Greg Lynn + Peter Testa: _Duel + Duet_

Greg Lynn and Peter Testa will discuss transforming protocols of representation and production linked to new imaging technologies. Machine vision is about to fundamentally transform what we see and how we see but also the role of techniques and logistics in architecture. In the current work of these designers, dynamic processing of images, pattern recognition, multiple and simultaneous projections, collide with geometric mappings to produce other ways of seeing. With robotics, machine vision is a 'retooled' technology of design - a different gesture towards the real that disturbs and disorders the standard approach to architecture. Lynn will present his project for the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and his work with Piaggio Fast Forward and Curbside; Testa will present his project for a prototype Peaugeot Citroën EV factory and his re-staging of conventional representational protocols in SCI-Arc's Robot House.

For the last 30 years Greg Lynn has been at the intersection of the digital and physical in architecture. He is the founder of Greg Lynn FORM where in addition to award winning buildings he has designed industrial objects in production with companies like Swarovski, Alessi and Vitra. He is co-Founder and Chief Creative officer of Piaggio Fast Forward in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is Design Advisor to the online retailer Curbside in Palo Alto. Lynn was awarded the Golden Lion at the 11th Venice Biennale of Architecture and will represent the United States in the American Pavilion for a second time in 2016. He has received the American Academy of Arts & Letters Architecture Award and is a Fellow of United States Artists. Time Magazine named him one of 100 of the most innovative people in the world for the 21st century. Forbes Magazine named him one of the world’s ten most influential architects. He is a Studio Professor at UCLA and o. Univ. Professor at Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien. He is the author of nine books.

Peter Testa is Principal at Testa|Weiser and founding director of the MIT Emergent Design Group (EDG). At Testa|Weiser he leads a wide range of projects including the Carbon Tower and PSA PeaugeotCitroen EV Factory, recognized for groundbreaking applications of composites and robotics in architecture. His work is exhibited at leading museums and galleries worldwide including recent shows in Los Angeles, New York, London, Copenhagen, Tokyo, and Beijing. Testa holds patents for advanced composite material systems with MIT and Herman Miller Inc. His work and writings are regularly published in international art, architecture, design, engineering, and scientific journals as well as major newspapers including The New York Times, New Yorker, Financial Times, and London Times. Honors include the Design Arts Award of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Municipal Art Society of New York Design Award, three Graham Foundation Awards, and the MIT Innovation in Teaching Award. The BBC and London Times recently profiled Testa as a global design innovation leader, redefining architecture in the 21st century.