Michelle JaJa Chang. Scoring, Building

About

Scoring, Building is a new project by Michelle JaJa Chang that investigates architecture as an allographic or notational art. The work is a temporary and durational intervention in the courtyard of the Mackey Apartments. The project proposes an architectural instantiation from the basis of a score, written by the architect, which is then translated into instructions for the construction of the installation itself. The work is action-based, slowing down and reframing the activities of conventional drywall construction to focus on-site preparation (measuring, documenting, marking); framing construction (stacking, ordering, assembling), and drywall installation (scoring, affixing, finishing), rather than material assemblage. The installation is scored in three recursive “iterations”, each one accompanied by a public program in order to unpack the ideas of the installation itself. Alongside the physical installation, the project is distributed through a live audio feed of the on-site construction, and documentary photography by Tag Christof. Scoring, Building is commissioned by Materials & Applications as the winning project of an open call for projects in 2018.

The installation is scored in three recursive “iterations”, each one accompanied by a public program:

Iteration I takes place on February 1, 7pm – 9pm with guest appearance and electronic music performance by Neil Denari

Iteration II takes place on February 15, 7pm – 9pm in conversation with CCMA

Iteration III takes place on February 29 with a closing party

About Michelle JaJa Chang

Michelle Chang directs JaJa Co and teaches architectural design. She founded her independent practice in 2014 after working in offices in New York, Boston, and San Francisco. Her design work experiments with the overlaps between and among film, installation, music, teaching, and building.

Chang holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard GSD and a Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Johns Hopkins University. She is a former MacDowell Colony Fellow, Wortham Fellow, and a recipient of the Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers.

In her research, Chang studies the techniques and histories of architectural representation. Specifically, she investigates how optics, digital media, and modes of cultural production influence translations between design and building. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Harvard GSD and previously taught at Rice, UC Berkeley, California College of the Arts, and Northeastern University.

About Materials & Applications

Materials & Applications (M&A) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit cultural organization dedicated to
building a public culture of experimental architecture. With a focus on architectural ideas and processes, M&A curates critical exhibitions and commissions new work by under-recognized architects, designers, and artists. Their exhibitions give space to exceptional experiments across multiple disciplines while challenging the relationship between art, architecture, and public encounters. Since 2003, M&A has produced more than 20 temporary site-specific installations and over 100 programs presenting new ideas in art, architecture, and design. M&A’s exhibitions and programs are always free and open to the public.