Museums and private collections can generate a high energy footprint, from the construction of new buildings to the climate-controlled storage. Add to that the emissions and waste generated by the production, installation and demolition of temporary exhibitions and art fairs. What are architects and designers doing to lighten this impact? Does the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA offer clues–through its genesis as an adaptively reused, rather than new, building? What can we learn from “living buildings,” and how to keep museums cool as they use more and more computer technologies to tell their stories? Get answers from architects Kulapat Yantrasast, whose many permanent and temporary art spaces include David Kordansky Gallery and Frieze LA; Frederick Fisher, who has designed art spaces from MoMA P.S.1 to the expansion of the Natural History Museum; and Lance Collins, director at Partner Energy and expert in Environmental, social, and governance (ESG). They will be joined on stage by MOCA’s Associate Director of Sustainability Simone Paz.
About Art for Earth’s Sake
Artists are increasingly exploring the climate crisis in their work. What about the art world’s contribution to the climate crisis, from its boundless international travel to the growth of energy-intensive art forms and installations? MOCA considers the creative ways in which the art world is addressing its own environmental footprint in Art for Earth’s Sake, a series of five public presentations and panels, taking place in fall, 2022. Invited artists, academics, activists, industry insiders and journalists will explore topics ranging from greening art facilities and art fairs to reckoning with environmental justice. Finally, the program will consider the impact of making the industry more sustainable on artistic expression itself.
About Frances Anderton
Frances Anderton covers Los Angeles design and architecture in print, broadcast media, and public events. Her book, Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles, will be published in October 2022 by Angel City Press. For many years she hosted DnA: Design and Architecture for KCRW public radio station, and produced Warren Olney’s current affairs shows Which Way, LA? and To The Point. “Wasted: Neat Solutions to the Dirty Problem of Waste,” a series she co-produced for KCRW, won a 2022 Golden Mike award for Best Feature News Series Reporting.
About Lance Collins
Lance Collins is a licensed architect and a LEED Accredited Professional, and is currently a Director at Partner Energy, in charge of the Sustainability team providing design consulting, and project management for projects pursuing green certification such as LEED, GreenPoint Rated and others; Zero Net Energy, energy modeling, commissioning, and HERS verifications. He has over twenty years of experience in architecture, urban design, and sustainable design consulting, his experience includes design, construction administration, building energy / water benchmarking and analysis, resource conservation measures, and green certification project management. Collins is also a Certified Sustainable Building Advisor, a Green Globes Professional, a Green Globes Assessor, and an ARC Performance professional. He has provided design and consulting solution for various types of buildings including institutional, office, mixed-use, retail, schools, and multifamily residential properties. Mr. Collins has led the completion of more than 50 Green certified projects including LEED Platinum and Net-Zero projects for new buildings and existing construction for Partner Energy clients. In addition to his professional experience, Collins is the President of the Southern California Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (SoCalNOMA), on the Homefree Champions Advisory Board for the Healthy Buildings Network, a member of the AIA-LA committee on Affordable Housing, and was the founding Co-Chair of the US Green Building Council Long Beach Branch. He also lecturers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and is a design juror at the USC School of Architecture, Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), and at Cal Baptist University. He has also been an adjunct professor at Long Beach City College and has been a guest speaker at many local colleges, for professional organizations, and at national conferences teaching green building principles and sustainable design strategies. His work and writings have been featured in multiple publications including, Metropolis Magazine, Sustainable Industries, and Commercial Observer.
About Frederick Fisher
Driven by his Liberal Arts approach to broad social and cultural perspectives, Founding Partner Frederick Fisher, FAAR, AIA, approaches architecture as aninclusive exploration. Fred gained stature in the art and academic worlds by designing exceptional spaces for the practice and exhibition of art, as well as for interdisciplinary study. Recognition of his legacy of design excellence is reflected in his receipt of the 2013 Gold Medal by the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. He is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. He received the 1998 Brendan Gill Award from the Municipal Art Society of New York for MoMA/PS1. Fred received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and Art History from Oberlin College and his Master of Architecture from UCLA. He was Chairman of the Environmental Design Department at Otis College of Art & Design, and currently serves on the Board of Governors. He is also a Board Member for the Board of the USC School of Architecture, Lawrence University, the UCLA School of the Arts, and the Ojai Music Festival. Fred is co-author of “Robert Venturi’s Rome” and is a frequent guest speaker.
About Simone Paz
Simone Paz is the Associate Director of Sustainability for The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. She works with MOCA’s staff and Environmental Council to develop and achieve goals for sustainability and to serve as a support for other institutions. Simone works on a broad range of sustainability initiatives across the museum, including operational efficiencies, carbon footprinting, materials and waste, procurement, and alternative processes. She received a Master of Science degree in Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History. She is an accredited LEED Green Associate through the U.S. Green Building Council, a TRUE Zero Waste Advisor, a Climate Reality Leader trained by Al Gore, a Global Green Eco-Ambassador, a U.C. Certified Victory Gardener, and has a California state certification in Recycling and Resource Management.
About Kulapat Yantrasast
Kulapat Yantrasast is a thought-leader and practitioner in the fields of architecture, art, and sustainable design. Originally from Thailand and now based in Los Angeles and New York, he is the founding partner and Creative Director of WHY, a multidisciplinary design practice and AD100 Firm since 2019. In 2007, Yantrasast led the design for the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the first art museum building in the world to receive the LEED Gold certification for environmentally sustainable design. As Creative Director of WHY, Yantrasast is known as a leading architect for the art world and has designed a number of cultural facilities and private residences in Malibu, Venice Beach, Beverly Hills, and villas in Chiang Mai and Phuket in Thailand.
Recent major museum renovation and cultural projects include the Rockefeller Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, the Northwest Coast Hall at the American Museum of Natural History, the expansion of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the new Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, and the Ross Pavilion and West Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland. Kulapat has served as trustee of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and the Noguchi Museum in New York. Since 2005, he has been on the Artists’ Committee of the Americans for the Arts. Yantrasast was the first architect to receive the Silpathorn Award for Design from Thailand's Ministry of Culture for outstanding achievement and notable contributions to Thai contemporary arts and culture.
Art for Earth’s Sake is organized by Frances Anderton and Livia Mandoul.
MOCA’s environmental programming series highlights the museum’s work around climate, conservation, and environmental justice. Guided by the work of the MOCA Environmental Council, the first sustainability council at a major arts museum in the United States, this series presents artists, activists, and scholars committed to critical ecological issues in Los Angeles and globally.
The 2022 series is made possible by Nora McNeely Hurley and Manitou Fund.
