Space Invaders | Press page Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery, Art Center College of Design October 12 - December 22, 2002 Admission free Making its U.S. debut at the Williamson Gallery, Space Invaders is a major architecture exhibition organized by the British Council (curated by London archictecture critic Lucy Bullivant) that was launched at the Experimental Design Biennale in Lisbon in 2001, and will travel internationally. The exhibition features the portfolios and philosophies of fifteen of the United Kingdom's most creative architectural firms. Included are photographs, drawings, sketches, visualizations, CAD images, video clips of the development of architectural projects, and models. Each firm is represented by a number of recent projects, including a custom - made exhibit expressing the architects' philosophy and way of working. A series of video interviews with the directors of each firm have been produced especially for Space Invaders, providing a unique insight into each of their creative worlds. According to Bullivant, "Architecture as a creative profession has been revolutionised by an increasing engagement with local and global urban culture, and its tactics are more and more those that work in the visual arts, graphic design, advertising and art direction. It now employs materials and production methods that are frequently borrowed from other specialist areas, giving architectural projects a richer repertoire of meanings. There is a shift in emphasis from the design of isolated buildings that refuse to refer to context, to the much more interactive creation of built 'landscapes' and temporary or quickly assembled environments. In the process, the boundaries between functions are becoming increasingly fluid and flexible, reflecting changing lifestyles. The idea of eternal value has been replaced by a desire to communicate ideas about culture in the here and now." The fifteen architectural practices chosen for Space Invaders are: David Adjaye, atopos, Block, dECOi, de Rijke Marsh Morgan (drmm), East, FAT, Foreign Office Architects (FOA), GL + P (General Lighting and Power), Klein Dytham Architects (Kda), MUF, Piercy Conner, softroom, s333 and Urban Salon. A special Space Invaders opening reception on October 11, from 6 to 10 pm, will coincide with the free-admission Pasadena Art Night, a seven-venue open house connected by free shuttle buses (Art Center, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena Historical Museum, Armory Center for the Arts, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena Symphony, Pasadena Museum of California Art). for more information, contact Stephen Nowlin, Director Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery Art Center College of Design 1700 Lida Street Pasadena, CA 91103 626.396.2397 nowlin@artcenter.edu

High-res scans of the following images are available: > > >   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 > >   MORE info on the Space Invaders architects. > >   Visit the Williamson Gallery main site.