Public Lecture: Too Young to Reason, Too Old to Dream

Mark Lee is visiting New Zealand and Australia and delivering lectures in Auckland, Brisbane and Melbourne before travelling to Christchurch to present a free public lecture titled Too Young to Reason, Too Old to Dream on Thursday 19 May 2011.

This is an opportunity to hear some fresh perspectives on architecture at a time of ongoing recovery and the need for inspiring ideas for redevelopment here in Christchurch.

Mark Lee is a founder and Principal of Johnston Marklee, a Los Angeles-based architecture firm whose work often involves collaborations beyond those typical of architecture, involving contemporary artists, graphic designers, writers and photographers. Since its founding in 1998 by Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, the work of Johnston Marklee has included residential, retail, commercial, hospitality, and institutional projects, and varied in scale from master plans to contemporary buildings and temporary installations. Having designed art galleries and temporary exhibitions, and frequently worked as curators, their work has shown a particular focus on the arts and their diverse portfolio has been unified by a conceptual approach to each project.

The firm’s key projects include the structurally innovative Hill House in Pacific Palisades, the conjoined boutiques of Mameg and Maison Martin Margiela in Beverly Hills, the Writers-in-Residence Studies for the Lannan Foundation in Marfa, Texas, the nation’s first LEED-certified gas station BP Helios House in Los Angeles, and the sculpted concrete View House in Rosario, Argentina. Their work has been widely published internationally and has garnered several awards including the 2002 Progressive Architecture Design Award, the 2004 and 2006 AIA Los Angeles Honor Awards, and P/A Awards from Architecture magazine.

Both Mark and Sharon have held faculty positions in the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA and have lectured and exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Mark's expertise and immersion in both historical and contemporary construction methods and building practices has contributed to an award-winning, internationally exhibited body of work. He has written and lectured widely on his research regarding culture specific landscapes and new strategies in material form and technology.

Mark is a graduate of the University of Southern California where he earned a BA in Architecture. He earned his Master in Architecture II at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Mark Lee’s visit to Christchurch is generously supported by The Warren Trust, The University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning, NZIA Canterbury Branch and CPIT.

Thursday 19 May 2011, 6.30pm
DL Lecture Theatre, CPIT
Madras Street (entrance off the D Block Quad)

FREE