Misplaced Pages

#565434

33-572: The firm was informally founded in 1972 by Michael Brickler, Thom Mayne , Livio Santini and James Stafford. Michael Rotondi joined the practice in 1975 and remained a principal until 1991. Writing in 1989, Boston Globe architecture critic Robert Campbell called Morphosis "one of the country's most interesting" architecture firms, and described its very physical, materials-focused design style as "look[ing] as if it might hurt you." Born in Connecticut, Thom Mayne (b. 1944) studied architecture at

66-520: A "college without walls," and it remains one of the few independent architecture schools in the world. Initially, instead of academic hierarchies, the School favoured a horizontal relationship between professors and students, who took responsibility for their own course of study. Kappe, who had founded the Cal Poly department, became the new school's first director and served in that position until 1987. He

99-578: A 438-unit apartment complex designed by Michael Maltzan Architecture (MMA) opened in 2014. SCI-Arc offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board and the WASC Senior College and University Commission , including a five-year Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) program, a 3-year Master of Architecture (M.Arch 1) open to applicants who hold

132-559: A bachelor's degree or equivalent in any field of study, and a 2-year Master of Architecture (M.Arch 2) open to applicants with a prior undergraduate degree in architecture. In addition to its undergraduate and graduate programs, SCI-Arc offers four one-year postgraduate programs in fields including architectural technologies, entertainment and fiction, design of cities, and theory and pedagogy. SCI-Arc's undergraduate and graduate programs culminate in two public events in which students present their thesis projects to renowned critics from around

165-521: A group of faculty from the Department of Architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona . The founders were frustrated with how the administrators at Cal Poly treated the students and faculty members, and they wanted to address the issue from a more experimental perspective than traditional schools offered. Originally called the New School, SCI-Arc was based on the concept of

198-526: A practice. They spent their free time experimenting with new inventions for their clients, whom consisted of friends and parents of students. When work was at a standstill, Mayne took a year off to earn his Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University . He graduated in 1978 and returned to work for Morphosis where he became the principal architect, lead designer and principal in charge for all of Morphosis' projects. The firm has grown into prominent design practice, with completed projects worldwide. Under

231-573: A social agenda and urban planning focus, receiving his bachelor's degree, he began working as an urban planner under Korean-born architect Ki Suh Park. During that time, he recalls that "policy and planning were not going to work for me" and that he "needed a more tangible resolution." Mayne found himself living on a commune with the grass-roots group Campaign for Economic Democracy, many of whom became his earliest clients. In 1972, Mayne abruptly left Cal Poly Pomona and collaborated with five other students and educators whom he met at while at USC, to create

264-449: Is known for championing the school's push toward a digital future and, prior to his appointment as Director, has served as the school's Graduate Programs Chair since 2010. Although SCI-Arc was once unaccredited and its finances unstable—Moss joked, "We used to be considered one step ahead of the IRS , one step ahead of creditors"—the school is now fully accredited, and its finances improved to

297-757: The American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters awarded them the Academy-Institute Award in Architecture. Morphosis has been recognized with more than 190 local, national and international awards, including nine for the design of the Emerson College Los Angeles campus and 16 for the Perot Museum of Nature and Science . These include the 2014 Los Angeles Architecture Awards Grand Prize, presented by

330-738: The Berlage Institute in the Netherlands and the Bartlett School of Architecture in London. He was a tenured faculty member at the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture. In 2013, he contributed a foreword to the book "Never Built Los Angeles" by Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin. Now he is a faculty member at SCI-Arc and UPenn. Mayne has been the recipient of many distinguished awards over the course of his career. Among them are

363-930: The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is principal of Morphosis Architects , an architectural firm based in Culver City, California and New York City, New York. Mayne received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in March 2005. Mayne was born in Waterbury, Connecticut . He studied architecture at the University of Southern California (1968) and also studied at Harvard University 's Graduate School of Design in 1978, with

