LECTURE 3

DENSE-CITY: Housing for Quality of Life and Social Change

SPEAKERS: Angela Brooks, FAIA & Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA, Brooks + Scarpa Architects 

Low-Income affordable housing used to mean fortress-like structures that were soulless and cheaply built. Today, there is a growing interest amongst architects that have spawned new and innovative approaches to affordable housing that are well-designed and incorporate a combination of creative social programming, cutting-edge forms and materials, sustainable design and a keen sense of aesthetic. This presentation will explore new models that have transformed affordable and low-income housing into cutting edge architecture.

SPEAKER BIOS: Angie and Larry are recipients of the 2022 National AIA Gold Medal.  Angie is only the third women to receive this award and Angie and Larry are only the second duo.  Angie is also the recipient of the 2020 AIA California Maybeck award, The first woman to ever receive this award.

Brooks + Scarpa is a collective of architects, designers and creative thinkers dedicated to enhancing the human experience. Honored with the 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. They have garnered international acclaim has garnered international acclaim for the creative use of conventional materials in unique and unexpected ways. They are also considered pioneers and leaders in the field of sustainable design.

Their awards include the State of California and National American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture Firm Award, AIA Los Angeles Gold Medal, National Citizen Architect, Rudy Brunner Prize, Interior Design Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award, six National AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green Building awards, Progressive Architecture Award, Architect Magazine’s R+D award and many others.  They are also the recipients of the $4.5 mil Housing Innovation Challenge Grant awarded by Los Angeles County for their innovative and scalable solutions to homelessness.  They are co-founders of the A+D Museum in Los Angeles, The Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute, Livable Places, Inc.; a nonprofit development and public policy organization dedicated to building mixed-use housing and to help develop more sustainable and livable communities. They have also been featured on the Oprah Winfrey show with Leonardo DiCaprio.