Repositioning references
February 26, 2018
The League Prize, an annual competition that asks young designers to respond to a given theme, has marked an important milestone in many architects’ careers since it was established in 1981. Winners showcase their work through a lecture series and exhibition.
Besler & Sons won a 2015 award.
Concerned that the separation between discipline and practice “has allowed the architect to gain distance from the builder,” Erin Besler explores the perceived limits of architectural practice. She describes her Los Angeles-based studio as “working through reference” to test those ideas of authorship and authority.
Her Authenticity installation builds on that premise to investigate the architectural mock-up through a “conversation about originals and copies.” The exhibit, a series of full-scale rain gutters installed in the gallery, provokes questions about “the relationship between model, installation, mock-up, and a piece of construction.”