Earthen Comforts installation tackles heat resilience in LA courtyard
Materials & Applications (M&A) and architect Liz Gálvez of Office e.g have unveiled Earthen Comforts: Airing Earth, a solar-responsive installation in the Craft Contemporary courtyard in Los Angeles. The project builds on M&A's 2025 Light Gauge installation with Departamento del Distrito, exploring modular shade and climate adaptation. The structure features 26 lumber columns, earthen block buttresses, and a 45-degree westward canopy of woven panels with perforated gaps for airflow and sun protection. Integrated seating includes chilled water pipes for passive cooling. M&A Director Kate Yeh Chiu emphasized the interdisciplinary collaboration among architects, artists, scientists, and students. Gálvez framed the work as a reframing of thermal design as an architectural and civic act in response to climate crises. The installation is on view through October 25.
Key facts
- Installation titled Earthen Comforts: Airing Earth
- Located at Craft Contemporary courtyard in Los Angeles
- Created by Materials & Applications and Liz Gálvez of Office e.g
- Follows 2025 Light Gauge installation with Departamento del Distrito
- Features 26 lumber columns and earthen block buttresses
- Canopy pitched at 45 degrees west with woven fiber panels
- Includes chilled water pipes in seating for passive cooling
- On view through October 25
Entities
Artists
- Liz Gálvez
- Eric Staudenmeir
- Ian Chu
- Theint Lei
- Lincoln Ruiz-Truong
- Salmaan Craig
- Paul Mayencourt
Institutions
- Materials & Applications
- Departamento del Distrito
- Craft Contemporary
- Office e.g
- Office eg
- (Im)material Matters Lab
- UC Berkeley
- Berkeley Wood Lab
- Figure
Locations
- Los Angeles
- California
- United States