The Now Institute is led by Pritzer Prize-winning architect and UCLA Distinguished Professor Thom Mayne and Director Eui-Sung Yi in collaboration with UCLA’s Department of Architecture and Urban Design. Birthed from the idea that education should not be pursued in a vacuum, the Now Institute challenges the paradigm of pure academia with a hybrid approach into new territory that combines disciplined research and professional rigor.

The Now Institute Advisory Board includes Charles Waldheim, Harvard GSD Chair of Landscape Architecture; Alan Berger, MIT Professor of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture; Albert Pope, Rice Professor of Architecture; David Herd, Principal, Buro Happold and Greg Otto, Principal, Buro Happold.

 

Thom Mayne, Founding Executive Director

Thom Mayne has been a committed educator in architecture for over 40 years. His firm, Morphosis, is engaged in broader social, cultural, urban, political and ecological issues which he brings to his teaching and research.

Mayne’s distinguished honors include the Pritzker Prize (2005). He was appointed to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 2009, and was honored with the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles Gold Medal in 2000. With Morphosis, Thom Mayne has been the recipient of 25 Progressive Architecture Awards, over 100 American Institute of Architecture Awards and numerous other design recognitions. Morphosis works have been published extensively. The firm has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and 25 monographs.

Mayne’s significant contributions to architectural education include the highly regarded L.A. Now and Madrid Now initiatives. Under Mayne’s direction, UCLA students won the 2005 PA Award for L.A. Now: Volume 3, 4. There has always been a symbiotic relationship between Mayne’s teaching and practice, evidenced in his commitment to innovative, affordable housing for the Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans developed with UCLA students. Currently, he holds a tenured faculty position at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design, where he has taught since 1992.

Eui-Sung Yi, Director

Eui-Sung Yi is currently Design Principal at Morphosis Architects and Director of The Now Institute at UCLA. He received his Bachelor of Architecture at Cornell University and his Master of Architecture at Harvard University.

Yi has been involved with academia and scholarship for over fifteen years in Asia and the U.S. Currently, he is an adjunct associate professor at USC School of Architecture where he was the Director of the Master of Architecture programs from 2007 – 2010. He has co-taught extensively in UCLA with Thom Mayne on urban research initiatives, including the PA Award-winning LA Now: Volume 3, 4. Additionally, he has been an AIA National Speaker on Urban Design and Sustainability for two National Conventions. Presently, he is an Executive on the Docomomo International Committee, in charge of the 2014 International Conference in Seoul, Korea.

He has worked extensively in Asia and the US. Most recently, he was the Vice President of Design at Chang-jo Architects in Korea where he oversaw the completion of his competition-winning Korean Embassy in Tokyo, Japan and the Korean Consulate in Guangzhou, China. His working relationship with Morphosis and Thom Mayne spans over 15 years.

 

Research Staff

Andrew Liang, Program Coordinator

Bridget Ackeifi, Research Coordinator

James Janke, Designer

Zach Pauls, Designer

Xuequi Bai, Researcher

Samuel Bent, Researcher

Omar Haque, Researcher

Shobitha Jacob, Researcher

Chenguang Li, Researcher

Xi Liao, Researcher

Marieh Mehrannezhad, Researcher

Apurva Purandare, Researcher

Andre Simapranata, Researcher

Jiani Song, Researcher

Tuo Sun, Researcher

Wei-Chieh Tsai, Researcher

Duo Wang, Researcher

Jue Wang, Researcher

Runzhi Wang, Researcher

Shuoyang Wang, Researcher

Kun Yang, Researcher

Hun Tao Yu, Researcher