The Museum of Contemporary Art's joining in on the recent flurry of environmentally-oriented art exhibits (read about blood, sweat, and tires and Garden of Brokenness, also ongoing now). Titled Some Assembly Required: Contemporary Prefabricated Houses, this exhibit showcases scale models -- along with photographs, drawings, renderings, material samples, and videos -- of eight recently-realized, prefab house projects.
Prefab housing often tackles environmental concerns, as evidenced by Inhabitat blog's "Prefab Fridays" series. In the MOCA exhibit, Michelle Kaufmann¹s Breezehouse "takes a particularly ecological orientation with its extensive use of small gardens, energy-efficient appliances and mechanical systems, and renewable and non-toxic materials."
The MOCA exhibit has also organized some fascinating events that more directly address the intersection between ecology and architecture. On Thurs., March 22, at 6 pm, a free panel discussion, book signing, and reception on green architecture and environmentally-sound building, titled "The Perils and Pleasures of Prefab Architecture," will be held at the Art Catalogues section of the MOCA Pacific Design Center. The panel will feature Eames Demetrios, filmmaker and director of Eames Office; Steven Glenn, founder and CEO of LivingHomes; Ed Moses, painter; Jennifer Siegal, founder and principal of Office of Mobile Design; and Amy Sims, project architect with LivingHomes.
If you're in for a full day of prefab, take the Prefab Field Trip on Sat., March 31, from 10 am – 6pm. Architect Leo Marmol of Marmol Radziner and Associates and architectural historian Tony Merchell will take you on a "bus trip of contemporary and historical prefabricated architecture around Los Angeles and out into the desert," including a stop at the Marmol Radziner factory and their Desert House along with LivingHomes’s sites in Santa Monica. The tour costs $85 ($70 for MOCA members). Advance reservations are required; call 213.621.1745 or email education@moca.org.
