Lots of green design events coming up this week! Also, ideas for tiny home living, films about urban design, and a party for the LA River.
1) It’s a busy week in Green Design. Check out these events:
Land Art Generator Initiative : The Art of Designing Energy + Water Infrastructures
Can art influence science and technology and even public policy? Such is the mission of the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI): to inspire the public and city planners to conceive more ambitious, large-scale clean energy generation. Throughout the month of October, the Annenberg Community Beach House Gallery will exhibit entries to the 2016 LAGI competition, which challenged interdisciplinary teams worldwide to propose a large-scale work of public art that could serve to provide clean electricity and/or drinking water. This year’s challenge site was the Santa Monica Pier. The opening reception and discussion with LAGI founders Robert Ferry and Elizabeth Monoian is October 4.
When: Opening reception Tuesday, Oct 4, 6 – 8 pm. Exhibit on view Oct 1 – Nov 1, 11 am – 4 pm.
Where: Annenberg Community Beach House, 415 Pacific Coast Hwy, Santa Monica, CA 90402
Tickets: Free. RSVP here to be added to the guest list.
‘California’s Energy Future’, book release celebration
Can your home actually preserve and enhance the environment? Celebrate 32 examples of “Passive House Buildings” that live in harmony with nature and learn how the Passive House Standard is being utilized to meet the carbon reduction and climate change goals of our state.
When: Wednesday, Oct 5, 6 – 9 pm
Where: Tangram Studios, 527 W 7th Street, Ste. 601 Los Angeles, 90017
Tickets: Free. RSVP here, or call 626.524.0505
Greenbuild Conference and Expo
Back when most people had barely heard of a Prius or LEED certification, 300 builders and product designers committed to sustainable design gathered at a small convention called Greenbuild. Now it is one of the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to “green building” and holds its 15th annual conference and trade show this week in Los Angeles. Come check out its energy saving home of the future at the Convention Center, or join its tours to model environments in other parts of LA. And listen up to Tuesday’s DnA for an interview with Dominique Hargreaves, executive director of the LA Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.
When: Expo: Oct. 5-6; Conference: Oct. 5-7; Tours: All week (check here for schedule
Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90015
Tickets: Register here.
Opening of La Kretz Innovation Campus Cleantech Incubator
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) at La Kretz Innovation Campus in downtown’s arts district is a private nonprofit founded by the City of Los Angeles to accelerate the production and commercialization of clean technologies. LACI, designed to be a model of clean-energy design by noted LA-based firm John Friedman Alice Kim Architects, is at the hub of LA’s new Cleantech Corridor, which is intended to bring together entrepreneurs, engineers, scientists and policymakers and help grow the City’s green economy. Come out on Friday to celebrate the grand opening — with art and music — and hear from LACI cleantech companies at the innovation expo.
This opening also marks the official kick-off of InnovateLA 2016, a three week celebration showcasing LA’s technological achievements with a series of events, lectures and talks all over the city.
When: Friday, Oct 7, 10 am – 7 pm
Where: 525 S. Hewitt St., Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tickets: Free. Register here.
2) Tiny Home Design Share
With the right design, you can still live big while living small. An answer to housing (un)affordability and a response to a shifting American Dream, where bigger isn’t necessarily better, and experiences trump accumulation, the tiny house movement represents a design marvel of efficient space utilization. Come see some of the newest and most visionary ideas out there today, featuring a design by Isabelle LaRue from Engineer Your Space, who is excited to share her tiny house design through a virtual reality lens!
This is a fundraiser for LATCH Collective, a co-building space for tiny homes and affordable housing advocacy that is in the process of opening its doors.
When: Thursday, Oct 6, 7 – 10 pm
Where: Impact Hub LA, 830 Traction Ave #3a, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tickets: $0-$10. Get tickets here.
3) “The Wangs vs. the World” book signing and conversation with author Jade Chang
Design writer Jade Chang tore herself away from writing about art, fashion and style to write a novel that is partially set in that world. Her debut novel, about a Chinese immigrant family that falls on hard times, will be launched this Thursday with a book signing and conversation with Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (author of “The Nest“). The book follows a family whose fortune is lost in the 2008 financial crisis and the cross-country road trip they take to re-group, reconnecting the father, founder of a cosmetics empire, with his children, including “Grace, his style-obsessed daughter,” and Saina, “disgraced art world it-girl.”
When: Thursday, Oct 6, 7 pm
Where: Barnes and Noble at the Grove at Farmers Market, 189 The Grove Dr., Ste. K 30, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tickets: Unticketed event. More information here.
4) 4th Annual New Urbanism Film Festival
What do we want from our city and how can we influence its design to make it the best it can be? Come join the conversation at the 4th Annual New Urbanism Film Festival, which screens short and feature length documentaries about urban design. Categories include: active transportation, architecture, bicycling, economic development, public health, street art, tactical urbanism, transportation, urban design, and walkability. The festival also hosts a series of walking tours, group bike rides, and workshops that help audiences further engage with the city.
When: Thursday-Sunday, Oct 6-9. See schedule of events here.
Where: October 6-8: ACME Theater, 135 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036. October 9: Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232
Tickets: $0-$95. Get Tickets Here.
5) FoLAR (Friends of Los Angeles River) 30th Year Anniversary Fundraiser Party
For thirty years, Friends of the Los Angeles River has fought to restore and protect the LA River and its heritage. They will celebrate this accomplishment and help raise funds for the next 30 years with a party this Saturday, complete with food, drinks, guest speakers, interactive displays, and live music performances including singer-songwriter Mia Doi Todd, The Jason McGee Gospel Choir, DJ set by Kita Klane, Soul Band Zach Alwin & Duck Funk and a “very special surprise musical guest.”
When: Saturday, Oct 8, 7:30 – 11:30 pm
Where: 2050 North San Fernando Road, Los Angeles CA 90065. Parking at Sotomayor Learning Academies.
Tickets: $300. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Los Angeles River. Get tickets here.