LOT/EK: Mobile Dwelling Unit

A Unique Museum Collaboration.

In a groundbreaking project organized by the University Art Museum (UAM) at the University of California, Santa Barbara in collaboration with the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, the New York-based architects Giuseppe Lignano and Ada Tolla, better known as LOT-EK, were commissioned to transform a standardized shipping container into a fully functional portable living space. The exhibition includes the full size Mobile Dwelling Unit (MDU) prototype (8' wide, 9”6" high, 40' long) as well as projections, animations, films, research data, construction drawings, and source materials.

The MDU comes equipped with a series of expandable sub-volumes, each serving specific functions for living and working. A central computer regulates airflow, temperature and lighting as well as a communication network including monitors, speakers, and microphones distributed throughout the unit. The MDU is easily transported to any location via truck, rail or cargo ship. As Robert Kronenburg, a leading expert on portable architecture states, LOT-EK design is architecture of the found object. It is the transformation of the industrially mundane into the uniquely beautiful. Museum visitors are invited to enter and experience the Mobile Dwelling Unit, while it is installed at the UAM.

The MDU project was organized by Christopher Scoates, Chief Curator of the UAM. An opening celebration will be held at the UAM on October 3 from 6 to 8 pm, and a wide range of exhibition-related public programs take place throughout the fall. The exhibition will travel to the Whitney Museum of American Art in June 2004.

A comprehensive catalogue published by Distributed Art Publishers (DAP) accompanies the LOT-EK: Mobile Dwelling Unit exhibition, and can be purchased through the Museum Store. For more information regarding the catalogue, call (805) 893-5256.

ABOUT LOT-EK:

LOT-EK is a New York-based architectural studio founded by Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano in 1993. Born and raised in Naples, Italy, both Tolla and Lignano hold Masters Degrees in architecture from the University of Naples (1989) and postgraduate degrees from Columbia University (1991). LOT-EK has achieved high visibility in the world of architecture and design for their innovative approach to construction materials and space as well as for their use of recycling and technology. Their works have appeared in such publications as the New York Times Magazine, Wallpaper, Domus, A + U, Wired, Surface, Metropolis, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Tolla and Lignano have taught at Parsons School of Design, and have lectured widely across the United States and in England, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Switzerland. LOT-EK’s work has been exhibited and reviewed internationally.