Thursday, May 31, at 7:30PM

In conjunction with Perspectives 178: CINEPLEX, CAMH presents a two-part screening of Thom Andersen’s Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003). Andersen, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, historian, critic, curator, and educator, uses cinema to examine neglected aspects of culture. His acclaimed documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself explores how the city of Los Angeles has been used as both a backdrop and a character in the movies. Through interwoven footage from over a hundred films—including early movies (Laurel and Hardy’s 1932 film The Music Box), well-known popular cinema (Chinatown of 1974, Blade Runner of 1982), and more obscure films (Model Shop of 1969, Killer of Sheep of 1979)—we see the changing cinematic contexts of certain modern architecture, skyscrapers, public spaces, and neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Andersen gives an insightful and entertaining analysis of the history and character of this American metropolis, and reveals how Hollywood has represented and misrepresented its hometown.

Thom Andersen, USA, Los Angeles Plays Itself, 2003, video, 169 min.

*Please note that seating is limited so early arrival is recommended (no late seating). Refreshments will be available inside the gallery.

Co-presented by CAMH and Rice Design Alliance

METALAB: Our exhibition will open at the Architecture Center Houston. We have been recognized along with our public art collaborators as Houston’s Artist of the Year. We will be creating a misting microclimate under Woozy Blossom by Matthew Geller and vortex of activity around the Queso and Linus interactive photo booths by SMILEBOOTH. Weather related cocktails and videos will be served up so come down and “make it rain” with us! The exhibition will be installed until mid-July.

For more information click HERE

Monday 6 – Monday 20 August 2012

Over the two weeks of the InterScaless workshop students develop parametric design strategies that enable them to generate design scenarios across scales while focusing on a given conceptual framework. The challenge this year is to rebuild the relationship between the emblematic structure of the Houston Astrodome and the urban structure of the city. To do this we will speculate via computational systems on the possible interaction between housing and local ecologies.

The site around the Astrodome, defined by a vast disused parking lot and its adjacency to the highway, presents a unique opportunity for our investigations. Through studying different ecological conditions within the domed sports stadium and its concrete surroundings we will set in motion a system of green agents that will grow into aggregations, inhabiting the Astrodome and redefining its limits. Parametric systems responding to different environmental studies will lead to a range of artificial/ responsive structures.

Students will work in teams to explore different scales and programmes for the generation of new urban relations. They will use parametric tools to renegotiate multiple scales in real time while incorporating complexity given by environmental conditions. Redefining the threshold between urban agents will give rise to a new syntax between architectural elements. Parametric techniques and tools will be introduced during the workshop. Students will also present and discuss selected readings relevant to the topic. The aim is to open up a critical debate about how this approach affects the work of the architect and redefines the language of the discipline.
Week 1
Material systems are interpreted through computer simulations in fast explorations to elaborate the proposals. Design tutors including Arturo Revilla and professionals from both the A A and other institutions will provide digital tutorials and lectures on their urban design research and projects.

Week 2
Digital fabrication phase. Full-scale sections will be constructed collectively by the students in a studio-based environment. Design tutors will be actively involved in the digital fabrication of physical models and material experiments.

Applications

The deadline for applications is 25 July 2012. All participants travelling from abroad are responsible for securing any visa required. After payment of fees, the AA can provide a letter confirming participation in the workshop.

A portfolio or CV is not required, only the online application form and payment.

Fees

The AA Visiting School requires a fee of £695 per participant, which includes a £50 Visiting Membership. If you are already a member, the total fee will be reduced automatically by £50 by the online payment system. Fees do not include flights or accommodation, but advice on accommodation options will be given. On campus accommodation will be provided at student rates.

Students need to bring their own laptops, digital equipment and modelmaking tools. UH will also provide access to a computer lab and fully equipped prototyping centre. Please ensure this equipment is covered by your own insurance as the AA takes no responsibility for items lost or stolen at the workshop.

Eligibility
The workshop is open to architecture and design students and professionals worldwide.

For more information visit these pages:

http://www.aaschool.ac.uk/STUDY/VISITING/houston.php
http://houston.aaschool.ac.uk/
www.facebook.com/aavisitingschoolhouston2012

The Collaborative Community Design Initiative is generously funded through grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Houston Arts Alliance, the Architecture Center Houston Foundation, and others.