SECTION 10

#1732791580566

396-781: The Los Angeles Business Council , for designing the campus of Emerson College in Hollywood. Thom Mayne Thom Mayne (born January 19, 1944) is an American architect . He is based in Los Angeles . In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities postgraduate program. Since then he has held teaching positions at SCI-Arc,

429-821: The Rome Prize which he was awarded in 1987 and the Pritzker Prize in 2005. Mayne was a member of the Holcim Awards global jury in 2006 and a member of the Holcim Awards jury for region North America in 2005. In 2009, he was appointed as a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. He was elected to the board of trustees of SCI-Arc in 2011. In 2015, Mayne was a member of

462-414: The Southern California Institute of Architecture , or SCI-Arc. The rift was due to differences between the dean at Cal Poly at the time and Ray Kappe , who headed the school's architecture department. The goal of the new institute was to reinvigorate formal architectural education with a keener sense of social conscience. SCI-Arc was "to bring to Los Angeles the critical attitude toward the profession that

495-627: The Wayne L. Morse United States Courthouse in Eugene, Oregon . The work of Morphosis has a layered quality. Visually, the firm's architecture includes sculptural forms. In recent years, such visual effect has been made possible increasingly through computer design techniques, which simplify the construction of complex forms. Early in his career, Mayne became notorious for having an abusive temper, and screaming at clients. "None of my clients would recommend me," he later admitted. In late summer 2002, Mayne

528-831: The Design Excellence program of the United States government's General Service Administration, Thom Mayne has become a primary architect for federal projects. Recent commissions include: graduate housing at the University of Toronto ; the San Francisco Federal Building ; the University of Cincinnati Student Recreation Center; the Science Center School in Los Angeles, Diamond Ranch High School in Pomona, California ; and

561-514: The Morphosis office reported that the house was not being razed, but "deconstructed" so that some of the materials could be recycled – including into 451 sets of bookends – a longer and more complicated process. It was reported at the time that a contractor said that the house Mayne intended to build would have three underground levels, including a swimming pool and two stories above ground – although Mayne himself said that plans for

594-628: The Prix Versailles judges panel. In June 2014, Mayne bought the Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles house that noted writer Ray Bradbury had lived in for 50 years. In January 2015, the building was scheduled for demolition which caused a media controversy. According to Mayne, who had not known about the fact that it belonged to Bradbury, the Bradbury family – which has not commented on the situation – had no interest in preserving

627-633: The United States. It consists of approximately 500 students and 80 faculty members, some of whom are practicing architects . It is based in the quarter-mile long (0.40 km) former Santa Fe Freight Depot in the Arts District in downtown Los Angeles. It also offers community events such as outreach programs, free exhibitions, and public lectures. SCI-Arc was founded in 1972 in Santa Monica by Ray Kappe , Shelly Kappe , Ahde Lahti, Thom Mayne , Bill Simonian, Glen Small, and James Stafford,

660-601: The University of Southern California and Harvard Graduate School of Design . He was a founding member of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in 1972, and has held faculty positions at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, and the University of California, Los Angeles. Mayne was the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2005. Michael Rotondi (b. 1949)

693-411: The house were not finished. "Our house will not be ordinary – our house is going to be a garden", and expected it to be a "prototype that is landscape-neutral and water friendly". The new house was supposed to embody the new ecological and sustainable standard for architecture in Los Angeles, according to Mayne. He further stated that a memorial wall to Bradbury and his works was planned to be part of

SECTION 20

#1732791580566

726-554: The house. Mayne further explained that he had bought the house from a foundation that was not associated with the Bradbury estate. A city demolition permit was issued on December 30, 2014 with demolition to take place in January 2015. Materials from Bradbury's home office were donated to the Indiana-based Center for Ray Bradbury studies, which intended to raise money to recreate it as it was in the mid-1960s. When queried,

