- PAUL BEATTY
- MICHAEL JAIME-BECERRA
- AIMEE BENDER
- GREG BENFORD
- RAY BRADBURY
- SARAH SHUN-LIEN BYNUM
- MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI
- VERONIQUE DE TURENNE
- WIM DE WIT
- ALEX ESPINOZA
- B.H. FAIRCHILD
- DAGOBERTO GILB
- JONATHAN GOLD
- DENISE HAMILTON
- SAM HALL KAPLAN
- CURTIS HANSON
- SAM HALL KAPLAN
- SUZANNE LUMMIS
- CHEECH MARIN
- RUBÉN MARTÍNEZ
- ANA MENÉNDEZ
- YXTA MAYA MURRAY
- GEOFF NICHOLSON
- LARRY NIVEN
- MARISELA NORTE
- LAURIE OCHOA
- MARY OTIS
- SUSAN PATRON
- GARY PHILLIPS
- SALVADOR PLASCENCIA
- JENNY PRICE
- KWEI QUARTEY
- RICHARD RAYNER
- NINA REVOYR
- KIM STANLEY ROBINSON
- HOWARD A. RODMAN
- GREGORY RODRIGUEZ
- LUIS RODRIGUEZ
- RICHARD RODRIGUEZ
- CAROLYN SEE
- MARISA SILVER
- JANE SMILEY
- JERRY STAHL
- SUSAN STRAIGHT
- JERVEY TERVALON
- SCOTT TIMBERG
- HÉCTOR TOBAR
- MICHAEL TOLKIN
- DAVID L. ULIN
- MARCOS VILLATORO
- D.J. WALDIE
- J. MICHAEL WALKER
- SAM WELLER
- MARIANNE WIGGINS
Featured Authors
Pavilion under construction
GUEST OF HONOR PAVILION
The National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs awarded the commission to design the Guest of Honor Pavilion for the 2009 Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (FIL) to John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects (JFAK) in March 2009.
For us at JFAK, Los Angeles is a city that defies singular description. But one theme common to its artistic, cultural, commercial, and developmental history is that of innovation - the magic and innovation of film; the invention and innovation of the aerospace industry; the entrepreneurial and innovative immigrants who have contributed so much to the city and region; and the inspiring and innovative architecture, music, fashion, and art that mark the city’s aesthetic expression. It is this spirit of innovation that is embodied in our design for the Guest of Honor Pavilion: It is a deceptively simple, buoyant, high-spirited environment that subtly and economically references and portrays the artistic as well as technological achievements of Angeleno industries and culture.
The signature element of the design is a set of large, suspended, pneumatic idea bubbles. We were inspired conceptually by the speech and thought bubbles found in cartoons, and simultaneously by the groundbreaking work in aerospace engineering that has taken place in Southern California over the past nine decades at institutions such as Caltech, JPL, and Howard Hughes. Our idea bubbles form the backdrop for a series of commissioned short films (our bubble films) that depict L.A.’s life, art, history, icons, landscape, culture, industry, and film. The placement and sizing of the elliptoid bubbles correspond to a flooring pattern below (generated as a voronoi geometry of large cells) that divides the pavilion into distinct but flexible areas for display, reading, interaction, and circulation. The balloons were structurally engineered by Buro Happold utilizing proprietary computational tools for the generation and analysis of lightweight membrane structures.
To highlight the many writers who have illuminated (in all its complexity)
the City of Los Angeles over the years, a projected and interactive author wall
occupies a 100' long surface at one end of the Pavilion.
This wall, by Electroland, Andy Goldman, and David Ulin, provides the dynamic backdrop for the Guest of Honor Pavilion. Visitors to the pavilion can visit a platform located in the center of the space, where a large touchscreen allows interaction with the author wall.
Modular display booths containing over 8,000 for-sale books as well as brochures and
pamphlets highlighting Los Angeles culture and events were fabricated by Cisco
Brothers and are placed throughout the pavilion. The largest booth is also occupied
by three pyramidal book towers that loosely align with and face the long author wall.
Two smaller secondary spaces are also integral to the Guest of Honor Pavilion. First, the Café Literario is a room for seminars, author readings, and panel discussions. Here, special events take place as well as screenings of our bubble films, complete with audio. The Café Literario seats up to 45 people. Second, the Low-Rider Low-Space is a zone that highlights an installation of a deconstructed low-rider by artist Mark Dean Veca.
Sustainability
All elements of the 2009 Guest of Honor Pavilion were designed and constructed utilizing sustainable materials and principles. The five "idea bubbles," fabricated by Airstar out of nylon sheathing, will be repurposed upon their return to Los Angeles for a permanent installation in memory of the 2009 FIL. The inner compression rings at the tops of the bubbles, which in the case of two internally lit bubbles hold light fixtures, are recycled. The lighting is compact fluorescent. Over 75% of the flooring utilized in the pavilion is recycled and will be utilized in future exhibitions. Finally, all of the furniture elements - booths, display pods, towers, and ottomans - were fabricated by Cisco Brothers using recycled and rapidly-renewable materials. These include particleboard, soy foam, recycled natural cottons, and organic burlap. All of the ottomans are clad in recycled fabrics. Upon close of the Fair, the furniture will be donated to the City of Guadalajara's city library system for reconfiguration and permanent placement. Finally, with respect to graphics, printing was kept to a minimum, and digital projection technologies were utilized wherever possible. The "bubble films," commissioned specifically for the 2009 FIL; the LA-centric music soundtrack; and the interactive "author wall" will live on and may be used and re-used forever.
