Architecture + Design + "I Do"

The most unusually innovative wedding ever to be seen in Los Angeles

As the wedding season quickly approaches, hundreds of architecture and design enthusiasts will watch a young bride walk down the aisle in a one-of-a- kind, architecturally inspired, disposable paper dress. This, of course, could only happen at the highly innovative A + D Museum in Los Angeles. As part of the upcoming exhibit, SAUMA [Design as Cultural Interface], one lucky couple, originally destined for City Hall, chose to be the opening act - an iconic symbol altered, or should we say 'altared,' to represent the edgiest of urban design.

The A+D Museum has teamed up with the avant-garde design group SAUMA [sah-u-ma], a Finnish term referring to a seam, a borderline, and, in colloquial usage, a chance.  SAUMA [Design as Cultural Interface] will present innovative contemporary design from Finland, exploring new approaches to usability, user experience and the design process itself.

The exhibit consists of 17 experimental and interactive installations and design concepts including new portable devices, an experimental kitchen, an urban sauna and a game prototype. Other exhibition items explore the ideas of portability, sensory experiences and the ways in which we navigate our urban environment.

The opening wedding ceremony is an event utilizing the clothing designs of Finnish artist, Tuija Järvenpää, who finds it disturbing that objects should be left forever in closets long after they have outlived their function as usable objects. The artist's wedding gown can be styled with various prints, ornamental cut-in patterns and folds. Her dresses have been designed for one-time use only and are ideal for events like weddings. After the event, the gown can be ripped off and recycled, rather than hidden in a closet. With the wedding gown, Järvenpää aims to show even disposable products can have valuable uses.

Among the many interactive design concepts on view will be Takkiainen (a combination word that ties together the meanings of two Finnish words: takki, a coat, and takiainen, a bur). Takkiainen is a jacket made from Velcro strips designed for lonely people to help obtain contact with others. As we move around the city, we can use our clothes as a medium for meeting people and communicating with them in a highly tactile fashion.

Another installation, AIR, consists of three bubbles into which viewers can step inside. The bubbles are designed to recall personal memories and experiences of the three cities, Helsinki, Budapest and Paris, through olfactory and visual formats. When describing a city, an accurate definition includes the sense of smell, which brings to mind different memories. The odor of a city is not just about the sea, wind, parks, buildings and garbage, but also about people, the living environment, and its emotional, cultural and industrial life connected to memory. As in a personal perfume, the smell of the city depends strongly on the improbable balance of odors.

A new high-quality solution and texture for architecture and interior design that will also be seen at the exhibit is Graphic Concrete - a printing technique where a film is printed on pre-defined areas using a surface retardant. The coated films can be used on traditional aggregate concrete exteriors, surfaces consisting of various patterns, partition walls, floor slabs, landscaping products and works of art.

OPENING NIGHT EVENT
A+D Museum
and the
Finnish Cultural Institute in New York
Proudly Invite You to Witness the

Marriage of Architecture and Design
at a
Wedding Reception
(this is a real wedding!)

Celebrating the opening of
SAUMA [Design as a Cultural Interface]
on Friday, June 29, 2007 at 6 p.m.

Come meet the soon-to-be couple
who, in lieu of personal gifts,
request donations made to the A+D Museum
(really!)

Donation / Ticket Options

$50 Gift
(includes one year individual A+D membership and invitation to the wedding for one)

$15 Gift from a non A+D member (invitation to the wedding for one)

No charge (as always) for A+D members