The March 2023 issue of California Dreaming: Architectural Design is focused on the current state of architectural design & discourse in California. Author Max Kuo postulates that there are three ways to be Californian. In “Californian, the Third Way” Kuo determines that Alvin Huang, principal of Synthesis Design + Architecture, is a third-way Californian, he charts his emergence as an architect via his postgraduate studies at the Architectural Association in London and working at the esteemed offices of Zaha Hadid and Amanda Levete, before moving to California to start his own practice and finding China particularly hospitable to his architecture.

Abstract

Max Kuo’s profile describes Alvin Huang as a “third-way Californian”: a Los Angeles native whose architectural identity was shaped by USC, the Architectural Association, Zaha Hadid Architects, Amanda Levete Architects, and extensive work in Asia before returning home to establish SDA. The essay follows Huang’s pursuit of digital craft from the [C]Space Pavilion through projects such as the Durotaxis Chair, La Burbuja Lamp, and The Groove at CentralWorld, framing his practice as a synthesis of computational research, material experimentation, cultural inquiry, and pragmatic building.

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