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Cities, Buildings, People: Towards Regenerative Environments

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

JULY 11

THOM MAYNE

Thom Mayne (b. 1944, Waterbury CT) founded Morphosis in 1972 as a collective architectural practice engaged in cross-disciplinary research and design. As Design Director and thought leader of Morphosis, Mayne provides overall vision and project leadership to the firm. With permanent offices in Los Angeles and New York City, the firm currently employs over 60 architects and designers.
Mayne’s distinguished honors include the Pritzker Prize (2005) and the AIA Gold Medal (2013). He was appointed to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 2009, and was honored with the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Gold Medal in 2000. With Morphosis, Thom Mayne has been the recipient of 26 Progressive Architecture Awards, over 100 American Institute of Architecture Awards and numerous other design recognitions. Under Mayne’s direction, the firm has been the subject of various group and solo exhibitions throughout the world, including a large solo exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 2006. Morphosis buildings and projects have been published extensively; the firm has been the subject of 33 monographs.
Throughout his career, Mayne has remained active in the academic world. In 1972, he helped to found the Southern California Institute of Architecture. Since then, he has held teaching positions at Columbia, Yale (the Eliel Saarinen Chair in 1991), the Harvard Graduate School of Design (Eliot Noyes Chair in 1998), the Berlage Institute in the Netherlands, the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, and many other institutions around the world. There has always been a symbiotic relationship between Mayne’s teaching and practice, evidenced in his concurrent position as Executive Director of the Now Institute at UCLA, a research and design initiative focusing on applying strategic urban thinking to real world issues. He is a tenured Professor at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design since 1993.
EDUCATION

BArch - University of Southern California, 1968 MArch – Harvard University, 1978
HONORS AND DISTINCTIONS:

RIBA International Fellowship / 2015

AIA Gold Medal / 2013

Richard J. Neutra Award for Professional Excellence, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona / 2011

Centennial Medal, American Academy in Rome / 2009

Edward MacDowell Medal / 2008

Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences / 2008

California College of the Art, Honorary Doctorate of Fine Art / 2008

New Jersey Institute of Technology , Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters / 2008

AIA Los Angeles Presidential Award / 2007

AIA California Council, The Maybeck Award / 2007

National Design Award, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum / 2006

Alumni Merit Award, University of Southern California / 2006

Pritzker Architecture Prize / 2005

Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA) / 2004

Chrysler Design Award of Excellence / 2001

Gold Medal, Los Angeles American Institute of Architects / 2000

Alumni of the Year, USC / 1995

Brunner Prize/ Award in Architecture, American Academy of Arts and Letters / 1992

Member Elect, American Academy of Design / 1992

Rome Prize Fellowship, American Academy in Rome, Italy / 1987


PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS: President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities / Member

American Academy of Arts and Letters / Member

American Academy in Rome / Trustee

A+D Architecture and Design Museum Los Angeles / Advisory Board

American Institute of Architects (FAIA)

