USC Students Win Illuminating Engineering Awards at Lumen West

First Runner Up Design by Celeste Rodriguez (Photo Courtesy of Celeste Rodriguez)The Illuminating Engineering Society of Los Angeles held their annual Russell Cole Lighting Design Competition on June 23rd in Long Beach. The awards are designed to encourage and recognize students in Southern California who have shown an exceptional understanding of light and its effect on architecture.

First Place Design by Sananda Mukherjee (Photo Courtesy of Sananda Mukherjee)USC School of Architecture students swept the first three prizes in the graduate-level competition for Lighting Design. The competition required students to submit conceptual drawings, lighting plans, fixture schedules, fixture cuts, control intent, and visual vignettes. First place winner Sananda Mukherjee designed her project around themes of water and waves. She varied the color temperatures of LED flex strips to create a feel of gradient waves and on the opposite wall, formed a wave like pattern with the use of scallop-shaped sconces. 

Second Runner Up Design by Anyin Ye (Photo Courtesy of Anyin Ye)First runner up Celeste Rodriguez and second runner up Anyin Ye were commemorated for their innovative use of technology, aesthetic design, and energy efficiency in their projects. 

The IES is an international organization whose purpose is to promote lighting education and to develop recommended lighting practices.

The author of this post is a graduate student at USC.

42nd Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards

Ports O' Call Complex (Photo Courtesy of the Los Angeles Business Council)The Los Angeles Business Council recently hosted the 42^nd Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards to honor Los Angeles-based projects ranging from Best Museum to Best Affordable Housing. The awards congratulated innovative design to 33 separate projects from the previous year. In addition, 2012 marked the first year to present the “Julius Shulman Emerging Talent Award” to design students attending one of eight Los Angeles institutions. This year’s winners belonged to a team from USC for their design to revitalize the Ports O’ Call Complex at Port of Los Angeles.

Star Apartments (Photo Courtesy of the Los Angeles Business Council)Star Apartments won the “Under Construction” category for its impressive combination of LEED Platinum certification, mixed-use development, and 102 units of affordable housing. Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc. designed the structure in partnership with Skid Row Housing Trust and Westport Construction, Inc.

The business council awarded the Grand Prize to LACMA’s Resnick Pavilion, Ray’s Restaurant, and Stark Bar. The project is part of LACMA’s Transformation Phase II, which incorporates the original building’s central plaza and creates a “town square” atmosphere within the complex. Renzo Piano Building Workshop collaborated with Gensler to design the stunning travertine space with trademark red, decorative punctuation.

FACE of a Nation - Film Teaser - Shanghai's Expo 2010 Closes. Did Your Country Show A Good Face? Did the U.S.?

A film production from USC School of Architecture and USC School of Cinematic Arts gives us this provocative film teaser to FACE of a Nation. The team, composed of USC Professor/Architect Mina Chow, architecture journalist Edward Lifson, USC Cinema's Norman Hollyn, and documentary producer/filmmaker Alessandra Pasquini, probes the concept of "face" in Chinese culture and whether country pavilions successfully represented themselves to the world and China. The final film is slated for completion next year.

KCRW's Frances Anderton provides a good summary of the expo and the U.S. situation at her DnA blog.
Did your country represent well? Did the U.S.?  Give us your opinion and thoughts.

USC School of Architecture Summer Exec Ed Program

This year marks the rebirth of the USC School of Architecture’s Executive Education Program. They are launching it off with "EXPECTED," a new innovative program at the School of Architecture. The school is now also interdisciplinary - architecture, technology, real estate, development, engineering, building investment, interiors, product design, and trends.

There will be major world renown speakers at these sessions including 5-time Presidential Advisor Warren Bennis, Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne, and Hamid Rashid.

Launch date:  July 20, 1010.