2x8x20 ACLA 2x8 20th Anniversary Celebration

ACLA & AIA Los Angeles are proud to present  2x8x20, the 20th Anniversary of the 2x8 Exhibition

Award Ceremony Thursday February 22nd, 2024 | 5pm - 8pm PST
Located at AIA|LA + ACLA Center for Communities | 4450 West Adams Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90016

Click here to RSVP!

ACLA & AIA Los Angeles are proud to present 2×8:Assemblies, the 15th iteration of the annual 2×8 exhibition. Join us again in person this year at Helms Design Center to view exemplary student projects from 19 unique architecture and design programs throughout California, to celebrate the diversity of architectural philosophy and encourage conversation around our central theme of Community.

2×8 is an annual non-profit program that functions as a student exhibition and scholarship fund, and design competition. It was formed with the intention of introducing student work to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. In order to celebrate the academic diversity of within California, 2×8 invites a broad range of programs from across the state to participate and presents students an opportunity to receive scholarships at the opening reception and ceremony. The opening reception is free to attend and open to all.

This year, 2×8:Assemblies presented over $30,000 in scholarship awards through our annual scholarship program, raised from community members in the AEC industry. As in past years, a respected jury will evaluate the submitted student projects and award prizes based on merit. The final prize values will result directly from the total of our fundraising efforts.

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Click here to learn more.

Each year the exhibition is given a unique name and theme, and we encourage the schools to choose work that represents that theme. This year’s theme regards the dialogue surrounding Community in Los Angeles and other urban centers across the country in the face of Covid and all things socially distant. The name, 2×8:Assemblies, refers to a group or community of people, and also to the process of building where disparate parts become a whole. Students submit presentation materials and 3d models that respond to the theme with innovative solutions. The student projects are integrated into an immersive experience which will allow the public to experience the work in an exhibition format with augmented reality 3d model visualization. Participating schools are free to interpret the theme and name as they wish, and are encouraged to select projects that illustrate the strengths and goals of their program.

In 2020, the 2×8:Domum exhibit was reconfigured into a fully virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it forced us to restructure the event, this new type of exhibit gave access to a larger audience, and helped us expand on our intention of introducing the work of future architects to the rest of the world. In 2021, the exhibition will be a hybrid of virtual and physical space to showcase the student work. Projects will be distributed into nodes throughout Los Angeles, in a safe and thoughtful manner, so that they can be encountered by the general public. Additionally, projects will be accessible online and through an app. By presenting the work in different ways, and in several locations, competing projects will be viewed by many people across the world and visibility of the overall program will be increased.

Every year, 2×8 encourages an exploration of emergent technologies and how they impact methods of representation within an academic environment. Along with maintaining the virtual platform, 2×8 has also incorporated an augmented reality component to the exhibit. Our developing app will allow viewers to access AR visualizations of competing projects, giving the audience an opportunity to immerse into the project and get a broader understanding of the work.

Last year, 2×8 awarded $30,000 in scholarships, and we are excited to have matched this amount again this year. As in past years, a respected jury has evaluated the submitted student projects, and award prizes based on merit. The final prize values will result directly from the total of our fundraising efforts.

RSVP for the event here.