Architecture League of New York / Board

Institute of Urban Design / Board

American Academy of Arts and Sciences / Member

National Academy of Design / Member

Southern California Institute of Architecture / Board of Trustees

ED MAZRIA

Edward Mazria is an internationally recognized architect, author, researcher, and educator. Over the past decade, his seminal research into the sustainability, resilience, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions of the built environment has redefined the role of architecture, planning, design, and building, in reshaping our world. He is the founder of Architecture 2030, a think tank developing real world solutions for 21st century problems.
Throughout his 40 year career, Mazria’s architectural work, research, and innovations have influenced the way we design and build. Early in his career, he authored The Passive Solar Energy Book, which helped introduce the world to solar design. Mazria issued the 2030 Challenge, and recently introduced the 2030 Palette, a revolutionary new platform that puts the principles behind low-carbon/zero carbon and resilient built environments at the fingertips of architects, planners, and designers worldwide. in 2014 he issued the Roadmap to Zero Emissions at the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) calling zero emissions in the built environment by 2050; and the 2050 Imperative that has been adopted by professional organizations representing over 1.3 million architects in 124 countries worldwide. And recently, he developed The Urban Climate Initiative, a framework of incremental actions that governments can put in place to ensure carbon neutral built environments by the year 2050. Mazria speaks nationally and internationally on the subject of architecture, design, energy, economics, and climate change and has taught at several universities, including the University of New Mexico, University of Oregon, UCLA, and the University of Colorado-Denver.
Mr. Mazria’s awards include AIA Design Awards, American Planning Association Award, Department of Energy Awards, American Solar Energy Society Pioneer Award, Equinox Award, National Conservation Achievement Award, Mumford Award from Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, inaugural Hanley Award, Distinguished Career Award from Pratt Institute, Zia Award from the University of New Mexico, Game Changers Award from Metropolis Magazine, 2011 Purpose Prize , and the 2015 Kemper Award from the American Institute of Architects. He is a senior fellow of the Design Futures Council, Honorary Fellow of the RAIC, and received an Honorary Doctor of Architecture degree from Illinois Institute of Technology

MATT PETERSEN

Matt Petersen was named Chief Sustainability officer by Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles. As the first ever CSO for the City of LA, Matt is focused on helping Mayor Garcetti create 20,000 green jobs in LA, create a more sustainable and livable city and neighborhoods, and hold every city department responsible for cleaner air and water.

For 19 years, Matt served as President and CEO of Global Green USA, building the group into one of the country's leading environmental organizations (and the only national environmental organization headquartered in greater Los Angeles). Passionate about improving the environment and the lives of those in need, Petersen forged a national partnership with Habitat for Humanity International in 1995 to save homeowners money and improve their health. In 1997, Global Green and the City of LA hosted a sustainable housing summit, launching the organization's broader greening affordable housing initiative. As result of partnerships, legislation, and incentives put in place by Global Green over the last 15 years, over 100,000 individuals across the US now live in affordable housing with lower energy bills, better indoor air quality, and better access to transit. In California, Petersen's leadership has led to $320 million being set aside for solar on affordable housing, addressing the disproportionate impact on minority and low-income communities through the community empowerment amendment to global warming law AB32, and the first state mandate to increase energy efficiency in existing buildings via AB758.

The focus on the urban environment also included the greening of schools and cities, including crafting an initiative funded by the Annenberg Foundation to green all new LAUSD schools, ensuring over $15 billion in new construction will result in significant utility savings, and better learning environments for kids and teachers. Global Green's work with cities, including Los Angeles, New Orleans, San Francisco, and others has created ground breaking green building policies, climate action plans, and solar initiatives, including the first large city municipal green building policy created in LA with then Councilman Eric Garcetti in 2002.

Petersen is widely credited for his successful vision for the green rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, leading TIME Magazine to recognize Global Green's leadership. Top on Petersen's agenda was the greening of New Orleans' schools rebuilt after the storm, as well as increasing energy efficiency and indoor air quality of existing classrooms. Petersen, along with actor Brad Pitt, also launched the New Orleans Sustainable Design Competition, which resulted in the Holy Cross Project, a sustainable village under construction in the Lower 9th Ward.

More recently, Petersen turned Global Green's attention to the communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy. He created the Solar for Sandy initiative that is bringing grid-tied, back-up solar systems to community centers in New York and New Jersey. This year, Petersen appeared with former President Bill Clinton to announce the initiative and the support of IKEA for the 2nd solar system to be installed in Red Hook in Brooklyn, NY.

Over many years, Petersen has called not only for corporations and elected officials to act to combat climate change and create more sustainable communities, but for individuals to become "citizen entrepreneurs" and take responsibility for a corner for their world. The search for "citizen entrepreneurs" is emerging as a major initiative within Global Green, leading to support and recognition of individuals across the United States who are improving their communities. Petersen also created partnerships with major American companies to support the organization's efforts, including Starbucks as among the very first major U.S. corporations to call for action on climate change.

