From left: Yves Béhar, Denise Scott Brown and Frey House II in Palm Springs

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design and its role in shaping the world, UCLA Arts will host a gala on Saturday, March 19, that will bring together 320 notables from the architecture, design, real estate development, construction and entertainment industries.

The event, A.UD @ 50, will also honor the following individuals for their special contributions to the advancement of architectural discourse, design and the built environment: legendary architect, author and educator Denise Scott Brown; visionary designer and humanitarian Yves Béhar; and a key group of influential advocates who have helped to preserve and raise the profile of Palm Springs’ extraordinary legacy of midcentury modern architecture. They are Jacques Caussin, Beth Edwards Harris, Robert Imber, Gary Johns, Nickie McLaughlin, Peter Moruzzi and Sidney Williams.  

Brown served as co-chair of the UCLA urban design program from 1965 to 1968. She and her husband/partner Robert Venturi have designed two buildings on campus: the Gonda  Neurosciences and Genetics Research Center and the Gordon and Virgina MacDonald Medical Research Lab.

“As UCLA prepares to celebrate its centennial in 2019, the School of the Arts and Architecture is proud to recognize the unique contributions that UCLA A.UD has made across our campus, throughout the city and around the world over the past half-century,” said David Roussève, interim dean of the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. “Now more than ever, the world demands creative solutions to the many complex and pressing challenges of our time. UCLA A.UD is poised to help tackle the challenges of the 21st century with some of the greatest minds and practitioners in the field, in one of the world’s most diverse and dynamic cities, at the heart of one of the world’s great public research universities.”

For the evening’s silent auction, UCLA A.UD faculty members Hitoshi Abe, Neil Denari, Craig Hodgetts, Georgina Huljich, Julia Koerner, Thom Mayne, Greg Lynn, Mark Mack and Heather Roberge reached deep into their archives for rare and original works, including some of their most exciting recent pieces. Some have never been available for sale before. The auction will also include a special collection of new work created exclusively for A.UD @ 50 by internationally acclaimed photographer Iwan Baan.

Proceeds from the gala will support A.UD’s innovative programs and much needed student scholarships. For more information about the event or to purchase tickets, please contact John Jackson by emailing aud50@aud.ucla.edu or by calling 310-206-1838. Or visit http://ucla.in/1KcDnCV.