"The Art & Science of Performance Architecture in the Age of AI" Panel Talk

What is “performance”? This panel will explore the multiple definitions of performance in architecture - ranging from art, spectacle, and entertainment to data-driven optimization and environmental response. Architects create in diverse formats, from speculative 2D designs for social media to pavilions designed to wow festival attendees, and traditional buildings that balance environmental resilience with human needs. With AI transforming our field, what will it mean to be an architect in the future designing for performance? Join us as we discuss how to prepare for these rapid shifts and redefine our roles in this AI-driven landscape. Architects at the forefront of digital design and technology will guide us through this exciting intersection of technology, art, and architecture.

SPEAKERS

MICHAEL FOX, FoxLin Architects, Cal Poly Pomona: Panelist

Michael Fox is a registered architect, professor, researcher, and licensed contractor. He is a founding partner of FoxLin Architects, the author of three books on interactive, adaptive, and computational architecture, and a contributor to over 40 peer-reviewed publications. Fox has served twice as the elected president of ACADIA. His practice, teaching, and research focus on interactive architecture, with a secondary emphasis on architecture for outer space, and he has completed several projects for NASA. As the founder and former director of the Kinetic Design Group at MIT, Fox has lectured internationally on kinetic and interactive architecture. His work has been exhibited at SFMOMA, the Venice Biennale, the Coachella Music Festival, and the Smithsonian. He is currently a professor at Cal Poly Pomona and a visiting professor at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

BENJAMIN BALL, Benjamin Ball Studio: Panelist

Benjamin Ball is an artist and designer whose work bridges architecture, art, and industrial design. As the founder of Benjamin Ball Studio, he focuses on crafting production processes that create environments enhancing sensation and spectacle. Ball grew up in Colorado and Iowa, influenced by his mother’s theater work. He studied at the University of Colorado and SCI-Arc, and worked for Frank Gehry before transitioning to set and production design for films and music videos.

Benjamin Ball has exhibited at major institutions, including MoMA, MOCA, the Guggenheim, LACMA, PS1 and the Venice Biennale. His honors include three AIA Design Awards, United States Artists Target Fellowships, and a grant from the Graham Foundation. In 2007, he and Gaston Nogues won the MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program Competition. His work is part of MoMA and LACMA's permanent collections. He was named one of the Architectural League of New York’s Emerging Voices in 2011 and was a 2014 finalist for the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize. Ball has taught at SCI-Arc, UCLA, and USC.

WENDY W FOK, WE-Designs, USC: Panelist

Wendy W Fok (she/them), trained as an architect, is interested in design, technology, and creative solutions for the built environment. They have experience in Product Development and Program Management from Zero to Launch, Design-Build, Manufacturing, Hardware/Software, and Digital Fabrication. Fok holds a Doctor of Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) in partnership with the Harvard Law School, obtained a Master of Architecture and Certification of Urban Policy/Planning from Princeton University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with a Concentration in Economics (Statistics) from Barnard College, Columbia University.

NEIL LEACH, Florida International University: Panelist

Neil Leach is an architect and professor from the UK. He currently directs the Doctor of Design program at Florida International University. He has taught at the Architectural Association, Harvard GSD, Columbia GSAPP, Cornell, IaaC and SCI-Arch. He is the co-founder of DigitalFUTURES, an online educational platform that operates in 10 languages; a former researcher for NASA, where he developed 3D printing technologies for the Moon and Mars; and a member of the Academia Europaea, Europe’s leading academy with over 50 Nobel laureates. He has published over 40 books on architectural theory and digital design, translated into 8 different languages. He is the translator (under Joseph Rykwert) of Leon Battista Alberti, On the Art of Building in Ten Books (MIT Press, 1988). He is currently working on artificial intelligence. His most recent books include Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: an Introduction to AI for Architects (Bloomsbury, 2022) and Machine Hallucinations: Architecture and AI.

MICHAEL J. MASUCCI, EZTV, Moderator
Michael J. Masucci is an award-winning artist & producer, who has been curating digital art since 1984. According to the Victoria & Albert Museum, an early digital art gallery he co-created "literally put digital art on the map." As a founding member of EZTV (eztvmuseum.com) he has collaborated on projects which have been presented at the Museum of Modern Art (NY), the Institute of Contemporary Art (London) the Centre Pompidou, Lincoln Center, PBS, SIGGRAPH, as well as at numerous festivals, and professional conferences. He has authored articles and spoken on topics ranging from information security, transhumanism, and the role of art in the digital world. His own work is included in the permanent collection of USC, and next year his work will be included at an exhibition at the Getty. He has been included in the Getty's PST in 2011 and 2024 and has co-founded DNA Festival Santa Monica. He is a Commissioner for the Santa Monica Arts Commission and has served as Chair. He is an artist-in-residence since 2000 at 18th Street Arts Center.

Event Sponsor/Coordinator: SUMMER VARDE, Scattered Creatives

Supporting the Arts. Supporting the Artists.

Scattered Creatives provides coaching for Brilliantly Messy Minds. Are you a creative thinker struggling to manage your time, work, mindset, and projects? As an architect turned coach, Summer Varde understands the paradoxical challenge that creative professionals face – how do you balance being the inspired artist and the organized manager? We offer mental fitness and ADHD coaching to help imaginative, norm-breaking professionals move from burned out and overwhelmed to empowered, productive, and energized. If you're ready to turn your brilliant, messy brain into a superpower instead of a setback, schedule a no-cost clarity call at www.scatteredcreatives.com

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Santa Monica College Center for Media & Design, 1660 Stewart Street, Santa Monica, United States