Matt continues as a board member of Global Green USA, while also serving on the board of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. He also is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is an advisor on energy and environment to the Clinton Global Initiative.

JULY 12

DAVID HERTZ

David Hertz, FAIA, has been an active participant in the environmental and design communities for over three decades with participation in numerous organizations including service on professional committees such as the L.A. Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, the Environmental Affairs Committee of the Construction Specifications Institute, and the California Energy Commission's High Performance Wall Systems Collaborative. In 2004, he became a LEED Accredited Professional, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. David Hertz's firm, the Studio of Environmental Architecture (S.E.A.) in Venice, California, is a practice devoted to green building and restorative solutions.
David has served on the faculty of the SCI-Arc Professional Development Program and the Academic Advisory Committee for UCLA's Extension Program while teaching sustainable design courses for over 20 years. He also taught a studio focused on prefabrication at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, as well as courses at USC School of Architecture on Repurposing and Radical Re-Use.
David has received the American Architecture Award in 2012, the 2012 Gold Medal International Design Award, the AIA CAlifornia Residential Design Award for 2010, and was included in the California Design Biennial. His work on the 747 Wing House won an American Architecture Award and was presented at the "City and the World" exhibition at the Istanbul Biennial in Istanbul, Turkey in 2012, an AIA California State award for Residential Architecture in 2013, and is now a finalist in the international Architizer A+Awards.

MICHAEL B. LEHRER

Michael B. Lehrer, FAIA founded his practice, LEHRER ARCHITECTS LA, in Los Angeles in 1985. His work, from the intimate to the monumental, is grounded in the idea that beauty is a rudiment of human dignity. He designs for community with a reverence for light and space. Delight is a matter of extreme gravitas in the work. The work is to elevate the everyday and celebrate community.
The firm’s work consists of institutional, commercial, industrial, residential and urban design projects. Regarding sustainability, the work aspires to embody the beauty of performance and the performance of beauty. Lehrer Architects LA is steeped in the nurturing of creativity culture in its own work—both process and product--and in finding that spark in all of its clients’ endeavors.
Lehrer Architects LA has won over 100 major design and sustainability awards, including over 35 design awards from the national, state, and local chapters of The American Institute of Architects. His Studio, The Downtown Drop-In Center and the LA County Elections Operations Center have all won the Institute Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, the top annual award for architecture in the United States, as well as numerous top awards from the International Interior Design Association, the AIA California Council, AIA LA, the Los Angeles Business Council, Contract Magazine, and Builder Magazine, among many others. Sustainability/Thrivability and beauty are an inseparable couplet in the work. His Water + Life Museums in Hemet, designed with Mark Gangi, AIA, is the first LEED™ Platinum museum in the world. An international environmental showcase, it features a 550 kilowatt photovoltaic rooftop installation. Christopher Hawthorne of the Los Angeles Times called it one of the 10 best public buildings in Southern California over the past ten years.
Michael’s work has been widely published nationally and internationally and he is regularly called upon to comment about design matters in national and local broadcast media, print, panels and symposia to explain the public interest from the architect’s perspective. This includes Architectural Digest, Architectural Record, ARCHITECT, Business Week, Azure, Builder Magazine, Metropolitan Home, Dwell, Interior Design, NPR’s Weekend Edition, All Things Considered, KCRW’s Which Way L.A.?, The LA Times, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Hong Kong’s avant garde Hinge Magazine, among others. Michael has lectured on his work at Stanford, Berkeley, University of Michigan, Woodbury University, the Dallas Architecture Forum, Dwell on Design, Governing Magazine/AARP, among others.
Michael is Chairman of the Alumni Council of the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD). He has served as the GSD-appointed Director on the Harvard Alumni Association Board and is immediate Past President of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles. He was Vice Chairman of School Construction Bond Oversight Committee for over 5 years, overseeing (a now)$27 Billion repair and construction program for the LA Unified School District. He has served on the Hollywood Planning and Design Review Board for 22 years, and hosts their monthly meetings in his studio.
He was President of the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles in 1999 and founded their annual, ongoing Legislative Day that year which has fundamentally changed the nature of the profession in LA. He initiated the AIA/LA push to make GREAT STREETS a central initiative in our city.
Michael has been an adjunct member of the faculty at the University of Southern California since 1986, teaching all levels of design studio from 1st Year through Masters Thesis. He has taught several design studios focusing on senior housing. Prior to 1985, Mr. Lehrer worked at Frank O. Gehry and Associates and other design offices. He regularly sits on academic and professional AIA design juries around the country, including the AIA/NY Urban Design Awards Jury and the AIA Institute Honor Awards Jury for Architecture. He has also served on the Mayors Institute of City Design Team.
Licensed in California in 1981, Michael was educated at Berkeley and Harvard after attending LAUSD public schools. He is married to Mia Lehrer, FASLA of Mia Lehrer + Associates Landscape Architecture. They have three children: Benjamin (and Laura), Rebecca (and Neil), and Raphael.