Design renderings
Pavilion Design Team
John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects
Founded in Los Angeles in 1996, John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects (JFAK) is a collaborative, studio-based practice focused on innovative solutions for the creation of social space. Responding to their surroundings with invention, economy, and humor, JFAK’s projects synthesize the potentials of a myriad of cultural and productive forces: These include a sensitivity to context and a concern for sustainability; issues of identity and branding; and the utilization of current digital, fabrication, and material technologies.
Collaborators
The realization of the Guest of Honor Pavilion would not have been possible without a high level of collaboration with a host of specialists. The design team included furniture designer, manufacturer, and entrepreneur Francisco Pinedo, a native of the State of Jalisco, Mexico; renowned structural engineering firm Buro Happold; web, environmental, and motion graphics designer Andy Goldman; balloon fabrication specialist Airstar; interactive and digital media artists Damon Seeley and Cameron McNall of Electroland; and strategist Agustin Garza. Literary critic and writer David Ulin of the Los Angeles Times curated the literary content. Tom Schnabel of KCRW created the LA-centric music soundtrack. Guadalajara-based Grupo Omega was the General Contractor.
Airstar
AirStar is the inventor of the “light balloon,” an internally lit, air- or helium-filled fabric orb that can be suspended or mounted high in the air. Originally created to replicate moonlight and facilitate night filming, the light balloon has come to be utilized in a host of other applications, including nighttime roadwork, construction, and event and spectacle design.
air-star.comAndy Goldman
Andy Goldman is the founder of Andy Goldman Design, specializing in film title and broadcast design, corporate identity, and web projects for art, architecture, and entertainment clients. His diverse practice has involved close collaborations with directors David Mamet, Antoine Fuqua, and Miguel Arteta; artists James Welling, Jim Isermann, Kevin Appel, and Roy McMakin; and architectural firms Taalman Koch and Daly Genik. Other clients include IFC, Paramount Pictures, Comedy Central, Margo Leavin Gallery, UC Riverside, and the University of Southern California. Goldman holds a BA in Urban Design Studies from New York University.
andygoldman.comBuro Happold Consulting Engineers
Buro Happold is an engineering and strategic advisory consultancy with an international network of offices. The company’s core design and strategic advisory activities span construction and the built environment, including buildings and their linking infrastructure and transportation. Founded originally as a structural engineering consultancy, Buro Happold pioneered the design and engineering of tensioned fabric structures. Having evolved into a multi-disciplinary practice, Buro Happold continues to seek performative structural as well as environmental advances for the built environment.
burohappold.comCisco Brothers
Francisco “Cisco” Pinedo, is CEO and founder of Cisco Brothers Corporation, an award-winning sustainable furniture manufacturing company based in Los Angeles since 1990. Cisco was named one of L.A.’s top five designers by Tu Ciudad Magazine. He has been profiled extensively in The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and NPR. Cisco is quickly emerging as a leader in the sustainable upholstery industry. He has received numerous civic awards for his commitment to improving the environment and his community, including the prestigious Treasure of the City award from the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office. Radio Station KCET recognized Cisco as Hispanic Heritage Month’s “Hero of the Year.” Cisco is a co-founder of META (Making Education The Answer), a nonprofit organization that provides academic scholarships to Hispanic youths throughout Southern California.
ciscobrothers.comElectroland
Electroland, led by partners Cameron McNall and Damon Seeley, creates objects, interactive experiences, and large-scale public art projects. Each project is site-specific and may employ a broad range of media, including light, sound, mages, motion, architecture, and interactivity. Participants can interact with buildings, spaces, and each other in new and exciting ways, creating new relationships between people and public space and shifting the boundaries of private experience in the public sphere.
www.electroland.netGarza Group
Strategist Agustin Garza is the founder and principal of Garza Group Communications, which focuses on strategic branding, positioning and marketing for clients such as the City of Los Angeles and Mexico City, American Express, and Coca Cola North America. Garza’s pioneering destination-marketing campaigns have been widely published, and his work is represented in the permanent collection of the National Library of Congress. As part of a lifelong interest in anthropology and the role of design as a force for change, Garza travels extensively in areas where isolated cultures in extreme natural environments struggle to survive and preserve their heritage. Garza has served as President of AIGA Los Angeles and serves on diverse boards dedicated to cultural and environmental preservation.
www.garzagroup.comDavid L. Ulin
David L. Ulin is book editor of the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith (Viking, 2004; Penguin, 2005), selected as a Best Book of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune. He has edited two anthologies of Southern California literature: Another City: Writing from Los Angeles (City Lights, 2001), a Los Angeles Times Book Review Best Book of 2001; and Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology (Library of America, 2002), which received a California Book Award from the Commonwealth Club of California, and was selected by the Los Angeles Times Book Review as a Best of the Best for 2002. He has written for The Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, The New York Times Book Review, LA Weekly, Los Angeles, and National Public Radio's All Things Considered; his essay "The Half-Birthday of the Apocalypse" was nominated for a 2004 Pushcart Prize. For the 2008-2009 academic year, he was a visiting professor in the Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program at the California Institute of the Arts. Currently, he teaches in the Low Residency Masters of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside's Palm Desert Graduate Center.