Architect of Things

This Q&A session with playwright Oren Safdie, Andy Johnson PhD (EVL), architect Lira Luis FRIBA FRSA NCARB RA LEED AP, including performer Shane Hendrix, and moderated by director/performer Marzena Bukowska, followed after the metaverse staged reading of Facade.

View video: https://youtu.be/ltQnMgxMreU?si=S-50G4nB3RlqFjy3

Why do we need to understand Avatars and how are they hotter?

From Tupac & Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg’s groundbreaking holographic performance at Coachella, to avatars, pepper’s ghosts and A.I., we are witnessing a new architecture design that transcends traditional boundaries.

Through my recent business travels to Tokyo, London, and Los Angeles, I discovered some remarkable technological advancements in architecture that are shaping the way we interact with the physical world.

In Tokyo, for example, I witnessed a giant 3D digital cat being screened on a digital billboard that spans over three floors. 

While in London, I walked by the Outernet London, the largest digital exhibition space in Europe. I also watched a performance of the ABBAtars in the ABBA Voyage concert.

And in Los Angeles, I learned about ConvergenceLA through Standard Vision. It’s a media installation on the façade of Metropolis Towers. 

Finally, we cannot forget the groundbreaking hologram of Tupac presented at Coachella in 2012, which marked a turning point in the use of technology for live performances. 

Today, we are fortunate to have AV Concepts, the company responsible for projecting the holographic image of Tupac on stage, with us to discuss how these technological advancements can be utilized in architecture and what the future holds for this exciting technology.

Have you ever considered the connection between theater and architecture?

In ‘The Ten Books on Architecture’ Vitruvius wrote what he thinks of architects – and I’ll paraphrase some words in the context of today’s times:

“(People) have no right to profess themselves architects hastily, without having climbed from (childhood) the steps of these studies and thus, nursed by the knowledge of many arts and sciences, having reached the heights of the holy ground of architecture.”

And even Frank Lloyd Wright seemed to think similarly that art has many parts that included architecture because he said, “The mother art is architecture”.

Today, we'll be exploring this intersection with a set designer who recently worked on the play "Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy" written by Sarah Gancher. We will delve into how theater-arts intuits the message of a play to architecture, and examine the merging of aesthetics in the digital and physical worlds. 

With the growing threat of organized inauthentic online behaviors, such as those by Troll Farms, we'll explore the ripple effects on professions like architecture, as well as how social media has become propaganda machines that erode trust in institutions. Our discussion today will explore the impact of these aesthetic inspirations and challenges on our societies.

2022 marks the 90th anniversary of the Taliesin Fellowship by Frank Lloyd Wright & Olgivanna Wright. Listen as Lira Luis & Francesco Santoro discuss a new book “Apprendista A Taliesin”.

Just imagine, some actors play the role of real architects and some real architects also play fictional roles. Let’s unravel the strange relationships between architecture and performance, as well as how these different worlds continue to interact around us, by chatting with actor Fritz Michel, who has played the role of an architect several times.

Like other complex works of art that confront the hard stuff and serious topics, architecture can be compelling drama and convincing comedy for theater. Today we’ll discover how a playwright reaches pluralistic audiences when architecture and theater come into play.

Design and data have always operated separately, but what happens when they collide? Let’s chat about a new data-driven design paradigm that challenges us to rethink our design process and practice.

Our guest is Liana O’Cleirigh FRSA.

Liana is an Interaction Designer having a ball pursuing an Ma/MSc in Global Innovation Design at the Royal College of Art & Imperial College London. She loves diving head first into complex creative challenges and collaborating with diverse teams. For over a decade, she had a pretty unusual job playing a character in a long-running Irish soap opera. As a result, she has witnessed the culturally transformative power of representation through storytelling, and has long understood the importance of challenging culturally accepted norms by introducing alternative narratives. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, winner of an RSA Student Design Award, and an Irish Design Institute Graduate Awardee.

Original Publication: January 17, 2022 

Why are NFTS so perfectly suited to represent other forms of architecture? Let's take a look at architect Glenn Grubb's historical journey from traditional practice to how NFTs fit in his work today. 

Original Publication: November 11, 2021

The future of cities and architecture is leaning towards Blockchain & NFTs - not just for the sake of the art but the economy and how we design spaces. Are you ready for these trends? Listen to what Zoë Camper FRSA, Krista Kim, Adrian Velicescu, moderated by Lira Luis FRIBA, FRSA, NCARB, CEM, LEED AP in this panel. Presented in partnership with Chicago Architecture Biennial, AoT, and ALLL x Leapfrog Project.

Original Publication: May 6, 2021

In recent years, new technology has opened up architecture and design in ways we never thought possible. We’ll explore a few of these possibilities and talk about how NFTs are inspiring creativity for doing new things and Virtual Practices!

We will use examples such as the Mars House, the world’s first digital house sold on the NFT and Quantum Mirror, the world’s first physical NFT installation, to show how we could use NFTs as new opportunities for architecture and interior spaces including unpacking some potential challenges.

Original Publication: March 30, 2021 

You’ll hear Minerva Montooth's story as Social Director in Mr & Mrs Frank Lloyd Wright’s social experiment that is the Taliesin Fellowship — and the decades of change it survived from the 1940s to the present, including lessons learned.