BROOKS & SCARPA

Brooks + Scarpa is a collective of architects, designers and creative thinkers dedicated to enhancing the human experience. Honored with the 2014 Smithsonian Cooper- Hewitt National Design Award, the firm is a multi-disciplinary practice that includes architecture, landscape architecture, planning, environmental design, materials research, graphic, furniture and interior design services that produces innovative, sustainable iconic buildings and urban environments.
Awarded the 2010 State of California and National American Institute of Architecture Firm Award for nineteen years of consistently exemplary work seamlessly blending architecture, art and craft, Brooks + Scarpa has also garnered international acclaim for the creative use of materials in unique and unexpected ways. The firm has also been recognized for pioneering more holistic approaches to delivering award winning environmentally responsive designs.
While the Brooks + Scarpa team practices architecture with an extremely rigorous and exacting methodology, incorporating cross-discipline research and digital technologies, we remain open-minded, so that our work can adapt throughout the dynamic process of making places for people. Each project is designed to address our client’s needs, budget and specific site conditions incorporating important global issues such as sustainability and digital fabrication.

JULY 13

BOB BERKEBILE

Bob Berkebile, BNIM Architects, has focused his career on improving quality of life, vitality and resilience in our society with the spirit of his firm’s design work. BNIM received the AIA’s National Firm Award in 2011. Bob was the founding chairman of AIA’s Committee on the Environment and part of the team that created USGBC, the LEED rating system and the Living Building Challenge.

Bob is the recipient of numerous awards including Metropolis Magazine’s “Game Changer Emeritus” and national leadership awards from the Heinz Foundation, the American Institute of Architects, Environmental Design Journal, U.S. Green Building Council, the 2014 Hanley Award and the 2015 ULI Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also listed as number 3 on a list of the Top 5 U.S. Individual Role Models for green and sustainable design in the 2009 and 2010 Design Intelligence Sustainable Design Survey.

He is currently a partner in two new development companies: KC Sustainable Development Partners and the Commerce Tower Group both of which are engaged in Urban Acupuncture (a strategic investment of leadership, design and capital to stimulate catalytic positive change).

SHAWN GEHLE

Shawn is a Principal and the Director of BNIM’s Los Angeles office. He is a recognized design and thought leader known for cultivating a “culture of curiosity and collaboration” with his clients and teams. As a member of BNIM’s Executive Committee, his firm wide responsibilities include accelerating design thinking, driving business performance and promoting transformative ideas across all offices.

As a recognized design leader, Shawn is responsible for establishing the design direction on projects within the Los Angeles office using a design ethos that ties research and disruptive ideas to design performance and large-scale, positive change for clients of all types.

His diverse experience, which includes work for technology, creative workplace, education, and mixed-use clients, as well as ongoing academic partnerships with many of the industry’s most notable institutions, has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) and featured in numerous publications and design journals.

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