calendar

Saturday, April 3rd

8 am- noon [San Diego]
workshop: 'Earth Discovery Institute'
Earth Discovery Institute (Crestridge Ecological Preserve; El Cajon/ Alpine)
info: 619-447-3082; chadgroup@aol.com
detail: Wildflower Walk for Fire Victims, Invasives and Debris Removal, Photodocumentation.
8:00am: Volunteer Meet and Greet - at the slab in the upper oak grove
8:30am: Wildflower Walk for Fire Victims – Meet Andrea Johnson at the Horsemill entrance for this docent-led walk to see wildflowers. This is a special walk for the pleasure and inspiration of local fire victims. Please call the Crest Resource Center to sign up. 328-0900. This walk will be approximately 2 miles at a leisurely pace.
8:30am: Debris and Invasive Plant Removal – Meet at the slab for this project. We’ll be working primarily in the meadow area adjacent to the oak grove
8:30am: Photodcumentation - Meet at the slab and walk to identify locations for repeating images for fire succession studies.

9 am- 4 pm [LA]
construction: 'Habitat for Humanity'
HFH-LA (1200 Wilshire Boulevard, suite 510; Los Angeles)
info: 213-975-9757; info@lahabitat.org
HFH-SD (10222 San Diego Mission Road; San Diego)
info: 619-283-4663; general@habitatsdiego.org
detail: This month, remember that there are plenty of construction-work opportunities at Habitat for Humanity. HFH is a unique volunteer experience for people of all ages, races, religions, and abilities. The tangible results of a day on the construction site, or the emotional involvement in a family's growth are things that make the Habitat experience more fulfilling than you can ever imagine. We give volunteers an opportunity to not only make a difference with a days work, but also make a connection with a family moving towards stability, entitlement, and homeownership. Volunteer hours typically run 9 am- 4 pm, weekdays and weekends. Opportunities are subject to availability, so please call to schedule an appointment:
Los Angeles: Please fill out the on-line volunteer form, or contact HFH-LA at volunteers@habitatla.org or 213-975-9757.
San Diego: Please contact HFH-SD at volunteer@habitatsdiego.org or 619-283-4663, x311.

2-5 pm [LA]
event: 'USC Open House'
USC Architecture (Watt Hall; USC; downtown LA)
info: 213-740-2097
detail: Open house at USC Architecture.

5-8 pm [LA]
exhibit: 'Serial Departure: Transformative Fabrication'
Materials and Applications (1619 Silverlake Boulevard; los Angeles)
info: 323-913-0915; jenna@emanate.org
detail: Opening reception. An installation by Rob Ley [Urbana]. With your fingers, squeeze your laptop screen. That disturbed pressure pattern you see represents the contact point between multiple parallel planes, an interruption of coexisting systems. Where your fingers squeeze, the exterior plastic layer is compressed against the liquid crystal strata, and a new condition is created. Serial Departure explores the space of this phenomenon by applying pressure to typical construction processes to see if they can create unexpected ripples of new possibilities. Architecture has always been based on a logic of stacking and assembly, but how does bending, as an operation, change our understanding of shingling and framing? Serial Departure capitalizes on the notion of modulation and distortion beyond design metaphor and concept. Through both the surrogate use of molds and more interestingly, by applying forces directly on the materials through a variable jig, techniques of material coercion, teasing, and manipulation are integrated with the grid of aggregation, creating new effects in both the visual and the spatial.