Jia Gu (b. Shanghai, China) is an architectural designer, educator, and curator with a special interest in critical and conceptual practices in art and architecture. She holds a B.A in Visual Arts with Honors from UCSD and a Master of Architecture with Honors from UCLA. She is Director of Materials & Applications and Associate Director of UCLA A.UD Summer Programs. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Architecture at UCLA. She is a co-founder of Spinagu.

Maxi Spina (b. Rosario, Argentina) is the co-founder of Spinagu. He is currently Design Faculty and Applied Studies Faculty at SCI-Arc. He was previously the Maybeck Fellow at UC Berkeley, Lecturer at CCA, and Associate Professor at Woodbury. His work has been featured in exhibitions at A+D Museum, SCI-Arc, Jai & Jai, and Wuho Gallery. He received his M.Arch from Princeton University and a B.Arch from National University of Rosario, Argentina.

is a practice dedicated to architecture, curation, and pedagogy, formed of Jia Gu and Maxi Spina. They produce traditional architectural objects, such as follies, houses, and towers, alongside non-traditional objects, such as chess sets, exhibitions, and text. Their work is invested in formal exercises as well as thought experiments. They are interested in architecture as a speculative medium through which to explore technology, history, materiality, and form. They currently teach at SCI-Arc and the University of Southern California, and Jia directs an architectural exhibition space called Materials & Applications.

Introduced and moderated by Stephen Phillips, AIA, PhD, Principal of Stephen Phillips Architects (SPARCHS) and professor, director, Cal Poly LA Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo)

Where: Helms Design Center: 8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

When: Th 05/17, 6:30-8:30 PM