Double Dutch in Los Angeles

Winy Maas presents the George H. Scanlon Foundation Lecture REDUX at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Image, Winy Maas Peruri 88, Jakarta, Indonesia, architecture and image by MVRDV, in collaboration with The Jerde Partnership and ARUP.Daring architects flourish like tulips in Holland, and two of the top talents are lecturing back-to-back in LA this month. On Wednesday, February 20th, Winy Maas, co-founder of MVRDV, will review 15 years of invention in the annual Otis College/Scanlon Foundation lecture.  The event will be held at 7:30 PM in MOCA’s Ahmanson Theater at 250 South Grand Avenue. Admission is free, but seating is limited, so go early. On Thursday, February 21, at 6:30 PM, Cal Poly sponsors a lecture by Ben van Berkel, co-founder of UN Studio, at the A+D Museum, 6032 Wilshire Blvd, across the street from LACMA. 

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Valentine's Day Gifts by Design

Looking for a Valentine's Day gift for your design-minded beloved? We've got some suggestions for you. Image via pixabay.com

Valentine’s Day gets a bad rap. Sure, it might be promoted by the greeting-card industrial complex, and the vast majority of the trinkets sold to honor it might be a little on the, shall we say, hokey side. The sentiment, though, is something we can all get behind. In the spirit of the season, we’ve come up with some of our own—and chatted with some architects (and their significant others) who have suggestions that will take you beyond candy and flowers.

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Are You In? Register Today for the AIA’s 2013 Conference

Don't forget to register early for this year's AIA convention in Denver. Image via AIA.

Registration is now open for the 2013 AIA National Convention, June 20–22, in Denver, Colorado. See and be seen at the industry’s premier event and immerse yourself in this year’s theme—Building Leaders.

Besides education sessions that will challenge attendees to sharpen their own leadership skills, the event’s organizers have gathered a remarkable group of keynote speakers to discuss leadership from a range of perspectives. Featured will be TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie considering leadership from a business standpoint; Cameron Sinclair, the Architecture for Humanity co-founder, who will focus on the intersection of design and leadership; and former secretary of state, Gen. General Colin L. Powell, who will address political and military leadership. “This combination will give attendees unique perspectives on leadership applicable to their own lives and our profession,” says John Rogers, the 2013 AIA Convention Chair.

Don’t miss a minute! Sign up now to get reduced registrations rates and access to the widest selection of education sessions and tours—they fill up quickly! And, if you reserve your hotel room by January 31, you can take advantage of special early bird discounts.

See you there!

Light up Your Life with the New Stickbulb Collection by RUX

The new Stickbulb Collection from RUX features lights inspired by fireworks. Image via RUX.

You might say that RUX’s wide-ranging design practice runs from the sublime (a concept for floating bridges spanning the East River) to the more, perhaps, utilitarian (a prototype for a very 21st-century gum dispenser springs to mind). With the Stickbulb Collection of LED lights, now available to order, they’ve created something that is both.

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New Book Asks the Big Question: Does Planning Work?

The Planning Game, a new book by Alexander Garvin, promises to be a strong argument for planning as a force for positive, progressive change. The book will feature with 200 “colorful photographs, diagrams, and maps” created for the book (new maps and diagrams are always a hit). Here is how the W.W. Norton press release describes the book’s method: “The book covers planning at every level, explaining the activities that go into successfully transforming a community as exemplified by four cities and their colorful motive forces: Paris (Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann), New York (Robert Moses), Chicago (Daniel Burnham), and Philadelphia (Edmund Bacon).”

The book isn’t publishing until March 11, but publisher W.W. Norton is offering a pre-sale discount. To receive 20 percent off the list price, enter promotion code PLANNING during checkout at the W.W. Norton website. The special offer ends February 28.