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A voracious advocate of urbanism, RELM’s Founding Principal Scott Baker seeks to engender public life in cities across America. He’s deeply committed to the role transit plays in elevating daily life, reconciling disparate uses and users to create signature destinations. Recent commissions include FBI’s Redstone Innovation Campus in Huntsville, AL; UC San Diego’s Science Research Park (one of two Wexford Science and Technology projects); Liberation Park in East Oakland, and District NOHO, LA Metro’s largest P3 commission. Scott’s ability to synthesize site programming requirements with mobility, circulation, and community benefit makes him a trusted ally for client and project teams alike.
Doris Sung brings active systems to sustainable design far beyond the simple “greening” of a building. With the belief that buildings can be more sensitive to the changing environment like human skin, she seeks ways to make the building skin dynamic and responsive. Through grant-funded research, she is developing smart materials, such as thermobimetals, to self-ventilate, self-shade, self-structure, self-assemble and self-propel in response to changes in temperatures–all with zero-energy and no controls. More recently, she is rethinking the liminal surface of the façade as part of a city’s infrastructure and designing innovative building products that will improve public health for pedestrians in addition to that of the building occupants.
Juggling between research and teaching at the University of Southern California, Doris publishes, lectures and exhibits internationally while managing to bring her patented inventions to the market. Her TED.com talk has reached 1.25 million views and her list of awards include an ‘Architectural Record’s’ Best Architectural Product Award, Architecture Masterprize, A/N’s Best Products Award, Architizer Z+ awards, National AIA Small Projects Award, ACSA Design Awards, ‘Architect Magazine’ R+D awards, World Technology Award and the [next idea] award from ARS Electronica. She has been named a fellow of Google’s R+D for the Built Environment, the U.S. Artist, the Rockefeller Foundation (Bellagio Center) and the Headlands Center for the Arts.
Doris received her M.Arch. degree from Columbia University and her B.A. degree from Princeton University.
Erin is a trained nonprofit leader and multidisciplinary designer with a unique ability to build coalitions and inspire change. Erin began her career as a grassroots community organizer in her hometown of Durham, North Carolina where she worked with residents of public housing to address the challenges faced by underserved communities. While attending USC School of Architecture, she co-founded Architecture + Advocacy and has successfully grown our organization into a 501c3 non-profit with chapters in LA and NY. As president, she forges meaningful partnerships with local stakeholders, trains emerging leaders to merge design with community organizing, and leads A+A to combat spatial injustice.
Andrew Flores is a Planner who works in a current planning role reviewing ministerial development proposals in unincorporated urban Los Angeles. He was appointed to serve as the Planners4Health Advisor on the American Planning Association (APA) California Chapter Board. Last year, he was elected to serve as Treasurer of APA Latinos and Planning Division. Andrew is excited to start a new role this year on the APA Planning Officials Committee. Andrew is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He received a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Cal Poly Pomona. He is currently reading and recommends Creative Acts for Curious People How to Think, Create, and Lead in Unconventional Ways.
Dr. Yang Yang is an architectural historian; her research focuses on housing, transnational urbanism, and the politics of form. She previously served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Architectural History and Theory at the University of New Mexico. She has lectured at UCLA, UCSD, and Otis College of Art and Design. Her academic work is complemented by curatorial and artistic practice. She was the assistant curator of the 2015 Shanghai West Bund Biennale and has exhibited interactive installations at the2019 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture in Shenzhen. She has also worked as a guest editor of the Urban China magazine.
Connie Lin, WELL AP LEED AP BD+C, EDAC is both an architect and a researcher. Connie holds a Master of Arts degree in Design and Health from Cornell University, a Neuroscience Applied to Architectural Design first level master’s degree from the Università Iuav di Venezia, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Drexel University. While attending architecture school, Connie was awarded the AIA Henry Adams first prize medal, the AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Student Award, the Wilson Award for Architectural Research first place, the ARCC/King/Bureau Prize for Excellence in Research, and the Michael Pearson Prize Bronze Medal.
As an architect, she has experience that encompasses all phases of the design and construction process across healthcare, educational, workplace, and institutional typologies. Connie is also a WELL certified, LEED certified, EDAC certified and has worked on projects in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Her professional experience has enabled her to understand interdisciplinary collaboration as well as the opportunities and limitations of the design industry. As a mentor, Connie has served as an adjunct professor, guest lecturer, and studio juror for Cornell University, University of Southern California, Drexel University, and CalPoly Pomona. With both a design background in conjunction with her research interests, her biggest area of strength lies within the spatial application of evidence-based design.
As a researcher, she also has extensive research experience working on empirical studies, publishing academic journal articles, and advocating for evidence-based design in the field. Connie’s research interests lie at the intersection of design and research. A core principle of her design philosophy is empathetic design. She has a deep-seated interest in environmental psychology, mental wellness, and biophilic design. She is an advocate for the integration of evidence-based design in the built environment with the aim of improving the quality of care and the human experience. She has also published several studies in academic journals, and presented at international and national conferences such as the International Venice Biennale, the Healthcare Design Conference, and the Environmental Design and Research Association.
As an avid biophilic, Connie enjoys spending time outdoors. She enjoys wheel throwing, surfing, hiking as well as searching for the best tacos in LA.
What does it mean to be an Angelino?
As Los Angeles serves as a global hub for culture, entertainment, food, and nature, it has proven to be a vibrant node on an international scale, thus being selected as the host for the 2028 Olympic Games. With less than three years left to prepare, are we ready? What initiatives should LA partake in to become a more resilient and sustainable community? How has historic events and how will new development impact vulnerable communities? How can our Olympic planning better our communities during and after the games?
For this event, we will have a panel discussion featuring Doris Sung, Associate Professor of USC School of Architecture, Dr. Yang Yang, Associate Director of cityLab, UCLA, Scott Baker, Principal of RELM, Erin Light, President of Architecture & Advocacy, and Andrew Flores, Urban Planner at LA County. Several themes range from the resiliency and reconstruction of LA post-wildfire, LA’s cultural identity and the sense of place in which we are deeply rooted, as well as the urban design and transportation initiatives for the LA 2028 Olympic Games. We will examine how the built environment can broadcast that heritage and culture both at a local and global scale.
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