Thursday May 24, 2012 6 – 8 p.m.
Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture University of Houston Atrium

Click on flyer below to enlarge:

Presented by Houston Tomorrow and Metro

Sponsored by Daniel P. Barnum FAIA, TSU Center for Transportation Training & Research

ONE DAY – THREE EVENTS
Date: Monday, May 14, 2012
Location for all events: Asia Society Texas Center – Edward Rudge Allen III Education Center, 1370 Southmore, Houston, Texas 77004
Some street parking, garage is $6

1: Houston’s Transit Future
Is there any transit future beyond today’s service? How good is Houston’s transit system now? Are the University and Uptown lines threatened? What needs to happen to grow the system? Are big changes coming to the bus network? What can citizens do to make it all happen? All this and more.

Presentations:
Janis Scott, Transit Rider Extraordinaire
George Greanias, CEO and President, Metro
Christof Spieler, Metro Board Member, Director of Innovation & Technology, Morris Architects
Billy Cooke, P.E. Vice President Klotz Associates, Chair of the Greater Houston Partnership Transit Committee
David Crossley, President, Houston Tomorrow
Keynote: Jarrett Walker, Author of “Human Transit” and International Transit Consultant
Time: 8:30 am-1 pm
Tickets: Open to the public, cost is $55, includes morning snacks, lunch
REGISTER ONLINE

2: Technical Workshop for Planners, Engineers, and Metro Board Members
Jarrett Walker will work with this specific group on transit issues and concepts.
Time: 2-4 pm
Tickets: Free
REGISTER ONLINE

3: Distinguished Speaker Event
Jarrett Walker will discuss ideas from his new book “Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives.”
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm (6:30-7 networking reception)
Tickets: Free – Open to the public
REGISTER ONLINE

About Jarrett Walker

Jarrett Walker is the author of the new book “Human Transit: How Clearer Thinking about Public Transit Can Enrich Our Communities and Our Lives.”

He is an international consultant in public transit network design and policy. He has been a full-time consultant since 1991 and has led numerous major planning projects in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. He currently serves as a Principal Consultant with MRCagney based in Australia. He provides expert advice to clients worldwide
Born in 1962, he grew up in Portland, Oregon during the revolutionary 1970s, the era when Portland first made its decisive commitment to be a city for people rather than cars. He went on to complete a BA at Pomona College (Claremont, California) and a Ph.D. in theatre arts and humanities at Stanford University. Passionately interested in an impractical number of fields, he is probably the only person with peer-reviewed publications in both the Journal of Transport Geography and Shakespeare Quarterly. In addition to Human Transit, he also writes on botany, creative writing, performing arts, and a range of other interests on his personal blog, Creature of the Shade.

For more on Jarrett Walker, and his blog, see the Welcome and Manifesto post. For more on his professional services, see here.

RDA is pleased to announce the winners of the thirteenth annual “Initiatives for Houston” grant program, which funds research, study, and problem-solving around Houston’s built environment. From revitalizing existing vernacular residential architecture and documenting the capabilities of local manufacturers, to forging connections between buildings and their context, this year’s Initiative winners sought to showcase the potential of existing infrastructure and industry. Projects include “InHouse OutHouse,” submitted by Rice architecture students Andrew Daley, Jason Fleming and Peter Muessig; “Made in Houston” by University of Houston School of Architecture Associate Professor Donna Kacmar; and “Lobby Urbanism: Converging Downtown’s Interior and Exterior Streets by Rice School of Architecture Wortham Fellow Bryony Roberts.

This year’s jury members included Joe Havel, Director of the Glassell School of Art; Nicola Springer, AIA, LEED AP, Kirksey Architecture; Juliè Gauthier, IIDA, LEED AP, Interior Design Leader with Perkins + Will; Tadd Tellepsen, Co-owner of Tellepsen Builders; and Perry Seeberger, LEED AP, Principal Architect of Seeberger + Associates, LP and President of AIA Houston.

