FROM interactive bubbles to a postmodern bungalow, multiple marvels of fine architecture will be on exhibit, highlighting the creativity that is the hallmark of the prestigious annual competition sponsored by the Los Angeles branch of the American Institute of Architects.
All 382 entries in this year's architecture competition will be featured at the exhibition, which opens this evening at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Center on UCLA's campus. The 53 winners of the 2007 AIA/LA Design awards were announced at a gala dinner last Thursday.
The awards and the exhibit are divided into two categories: work built by L.A. architects, and work as yet unbuilt. The design jury for built work included Hitoshi Abe of UCLA's department of architecture and urban design; architect Peter Pran, of the Seattle firm NBBJ; and San Diego architect Jonathan Segal. Their award selections included a wide range of residences, public buildings and an installation composed of milky-white plastic bubbles.
An honor award -- the highest award level -- went to a West Los Angeles residence designed by Barton Myers Associates Inc. Judges called it "the most promising concept in residential" and described Myers' work as "incredibly fresh."
Carlo Caccavale, associate director of AIA/LA, described the house as "very modern and U-shaped, with a central courtyard, cement floor and a roof that sits on metal pillars. The side walls of the house are basically garage doors that roll up, leaving the house completely open. It's a total marriage of indoors and outdoors."
An honor award also went to the design firms of Fox Lin Inc., NONdesigns and Brand Name Label for an installation called "Bubbles Los Angeles." The judges called it intriguing -- "an interactive architectural expression that corresponds with the visitor."
Caccavale said that the architects installed a series of gas-inflated bubbles in an open space between two apartment buildings in Los Feliz. "When the bubbles are touched, they deflate, letting people into the interior of the bubble space," he said. "As they enter, the bubbles automatically inflate again, pushing them further inside. It's a complete interaction between the space and the person. Once you're inside, you're completely surrounded by bubbles."
Merit awards went to Frederick Fisher & Partners Architects for a Santa Ynez residence, just north of Santa Barbara, and to Steven Ehrlich Architects for a Venice residence commonly known as 700 Palms.
