IoA-Sliver Lecture: Greg Lynn

Greg Lynn, Architect, Los Angeles

Massive Composites

Assembly by chemical compounds doesn’t involve the force of mechanical torque and pressure, instead it involves vacuums and cooking. There is a sea change going on in the world of construction and that is the shift from assemblage to fusion. In material terms this translates into a shift from mechanical to chemical attachments; more simply, things are built without bolts, screws, nails and pegs and are instead glued. Over the last several years Wolf Prix and I have been discussing the different meanings and implications of “mass” in our studios and personally. In this lecture I would like to discuss composite materials, volumes defined with surfaces and most of all a sensibility of mass.

In 2001, Time Magazine named Greg Lynn one of 100 of the most innovative people in the world for the 21st century. He received the American Academy of Arts & Letters Architecture Award in 2003. In 2005, Forbes Magazine named him one of the ten most influential living architects. In 2008, he won the Golden Lion at the 11th International Venice Biennale of Architecture. He has been at the cutting edge of design in both architecture and design culture in general when it comes to the use of the computer. The buildings, projects, publications, teachings and writings associated with his office have been influential in the acceptance and use of advanced technology for design and fabrication. In addition to receiving professional awards from the AIA and Progressive Architecture, the NYC Landmarks Commission named the Korean Presbyterian Church of New York as one of the thirty most important buildings built in the 5 boroughs in the last 30 years.