How do notions of social responsibility and sustainability, in terms of design, impact the response to the growing density of Los Angeles and beyond?
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition "Richard Neutra, Architect: Sketches and Drawings in the Getty Gallery"
Steven Ehrlich, FAIA, RIBA, learned early on, the significance of how architecture responds to culture and environment. Six years in Africa (including two years with the Peace Corps as their first architect in Marrakech, Morocco, and teaching at Ahmadu BelloUniversity in Nigeria) taught Ehrlich the sustainable wisdom of indigenous architecture.
Selected in 2003 as the California AIA Firm of the Year, Ehrlich Architects has won seven National AIA Awards. Current projects include the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and the School of Earth and Space Exploration both for Arizona State University, the Art Building at the University of California, Irvine, five residential towers in Taipei, Taiwan, and a large villa in Dubai.
In 2007, the Palm Springs Art Museum curated a retrospective show, Multicultural Modernism, in conjunction with the release of the firm's sixth monograph by Images Publishing. Ehrlich has been a guest critic at USC, Harvard, Yale, and UCLA, and lectures extensively in the US and abroad.
Leo Marmol, FAIA, Managing Principal of Marmol Radziner and Associates (MRA), established the Los Angeles-based firm in 1989 with Ron Radziner, FAIA. Marmol Radziner and Associates is an architecture practice uniquely complemented by its growing construction department. Since its inception, the firm has developed a reputation for its innovative design, sustainable architecture, and prolific restoration work. The firm's unique business practice and commitment to design excellence was rewarded with the American Institute of Architects California Council's 2004 Firm of the Year. In 2007, Leo was elevated to the prestigious College of the Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.
In 1998, the firm completed restoration of the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, originally designed in 1946 by Richard Neutra. In 2000, the firm completed the restoration of two other Neutra houses, the Lew and the Brown House, and restored the Elliot House, originally designed by R.M. Schindler in 1930. MRA recently finished restoring two Cliff May houses and John Lautner's Garcia house.
Active in his profession, Leo has lectured widely on the topic of architecture and restoration, and has participated in conferences, symposia and panel discussions. He also has organized numerous architectural tours in Southern California for The Museum of Contemporary Art LA, UCLA Extension, and the California State University Long Beach Art Museum. Marmol is a Board Member of Street Poets. Marmol received his Bachelor of Architecture with a Minor in Philosophy from California PolytechnicState University in San Luis Obispo, California. Soon after completing this degree, Marmol became licensed as an architect and a contractor in California.
