Commissioned and produced by Materials & Applications, Light Gauge is an architectural installation by the international design and research practice Departamento del Distrito that will function as a zone of performance, encounter, and cooling, mediated by two photovoltaic space frames that levitate above the Craft Contemporary Courtyard. Informed by adaptable industrial systems and network thinking, this temporary intervention will address questions surrounding energy and infrastructure in Los Angeles, exploring the policies, technologies, and architectures that enable self-determination. 

The M&A x Craft Contemporary Courtyard is a partnership between Materials & Applications and Craft Contemporary. Each summer since 2021, M&A transforms Craft Contemporary’s courtyard into a venue grounded by a public work of experimental architecture. A series of summer events brings architects, artists, and storytellers together into dialogue, with renewed focus on urban environments and community engagement. Light Gauge aims to activate an interest in the overlooked materiality of our energy infrastructure, bringing together expert and non-expert publics in conversation about shared resources in Los Angeles’s design and material culture.  

“Light Gauge addresses the assembly, aesthetics, and experiential possibilities of current-day energy infrastructure,” says M&A Director Kate Yeh Chiu. “Beyond just offering a space to cool down, the project responds to existing resource distribution systems and prompts audiences to consider resource sovereignty at the community level.” 

Light Gauge is generously supported by the California Arts Council, LA County Department of Arts and Culture, and the Rice University Scholarly and Creative Works Subvention Fund, as well as generous partnerships with Solarpunks, Nous Engineering, Rohn Towers, and Talley. 

(Image Credits) Departamento del Distrito, Light Gauge, image of model, 2024. Courtesy of Departamento del Distrito.