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The Daily OrangeSoA | L.A. firm encourages new trends
By Katie Keating
Posted: 11/8/07, 1:02 AM EST Section: News
The history of square buildings, the yin and the yang and geothermal cooling were parts of the lesson plan for architecture students during a lecture Wednesday evening.
Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, founders of the Los Angeles-based architecture firm Johnston MarkLee Designs, presented "Too dumb for New York, Too ugly for L.A." to a packed audience at The Warehouse Auditorium.
"The fact that they're young, the fact they're relatively unknown, the fact that they are extremely smart and they're building stuff like crazy, that alone is a good reason to have them," said Mark Linder, chair of the graduate architecture program.
Johnston and Lee, who described their style as a propensity for mass, blandness and depth, provided a very open look into their practice.
"We wanted to have a very candid way of presenting ourselves," Lee said. "There is really no myth to an architect or practice."
The 90-minute lecture analyzed the inspiration, obstacles and artistry behind Johnston and Lee's numerous projects.
"Design isn't a matter of solving problems…but seeking opportunities," Lee said in the presentation's commencement.
Lee illustrated the challenges by showing a project that was built in the cumbersome hills of California, where the regulations limit creativity. The firm brainstormed a plan. Excited, they thought, "there is your hillside ordinance," Lee said.
At one point, Johnston showed an artist's work which consisted of drawings of the United States composed by Las Vegas teenagers from memory. The depictions ranged from a perfect circle to renditions that could rival a cartographer.
"This responds to the diversity that can happen within an overall system," Johnston said.
Students appreciated the variety in Wednesday's lecture, part of a series offered by the School of Architecture. Freshmen architecture students Tom Day and Jen Vachon have attended all of the lectures.
"We come to get a different vantage point on things we are learning about in studio," Day said.
Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, founders of the Los Angeles-based architecture firm Johnston MarkLee Designs, presented "Too dumb for New York, Too ugly for L.A." to a packed audience at The Warehouse Auditorium.
"The fact that they're young, the fact they're relatively unknown, the fact that they are extremely smart and they're building stuff like crazy, that alone is a good reason to have them," said Mark Linder, chair of the graduate architecture program.
Johnston and Lee, who described their style as a propensity for mass, blandness and depth, provided a very open look into their practice.
"We wanted to have a very candid way of presenting ourselves," Lee said. "There is really no myth to an architect or practice."
The 90-minute lecture analyzed the inspiration, obstacles and artistry behind Johnston and Lee's numerous projects.
"Design isn't a matter of solving problems…but seeking opportunities," Lee said in the presentation's commencement.
Lee illustrated the challenges by showing a project that was built in the cumbersome hills of California, where the regulations limit creativity. The firm brainstormed a plan. Excited, they thought, "there is your hillside ordinance," Lee said.
At one point, Johnston showed an artist's work which consisted of drawings of the United States composed by Las Vegas teenagers from memory. The depictions ranged from a perfect circle to renditions that could rival a cartographer.
"This responds to the diversity that can happen within an overall system," Johnston said.
Students appreciated the variety in Wednesday's lecture, part of a series offered by the School of Architecture. Freshmen architecture students Tom Day and Jen Vachon have attended all of the lectures.
"We come to get a different vantage point on things we are learning about in studio," Day said.
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