAS: Architecture at the Intersection," a series of panels, discussions and events that chart a dynamic new future for architecture.
The programs will look beyond the field's traditional boundaries and explore topics arising from unexpected quarters in the film, automotive, aerospace and technology industries in order to explore rapidly emerging new technologies, possibilities for interdisciplinary growth and the role of Los Angeles in the evolution of architecture.
"Extreme IDEAS" builds momentum toward the fall 2013 launch of IDEAS, a new satellite location for A.UD that will serve as a hub for cross-discipline research and development with industry and outside partners to expand the future parameters of architectural practice.
The "Extreme IDEAS" series is part of "Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A."
FREE EVENTS
Wednesday, May 22
Extreme Intelligence: The Future of Thinking Environments
Creative Artists Agency, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles
Reception: 6:30 p.m.
Panel: 7:30 p.m.
Renowned architect Neil Denari, a UCLA architecture and urban design professor, will lead a panel on the implications of emerging "intelligent environments" and their effects in transportation, manufacturing and urbanism. Panelists will include filmmaker Joseph Kosinski, director of "Oblivion" and "Tron: Legacy," and Greg Lindsay, a contributing writer at Fast Company and author of "Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next."
Wednesday, May 29
Extreme Culture: The Intermix of Real and Virtual Realities
William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, 2520 Cimarron St., Los Angeles
Reception: 6:30 p.m.
Panel: 7:30 p.m.
Industry experts will discuss the new interconnections within high culture, commercialism, art, media and design. Panelists will include Scott Trowbridge, vice president of creative research and development at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Thomas Krens, founder and CEO of Global Cultural Asset Management and former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (1988–2008). The panel will be moderated by Greg Lynn, a UCLA architecture and urban design professor and winner of the 2008 Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale.
Wednesday, June 5
Extreme Environments: Design for Unfamiliar Terrain
Griffith Observatory, 2800 E. Observatory Ave., Los Angeles
7:30 p.m.
Craig Hodgetts, a UCLA architecture and urban design professor and recipient of the Gold Medal Award from the American Institute of Architecture, Los Angeles, will lead a panel discussion on exploring new frontiers for architecture in extreme environments such as the Arctic, the desert and outer space. The panel will include Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, a former astrobiologist and director of flights at Zero Gravity, and Christopher Ferguson, a retired U.S. Navy captain, former NASA astronaut and director of commercial crew interface for Boeing's space exploration division.
Friday, June 28
Extreme IDEAS: Brain Trust
Invitation only; closed to the public
9:30 a.m.
Leaders in architecture and allied fields will discuss cross-discipline problem-solving and expanding the boundaries of architecture. This session will be closed to the public, with video and additional content posted online following the event.
Friday, June 28
Extreme IDEAS: Runway
Hercules Campus, 5864 S. Campus Center Dr., Los Angeles
7 p.m.
This celebration marks the culmination of the Pacific Standard Time Presents "L.A. Architecture Month" initiative. Noted architects, designers and thinkers will share their thoughts on the future through a series of fast-paced, back-to-back presentations. The event will be emceed by Frances Anderton, host of KCRW's "DnA," and will also include music, food and installations.
Presenters will include:
Benjamin Bratton
Theorist, associate professor of visual arts at UC San Diego
Wim de Wit
Head of the department of architecture and contemporary art at the Getty Research Institute
David Lai
CEO/creative director of Hello Design
Valerie Leblond
UCLA Architecture and Urban Design IDEAS program director
Elena Manferdini
Principal of Atelier Manferdini
Kimberli Meyer
Director of the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House
Christian Moeller
Artist, UCLA Design | Media Arts professor
Paul Petrunia
Director of Archinect
Casey Reas
Artist, UCLA Design | Media Arts professor
Heather Roberge
Principal of Murmur, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design associate vice chair
Bobbye Tigerman
Associate curator of decorated arts and design at LACMA
Tom Wiscombe
Principal of Tom Wiscombe Design, design faculty and applied studies coordinator at SCI-Arc
Andrew Zago
Principal of Zago Architecture, design faculty at SCI-Arc, clinical professor at University of Illinois–Chicago
Major support for "Extreme IDEAS" has been provided by the Getty Foundation. For the latest information on "Extreme IDEAS," visit www.aud.ucla.edu/extreme-ideas.
"Extreme IDEAS: Architecture at the Intersection" is part of "Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A." This collaboration, initiated by the Getty, brings together several local arts institutions for a wide-ranging look at the postwar built environment of the city as a whole, from its famous residential architecture to its vast freeway network, revealing the city's development and ongoing impact in new ways.
UCLA Architecture and Urban Design (A.UD), part of UCLA's School of the Arts and Architecture, pursues issues confronting contemporary architecture and urbanism through its bachelor's of arts program in architectural studies and its four advanced degree programs: the master's of architecture I, master's of architecture II, master's of arts in architecture and doctorate of philosophy in architecture. The programs' primary focus on advanced design is complemented by concentrations in technology and critical studies of architectural culture.
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