With Block Party and a lecture by Tatiana Bilbao, UCLA cityLAB reveals new visual identity, showcases recent projects

On April 22, UCLA cityLAB and UCLA AUD hosted noted architect Tatiana Bilbao for an evening lecture, followed by a cityLAB Block Party celebrating Bilbao’s talk as well as some of cityLAB’s recent work–and its new visual identity.

cityLAB presented a series of installations in Perloff Courtyard that framed and illustrated recent research and projects through the lab’s recently revamped visual identity, themed by electric neons (magenta, green, and orange).

The lab’s interactive installations both presented research and data visualizations on cityLAB projects, like policy creating workforce housing for public school teachers in California and designs for a parklet in Westwood, and invited visitors to add or illustrate their own proposals. Other projects on view were cityLAB’s “Pathways to Autonomy,” and the Urban Humanities Initiative. Check out a gallery of the Block Party and installation below.

The cityLAB celebration segued from Bilbao’s lecture, “Architecture is a Collective Act,” in which the Mexico City-based architect discussed some of her core values–among them, the integration of social concerns with architecture, sensitivity in design approach, and commitments to research and to design for diverse circumstances.

“For this lecture, we intentionally identified an architect–and I’m not sure there’d be anybody better in the world–who embodies the highest principles that we aspire to, both in our department and at cityLAB” said Dana Cuff, Professor at AUD and Director of cityLAB, in introducing Bilbao. Browse the entire lecture via AUD’s YouTube channel.

Founded in 2006, cityLAB is a multidisciplinary research center within UCLA AUD. Through rigorous analysis, radical methodologies, education, and practical implementation the lab actively explores urban dynamics in the postsuburban metropolis, rethinking sustainable approaches to spatial, political, and social infrastructures to promote equitable and sustainable cities.

Although based in Los Angeles, cityLAB’s impact extends well beyond the region. The lab has garnered significant national and international recognition and focuses on building creative partnerships with educational and community organizations in the US and around the world. Our team of architects, designers, planners, and humanists further disseminates new ways of approaching urban studies.