759-408: The last century. It brought together six esteemed international architects—Hitoshi Abe, Peter Cook , Eric Owen Moss, Thom Mayne , Peter Noever , and Wolf Prix of Coop Himmelb(l)au —to share their perspectives and experiences in a discussion led by Anthony Vidler . The full scope of SCI-Arc public programs includes lectures, exhibitions, faculty talks and other opportunities for interaction between

792-526: The normal bounds of traditional forms. Beginning as an informal collaboration of designers that survived on non-architectural projects, its first official commission was a school in Pasadena , attended by Mayne's son. Publicity from this project led to a number of residential commissions, including the Lawrence Residence. Mayne describes the early days of the group as more of a "garage band" than

825-469: The point that SCI-Arc was able to pay $ 23.1 million to buy its campus building in 2011. "The main thing is to figure out a way for SCI-Arc to keep growing without losing its character and pedigree," Díaz Alonso said in an interview following his appointment as director. The school has been based in three locations—the first (1972-1992) a small industrial building in Santa Monica, and later moved into

858-473: The project. Construction on the new house was scheduled to finish in 2017. Notes Bibliography Southern California Institute of Architecture Southern California Institute of Architecture ( SCI-Arc ) is a private architecture school in Los Angeles , California . Founded in 1972, SCI-Arc was initially regarded as both institutionally and artistically avant-garde and more adventurous than traditional architecture schools based in

891-404: The school has become an anchor for the city's Arts District . The school conducts design projects that engage with under-served members of the community. To these ends, SCI-Arc has been awarded a $ 400,000 grant by ArtPlace to develop two on-campus public performance/lecture spaces, as well as development for a third public venue in the surrounding arts district. Across the street, "One Santa Fe,"

924-537: The second, larger (concrete post & beam) industrial building (1992-2000) in Marina del Rey . In 2001, it moved to its current building, the 60,000-square-foot 1907 Santa Fe Freight Depot designed by Harrison Albright on the eastern edge of Downtown Los Angeles . When SCI-Arc arrived, the building was a stripped-down concrete shell. Today the building is on the National Register of Historic Places and

957-565: The world, including Peter Cook , Greg Lynn , and Pritzker Prize recipient Thom Mayne . "SCI-Arc has long been one of this country's best experimental labs in which designers speculate about the future of the human-made environment, and its thesis projects are its calling cards." A recent program and exhibition, "LA in Wien/Wien in LA," investigated the architecture of Los Angeles and Vienna and their respective influences on one another in over

990-662: Was asked by New York magazine to contribute a proposal for the World Trade Center site, where recovery and cleanup had just ended. In discussing his plan, Mayne told an interviewer his thoughts about the September 11 attacks . "I have no empathy; it doesn't make me weep. I could make a better case for justifying the terror than the other way around." Mayne taught at the University of Pennsylvania and has held teaching positions at many institutions including Columbia University , Harvard University , Yale University ,

1023-502: Was awarded the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medal for excellence in architecture education in 1990. Kappe was succeeded as director by Michael Rotondi , one of SCI-Arc's original students. Neil Denari became director in 1997; Eric Owen Moss served as director from 2002–2015; Hernán Díaz Alonso was appointed Director and Chief Executive Officer effective Sept 1, 2015. Díaz Alonso has been a faculty member at SCI-Arc since 2001. He

Morphosis Architects - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-550: Was being practiced at Cooper Union in New York and the Architectural Association in London." Mayne and some others founded Morphosis Architects in 1972; Michael Rotondi joined in 1975. The firm's design philosophy arises from an interest in producing work with a meaning that can be understood by absorbing the culture for which it was made, and their goal was to develop an architecture that would eschew

1089-520: Was one of 50 students who attended SCI-Arc when it started in 1972. He became the director of the school in 1987, and held that position until 1997. Rotondi's career awards include the 2009 AIA/LA Gold Medal and the 2014 Richard J. Neutra Medal from Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design . Notable works by the firm include: Mayne and Rotondi received numerous awards for their work in Morphosis, including 11 American Institute of Architects awards and 12 from Progressive Architecture . In 1992,

#565434