Your week in design events from DnA.
1. Bowlarama: California Bowling Architecture 1954-1964
Some of the most extreme examples of Southern California’s space age roadside architecture “were the wondrous new bowling centers that sprang to life after the introduction of the automatic pinsetter in the early 1950s,” writes Chris Nichols, Modern preservationist and witty “Ask Chris” columnist for LA Magazine. Now Nichols has curated a show about bowling alleys past and present, opening this Friday at A+D Museum; photographs, rare artifacts and drawings will celebrate a time when one in four Americans identified as bowlers.
When: Friday April 11 7:00 PM-9:00 PM
Where: A+D Museum
Tickets: Admission $7 for adults
Click here for more information.
2. Schindler Church Open House
RM Schindler, the Austrian emigre and pioneer of Southern California Modernism, designed exactly one church in his storied career. The Bethlehem Baptist Church was designed in 1944 for an African-American congregation then fell into disrepair and was largely forgotten. Now it has been repaired and repainted by a new congregation, Faith Build International, and this Saturday will celebrate its reopening with a public Open House.
When: Saturday April 12, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM
Where: 4901 Compton Ave., Los Angeles
Tickets: RSVP to capri_blount@yahoo.com
Click here for more information.
3. Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and Ma Yansong of MAD Architects at Hennessey + Ingalls
This is a good week for design book lovers, with talks at this weekend’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books by several designer writers including Stephen Gee, author of Iconic Vision and Anna Lewis, author of Women of Steel and Stone; and on Thursday night at Hennessey + Ingalls in Hollywood, Chinese architect to watch Ma Yansong will give a lecture and talk by way of introducing himself to Los Angeles. Yansong is reversing the trend of Western architects setting up shop in China; he is opening an office of his firm MAD in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
When: Saturday April 12 10:00 AM-6:00 PM and Sunday April 13 10:00 AM-5:00 PM
Where: USC Campus; University Park Campus, Los Angeles
Tickets: Free and open to the public. Only indoor Conversations, Book Prizes and Festival After Dark require tickets.
Click here for more information.
Ma Yansong Book Signing
When: Thursday April 10 6:30 PM-9:00 PM
Where: Hennessey + Ingalls Bookstore; Space 15 Twenty 1520 N Cahuenga Blvd, #8; Los Angeles
Tickets: Free and open to the public.
Click here for more information.
4. OTIS Third Annual Kite Festival
Join professional kite artists Melanie Walker, George Peters, Jose Sainz, Ron Gibian and Bobby Stanfield at the Santa Monica Pier this weekend for a day of kite building and flying hosted by Otis College of Art and Design. (Free “sustainable” kites will be provided for everyone!)
And speaking of kites, if you happen to be at the Milan Furniture Fair, check out this exotic kite made of 3M Dichroic Glass by 3M Architectural Markets, with with Brooklyn-based design firm SO-IL, on display at Wallpaper* Handmade exhibit at Salone. Click here for more information.
When: Sunday April 13, 2014 11:00 AM-4:00 PM
Where: On the beach just north of the Santa Monica Pier.
Tickets: Free and open to the public.
Click here for more information.
5. Apertures Baumgartner+Uriu
The latest exploration of materials and form at SCI-Arc Gallery is Apertures by Herwig Baumgartner and Scott Uriu that will explore the intersection of digital technology and the natural world. They contend this relationship is leading to ” a new type of interactive, organic buildings.”
When: Friday April 11, 2014 7:00 PM
Where: SCI-Arc Gallery; 960 E 3rd St, Los Angeles
Tickets: Free and open to the public.
Click here for more information.
And don’t forget to listen to our most recent DnA “Shigeru Ban, Zaha Hadid and Ethics in Architecture”
If you would like an event to be considered for DnA’s weekly 5 Design Things post, please email all information about your event and jpegs to caroline.chamberlain@kcrw.org by the Wednesday prior to the week of your event.