Each summer Downtown Los Angeles is home to one of the most creatively-energized film festivals - The Los Angeles Film Festival. This year the festival, hosted by Film Independent, will be taking place from June 13-23. Archinect had the honor to co-host a competition to design the VIP Director's Lounge for this year's event, alongside Film Independent and Designer Pages, with an esteemed jury consisting of director Alexei Tylevich (Logan & Sons/LOGAN); architect Barbara Bestor (Bestor Architecture); actor Nick Offerman; Kimberly Brooks, from Huffington Post Arts; Megan Reilly, from westedge Design Fair; and designer Shawn Gehle (Gensler).
We talked to Ivan Blanco, designer of the competition-winning entry. Ivan heads LA-based multi-disciplinary design studio Blnko Design Labs.
What is your professional background? Where did you study?
Ivan Blanco: My professional background is a bit varied. I went to Architecture school at USC. However, before, during and after that I have always been interested in technology, manufacturing and industrial design. I have always tried to expand my design education whenever I could. While at USC, I took a summer off to study Industrial Design at Elisava in Barcelona. For a while, I was also taking courses at Art Center School of Design. Two of my first jobs out of school were working for Industrial Design firms that mainly focused on furniture and architectural products.
What attracted you to this competition?
I'm a huge movie buff. Film is something that allows me to just escape for a while. Be it an action flick or a documentary, movies allow me to be somewhere else or experience something new. To me the thought of creating an environment that did the same thing was really exciting.
Describe your concept for the LA Film Festival Director's Lounge.
My concept was really trying to explore the idea of the film experience. Film can be a lot of things to different people, however one thing that rings true is that it's a visual story that you can become a part of. I attempted to use windows as a metaphor. By creating a series of vignettes, I was trying to create this idea of a dreamscape where stories reside in some kind of physical form. It wasn't important to create specific "scenes" or a representation of something but really just trying to create an emotion or glimpse into someone's film.
What do you hope guests at the event will remember about your design?
I don't really mind too much if guests remember specific design elements of the lounge. My hope is that they remember what they feel or what kind of memories or thoughts they contemplated when they first experienced the space.
Who, in the film industry, would be your dream client?
My dream client would probably be someone like Brad Pitt or Edward Norton. Someone that has used their resources and influence to make a difference for people in regards to the built environment. The world probably doesn't need another high-end residence, although there is nothing wrong with that. Especially in today's economy, almost any architect or designer would be lucky to have the commission. But to be a part of a project where I can use my skills and experience to make a difference in peoples lives would be cool.
Thanks Ivan!
1 Comment
I enjoyed the interview and glad to see this and Archinect's participation. I have my thoughts.
The scheme is, well, kind of typical but does address the very important IMHO the after film-aspect of going to a screening. The 'windows frame' metaphor is just weak. Architecturally, a design for a VIP lounge should encourage conversation, mingling and have comfortable seating something more along the lines of interior design. Maybe booths? Loud music ( just noise when developing thought) would not be good and probably more important to professional marketing minions than a writer.
I didnt enter why should I criticize the winning design? Maybe because I think the solution missed the point.
Well at one time in my life this lounge would have been designed for someone like me. Maybe I would be the client. So I have some thoughts, based on my own festival going experiences.
The phenomena of seeing film to me is a total experience: the pre-film anticipation, the screening itself and most important, the after-viewing.
This is where the analysis, the critical judgment, and aesthetic understanding of a film starts. This is also where word of mouth begins and buzz develops. In one sense it is the most important moment in the film. The after-film moment.
Writers and film critics dont see films in a vacuum. We see them in larger theater with lots of other people or a 20-30 person screening room with other writers. And everybody talks about what they saw. There seems to be a rapid intellectual consensus that forms immediately afterwards. The writers and those who think critically about film share what think about and experience.
In a sense this is where film writers bond. I don’t know if there is an equivalent for cinephilia for architects. We seem too much either full of ourselves or on prowl for potential clients to share our aesthetics.
While film going I did this for years; seeing hundreds of films with the same groups and discussing what we saw afterwards. I appreciate the comradeship even more now that I am not involved anymore.
Can an architecture do that?
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