Material Beyond Materials: A Composite Tectonics Conference

Material Beyond Materials: A Composite Tectonics Conference on Advanced Materials and Digital Manufacturing hosted by the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles. The two-day special event taking place on the SCI-Arc campus combines progressive presentations in the fields of architecture, the arts, engineering and materials research. Conference participants will present and discuss their most innovative ideas, projects and positions concerning materials, technology and the impact on the architecture and construction disciplines and professions. The conference debuts Friday, March 25 with a keynote lecture by Evan Douglis, Dean of Rensselaer Polytechnic and Principal of Evan Douglis Studio.The following day, Saturday, March 26,features dynamic panel discussions and presentations on topics including Integrating Complexity, Synthesizing Behavior, Performing Environments and Manufacturing Construction. The Material Beyond Materials morning and afternoon session on Saturday March, 26th has been registered by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Continuing Education System (CES) to offer Learning Units. Conference participants include: Michelle Addington, Professor, Yale School of Architecture Hernan Diaz Alonso, Graduate Program Chair, SCI-Arc; Principal, Xefirotarch Evan Douglis, Dean, Rensselaer Polytechnic; Evan Douglis Studio John Enright, Undergraduate Programs Chair, SCI-Arc; Griffin Enright Architects Andreas Froech, Owner, Machineous, Los Angeles Marcelyn Gow, Design Faculty, SCI-Arc; Partner and founding member, servo Craig Hodgetts, Principal, Hodgetts+Fung Design and Architecture Kurt Jordan, Structural Engineer specializing in composites, Mill Valley, CA Bill Kreysler, Founder and President, Kreysler & Associates Mike Lepech, Stanford University Greg Lynn, Faculty Member, UCLA and University of Applied Arts Vienna; Principal, Greg Lynn FORM Urs Meier, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Achim Menges, Professor/Director, Institute for Computational Design, Stuttgart University Eric Owen Moss, Director, SCI-Arc; Principal and Lead Designer, Eric Owen Moss Architects Bill Pearson, Technical Director, North Sails One Design International Ltd. Wolfgang Rieder, CEO, Rieder Composites Marcelo Spina, Design Faculty, SCI-Arc; Founder and Co-Principal, PATTERNS Ruben Suare, 3-Form Advanced Technology Nader Tehrani, Professor and Head of Department, Architectural Design, MIT; Founding Principal, Office dA Peter Testa, Design Faculty, SCI-Arc; Principal, Testa/Weiser; Founding Director, MIT Emergent Design Group Devyn Weiser, Design Faculty, SCI-Arc; Principal, Testa/Weiser; Founding Director, MIT Emergent Group Tom Wiscombe, Design Faculty SCI-Arc; Principal, EMERGENT Admission to the event is free and open to the public. RSVP to reserve your space to {encode="[email protected]" title="[email protected]"}. For press inquiries, contact us at {encode="[email protected]" title="[email protected]"}. Conference Website About SCI-Arc The Southern California Institute of Architecture is dedicated to educating architects who will imagine and shape the future. It is an independent, accredited degree-granting institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture. Located in a quarter-mile-long former freight depot in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles, the school is distinguished by its vibrant studio culture and emphasis on process. SCI-Arc’s approximately 500 students and 80 faculty members—most of whom are practicing architects—work together to re-examine assumptions, create, explore and test the limits of architecture. Recently, SCI-Arc was ranked second in design and computer applications in the 2011 America’s Best Architecture Schools survey from DesignIntelligence. SCI-Arc is located at 960 E. 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013. For more information, please visit www.sciarc.edu