Director of Critical Studies and MA / PhD programs in UCLA's
Department of
Architecture and Urban Design, Sylvia Lavin engages artists, architects, and curators in a series of lively discussions on how cities are increasingly molded by images rather than buildings; on whether art and
architecture are converging to form an integrated type of cultural consumption; and if the concept of the masterpiece has finally been destroyed by the sheer quantity of
global design production.
The Institute also will award honorary degrees to Martin Friedman, former director of the Walker Art Center, and Mildred Friedman, former curator of design and
architecture at the Walker Art Center; Tim Hawkinson, artist; Raymond McGuire, Citi head of
global banking; and Janette Sadik - Khan, commissioner of the New York City
Department of Transportation.