The project “InHouse OutHouse” by Andrew Daley, Jason Fleming and Peter Muessig offers an alternative to Houston’s seemingly endless sprawl through the reuse and re-densification of once established neighborhood communities. Pre-fabricated residential units are inserted into existing homes that consolidate major trade-dependent systems and provide a full kitchen and bathroom, along with new heating, cooling, electrical, and plumbing services. Awarded $5,000, the team hopes to fabricate an “OutHouse” by the end of summer and host a community open-house.

Awarded $2,500, “Lobby Urbanism” examines the intersection of Houston’s exterior and interior street conditions, asserting that Downtown Houston’s exterior streets have lost their pedestrian traffic to their interior counterparts, namely building lobbies. The project, which will culminate in a public exhibition of design proposals in April 2013, will analyze lobbies and consider how to open the spaces to their neglected exteriors.

“Made in Houston,” which was also awarded $2,500, seeks to develop a catalogue and wiki site of local manufacturers who are currently engaged in, or could be engaged in, fabricating elements for the built environment. Listing fabricators by materials with which they work (wood, metal, ceramics, polymers, etc.), the resource would function as a informational database for the designers, architects, students, and faculty in the Houston region.

WHAT: 2012 Rice Design Alliance Design Charrette

WHEN: Saturday, August 4, 2012, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. Reception** will be held Monday, August 6, from 6-8 pm.

WHERE: Rice University, School of Architecture, Anderson Hall (Building 4), 6100 Main Street (Off Entrance 1).

Rice Design Alliance’s 2012 design charrette will focus on creating a master plan for the Museum Park Super Neighborhood, the boundaries of which are Hermann Park, Main Street, State Highway 288 and Highway 59. This thriving cultural center of Houston contains eighteen museums, including The MFA,H and Houston Museum of Natural Science, five churches, several preschools, MacGregor Elementary School, Park Plaza Hospital, Baylor Outpatient, Hermann Park, the little train, Hermann Park Golf Course, and the zoo. During spring breaks, over 275,000 people a day frequent the area, and in a year, the neighborhood attracts between 8-12 million visitors.

Charrette participants will be challenged to brainstorm general solutions for the constant growth in the area, including ways to help ease vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

rdAGENTS, Rice Design Alliance’s young professional’s group, invite interested parties to participate in the juried competition. An entry fee of $20 for RDA members and $30 for non-members will cover breakfast, lunch, and refreshments at day’s end. The competition is open to architects and non-architects, designers, individuals , and teams of up to five.

To register online, click here. For more information please call 713.348.4976.

** Jurors for the competition will announce the winning designs at the evening reception at the Rice School of Architecture, open to the public on Monday, August 6, 2012. **

Panel discussion: Design Across Disciplines, 11a
Lecture and Book Signing: 12:30pm

When: Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Where: Decorative Center Houston
5120 Woodway Drive @ Sage | Houston, TX
713 961 9292 | decorativecenter.com

For more details, please visit http://www.decorativecenter.com/

WHEN: Saturday, August 4, 2012, 8:00 am- 4:00 pm. Reception** will be held Monday, August 6, from 6-8 pm.

WHERE: Rice University, School of Architecture, Anderson Hall (Building 4), 6100 Main Street (Off Entrance 1).

Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

Albert Paley is the first metal sculptor to receive the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Architects, the AIA’s highest award to a non-architect. Commissioned by both public institutions and private corporations, Paley has completed more than 50 site-specific works.

Some notable examples are the Portal Gates for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC; Synergy, a ceremonial archway in Philadelphia; the Portal Gates for the New York State Senate Chambers in Albany; Sentinel, a monumental plaza sculpture for Rochester Institute of Technology; as well as a 65-foot sculpture for the entry court of Bausch and Lomb’s headquarters in Rochester, NY.

Recently completed works include three sculptures for the National Harbor development near Washington DC, a 130’ long archway titled Animals Always for the St. Louis Zoo, a gate for the Cleveland Botanical Gardens in Cleveland, OH, a sculptural relief for Wellington Place, Toronto, Canada, a sculpture titled Threshold for the Corporate Headquarters of Klein Steel, Rochester, NY, and a ceremonial entranceway titled Transformation for Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

Works by Albert Paley can be found in the MFAH collection, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and others.