Facades+ Los Angeles returns to California for its annual showcase of the best in facade design, engineering, and construction. The Architect’s Newspaper teamed up with Alex Korter, Esther Chao, and Stephen Maher of Los Angeles’s CO Architects to assemble the roster of speakers, ensuring a dynamic and engaging two days of talks and workshops.
Elemental Contextualism: Place, Belonging, and Identity in academic envelope design
In the first session of the day, Chao will join Benjamin Bye, Chris Kaiser, and Emilio Todescato—senior associates at CO Architects—to share three recent case studies from the firm’s extensive higher education portfolio. The discussion will explore how buildings rooted in social, environmental, and built contexts can create a sense of place, belonging, and identity through the lens of community, craft, and environment. “I’m thrilled to contribute to the architectural discourse and delve into discussions about facade explorations from both technical and design perspectives,” said Chao.
Together and Apart: High-Performance Envelopes in Design-Build
Complex projects require the right team, open communication, and precise coordination. This roundtable, moderated by Sanjeev Tankha of STARQ Design, will explore the challenges and lessons learned from design-build with leaders from WSP, Degenkolb, Hensel Phelps, and CO Architects. The professionals will share experiences and lessons learned that help the project toward successful completion and apply to the more significant challenges of complex project delivery.
A New Sense of Place and Placemaking: Neri&Hu
Lyndon Neri, partner at Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, will present a keynote to kick off the afternoon. The discussion will look into the concept of “liminal space”—representing a threshold that embodies ambiguity and fosters new possibilities and changes.
Intuit Dome: The Story of the LA Clipper’s future-forward new home
Intuit Dome, the new home of the Los Angeles Clippers, will be presented as a case study by the design team at AECOM: Ross Wimer, senior vice president; Nancy Jones, senior project architect; and Victoria Watson, associate principal. They will discuss the design and structural innovations, sustainability features, and behind-the-scenes construction of the monumental sports project. The visually striking and structurally efficient steel frame features diagrid geometry that recalls a basketball net. The future-forward arena has a number of sustainability features that help achieve LEED Platinum.
Building a Mystery: Concrete Formwork at the Hill House Montecito
The day’s program concludes with a presentation from architect Robin Donaldson of Donaldson + Partners, who will be joined by AN’s executive editor, Jack Murphy, to discuss the concrete formwork at the Hill House of Montecito. The house encompasses mystery as the curved facade, engineering process, and concrete construction create a landscape-driven house that seems to emerge from California’s environmental setting. Donaldson will cover how the project moved from idea to scale model to 3,000 unique pieces of formwork to create the wickedly complex concrete form.
Build Better: Improving Building Skins through Advanced Technology
Hear the latest in building product and industry expertise from leading voices from manufacturing: YKK AP, NorthGlass, Windowmaster, Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, STI FireStop, Neolith, and Elemex.
Expo and Cocktails
All day long, attendees can meet with over 40 different building product companies to spec materials, get advice and go hands-on with new materials and products. The first day ends with rooftop cocktails at the Sheraton Grand Rooftop bar.
Workshops Day 2
On Friday, November 8, the Facades+ Los Angeles Workshops will offer attendees the opportunity to delve deeper into case studies, engage hands-on with building technologies and new tools, and interact face-to-face with leading industry design experts. Participants can select their preferred tracks or specific sessions tailored to their interests, hearing from design professionals from Cannon Design, HKS, Arup, Eckersley O’Callaghan, Studio NYL, RDH Building Science, and more.
Attendees can earn 6 AIA HSW LU credits and will have the opportunity to network and connect with other architects, engineers, and manufacturers.
Facades+ Los Angeles is not to be missed on November 7 and 8. To register and view full event agenda click here.
