2x8:DOMUM

There is no entry or exit, no ground floor or penthouse; there is only x, y, z. The 2x8:DOMUM virtual exhibition offers an untethered gallery experience within a field of equally accessible student pods distributed by a graphic scaffolding. 

AIA|LA and ACLA is proud to present 2x8:DOMUM in its 14th iteration of the annual student exhibition. As an entirely virtual platform this year, the program showcases exemplary student work from 16 architecture and design institutions throughout California to celebrate the diversity of architectural philosophy and encourage conversation around a central theme. This year’s theme reflects on the dialogue surrounding housing in Los Angeles and other urban centers across the country. Students submitted presentation materials and 3d models that respond to the theme with innovative solutions. The student projects are integrated into an immersive experience which will allow the public to experience the work. On opening day, winning projects will be awarded scholarship prizes totaling USD 30,000.

Originally, we had a building—an exhibition space, and without that, the exhibition ceased to be specific to a physical site. Instead of being dictated by budget, square footage, and materials, the drivers for the exhibit became technology and the real constraints of what volunteers could build and assemble. The design ceased to be tethered to a space, but was instead constrained by bandwidth. 

2x8 bridges academia with the architectural practice by providing a platform for students to be recognized for their work outside of their institutions. Issues of social equity, as they relate to housing conditions in Los Angeles and other cities across the country are the theme of this year’s work. The program will hold a panel discussion around the effects of COVID-19 on the housing crisis and the future of housing typologies with prominent LA architects and students.

To engage the issue of representation and race in academia, the program will also host a panel addressing strategies for dismantling systemic racism in academia. Nine architecture programs from community colleges, undergraduate and graduate programs, will share their plan to combat the various inequalities contributing to systemic racism. Students from the National Organization of Minority Architects student chapters discuss the direction taken by administrations of represented schools in response to current events and the Black Lives Matter Movement. 

The exhibition is both aesthetically specific, yet hierarchically indeterminate. Typography and materials coalesce through an exaggerated perspective. Students’ drawings and 3d models reside within uniquely shaped pods and visitor mobility between projects is purposefully undefined.

Jury:
–Jennifer Bonner – MALL + Harvard GSD
–Marc McQuade, AIA – Adjaye Associates
–Paul Petrunia – Archinect
 

Featured Institutions:
Cal Poly Pomona / Cal Poly San Luis Obispo / California College of the Arts / California State University, Long Beach / College of The Canyons / East Los Angeles College / Glendale Community College / Los Angeles Institute of Architecture & Design / New School of Architecture & Design / Otis College of Art And Design / Pasadena City College / Southern California Institute of Architecture / UCLA Architecture & Urban Design / University of Southern California / Woodbury Burbank – Architecture / Woodbury Burbank – Interiors