The Santa Monica-based firm Koning Eizenberg Architecture was founded in 1982 by Australian architects Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg. The firm describes an “inherent pragmatism” underlying its design process, “driven by tight budgets and a commitment to environmentally responsive design.” It aims to work with clients “to reveal new possibilities for the design of housing and neighborhood places that strengthen community.”

For her Current Work lecture, Eizenberg will discuss projects including:

• MuseumLab, The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, a conversion of a historic library to create a maker space, charter middle school, and incubator space for education-oriented nonprofits. The design stripped previous alterations to evoke what the firm describes as a “’lovely ruin’ that evokes local history and highlights the act of discovery.”
• Pico Branch Library, a new community library for Santa Monica whose interior and exterior common spaces were conceived as a “neighborhood living room.”
• The Arroyo, which provides affordable family housing, along with community spaces and supportive services, in downtown Santa Monica. The building wraps around a large open-air communal backyard with recreational facilities and picnic areas.
• University of Melbourne Student Pavilion, designed as part of a multi-firm masterplan responding to the needs of the university’s predominantly commuter student body. The Pavilion offers informal study areas, a library, activity spaces, and food and beverage services.

Eizenberg holds a BArch and an honorary doctorate from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and an MArch from UCLA.

The practice has been honored as AIA California’s Firm of the Year. Eizenberg and Koning were awarded the 2012 AIA Los Angeles Gold Medal and the 2019 Australia Institute of Architects Gold Medal. Eizenberg is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. 

The lecture will be followed by a conversation with Karen Stein. Stein, an architectural consultant and writer, is executive director of the George Nelson Foundation.

Support

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

The event is co-sponsored by The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union.