Kennedy & Violich Architecture
Wood Auditorium, Avery Hall Columbia GSAPP, 1172 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027
Lecture by Sheila Kennedy and J. Frano Volich, KVA MATx, Cambridge, MA.
Response by Eric Bunge.
In 1990, Sheila Kennedy and J. Frano Volich co-founded Kennedy & Violich Architecture (KVA MATx) an internationally recognized design practice that explores architecture, digital technology and emerging public needs. MATx, the materials research unit at KVA works collaboratively with business leaders, manufacturers, cultural institutions and public agencies to apply creative production across the fields of design, electronics, architecture and material science. MATx has developed designs and technology applications for Dupont, Siemens, Osram, Herman Miller, Saint-Gobain, The North Face, the City of Porto in Portugal, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States Department of Energy. The MATx Portable Light Project, a non-profit global initiative that enables people in the developing world to create and own portable energy harvesting solar textile kits has been recognized with a 2012 Energy Globe Award, 2009 US Congressional Award, a 2009 Energy Globe Award and a 2008 Tech Museum Laureate Award for technology that benefits humanity.