BSA News

May 12, 2021

BSA Staff Picks: Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month

Image courtesy BSA Staff

The month of May is Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month. In honor of this dedicated month, the BSA staff have selected links, resources, books, and more to share with you so we can all celebrate the work, life, and stories of AAPI architects and designers.

To submit a resource or share an experience related to AAPI history, culture, and/or architecture, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Books & Articles

Waves of Knowing A Seascape Epistemology by Karin Amimoto Ingersoll

Developing the concept of seascape epistemology, Ingersoll articulates an indigenous Hawaiian way of knowing founded on a sensorial, intellectual, and embodied literacy of the ocean.

I. M. Pei and the Asian American Experience

I. M. Pei wasn’t famous because he was a good architect among Asian-American architects. He was famous because he was a great architect who happened to be Asian-American.

13 Asian American Architects and Designers You Should Know

From architectural titans like I.M. Pei to master furniture artisans like George Nakashima to Googie trailblazers like Helen Liu Fong, design-savvy Asian Americans have shaped and continue to shape the way we live our lives.

How a pandemic year of loss reshaped Maya Lin’s art and architecture

LA Times | What began as a story about a building, however, ultimately became about how so much can change in the course of one fateful year.

Interview: RISD President John Maeda Bridges Cultures and Disciplines

John Maeda is a well-known, ever-present iconic figure in the computer science and design world. He is hard to categorize since over a long career he has been known as a technical innovator, graphic designer, leading educator and speaker, author of books that are standard references for students and peers, plus much more.

6 AAPI Artists Reflect on the Spike in Anti-Asian Violence

U.S. history demonstrates that time and time again, Asians have consistently been used as scapegoats, from the whitewashing of railroad construction to Japanese internment to the murder of Vincent Chin to the “China virus”—all the while being labeled the “model minority.” AAPI artists have long been at the forefront of highlighting and unpacking this often invisibilized reality.

Helen Liu Fong is the visionary Googie architect you've never heard of

Helen Liu Fong, a Chinese-American taught at UC Berkeley's school of architecture, was an indispensable member of the design movement during the middle of the 20th century.

Japan's ancient way to save the planet

The concept of mottainai encompasses the idea of respecting resources and not wasting them, along with an inherent recognition of their value.

Multi-Media

Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir

An intimate portrait of the groundbreaking writer that interweaves archival imagery, including home movies and personal photographs, animation and original interviews to tell the inspiring story of Tan’s life and career.

Minoru Yamasaki—Detroit Designs the World

AIA National: 2017 Twenty-five Year Award: Grand Louvre - Phase I

Greeted with hostility and derided as a Modernist affront when it was first proposed as the main entrance to Paris’ Musée du Louvre, this 71-foot-high glass and stainless steel pyramid designed by I.M. Pei, FAIA, now rivals the Eiffel Tower as one of France’s most recognizable architectural icons.

Sho-Ping Chin FAIA, 1953–2015

We celebrate the life and mourn the passing of our colleague Sho-Ping Chin FAIA.

Exhibitions

Megacities Asia

Asia is home to more megacities than any other continent: the works by the 11 artists in this exhibition respond to the political, environmental, and social conditions of their home cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Seoul, conveying their textures, proportions, and striking material and visual juxtapositions.

Noguchi: Useless Architecture

Noguchi: Useless Architecture is an exhibition of around fifty works mostly drawn from the Noguchi Museum’s collection and occupying its second floor galleries.

The Herd, Andy Li—The Rose Kennedy Greenway

The Herd, Andy Li’s text and fiber-based installation, reflects on the Year of The Ox by channeling its most prominent zodiac attributes and the Ox’s ethic of perseverance through the repetition of text.

Resources, Organizations, & More

Asian American Designers Union

The Asian American Designers Union (AADU) is a platform for empowering Asian American professionals working in the built environment disciplines to grow personally and collectively.

The Polynesian Cultural Center

The allure of old Polynesia lingers among the Pacific island people who demonstrate their traditional arts and crafts and perform their lively songs and dances at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

API Who Design

A directory that celebrates and highlights Asian & Pacific Islander creatives.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Theme Studies

Finding a Path Forward: Asian American Pacific Islander National Historic Landmarks Theme Study, edited by Franklin Odo, is a publication of the National Park Service. Each chapter has been written and peer-reviewed by experts in Asian American and Pacific Islander studies.