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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Carlo CaccavaleAIA|Los AngelesTel: 213.639.0763Email:carlo@aialosangeles.orgwww.aialosangeles.org

AIA|LA & Para Los Nios Wrap Up Semester-Long Partnership withPlaygrounds of the Future

Los Angeles, CA (May 24,

2012) The last Para Los Niosand AIA|LA Mentors class washeld on May 11, 2012. Back inNovember AIA Los Angeles(AIA|LA) and Para Los Nios(PLN) announced a call forarchitects to help at-risk inner-city children better understandtheir urban environment througharchitecture and design.

The proponent of thepartnership, AIA|LA Associate

Director, Carlo Caccavale, Hon. AIA|LA, said that the union seemed more thannatural, When I met with the PLN Director of Foundation Relations, Yoon S.Choi, last year, it was obvious to us that AIA|LA and PLN should team up to helpunderprivileged children learn aboutarchitecture and urban design.

Titus Campos, Superintendentof Education for Para LosNios, couldnt agree more:This partnership betweenAIA|LA and PLN is a powerfulexample of the benefit forworking professionalscollaborating with educators inorder to prepare our studentsfor the 21stCentury.

After an overwhelmingresponse from AIA|LA

mailto:carlo@aialosangeles.orgmailto:carlo@aialosangeles.orgmailto:carlo@aialosangeles.orghttp://www.aialosangeles.org/http://www.aialosangeles.org/http://www.aialosangeles.org/mailto:carlo@aialosangeles.org

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membership, 24 mentors were locked in to lead 2 classes of 16 sixth graders (32total).

The Mentors designed a curriculum that introduced students to the concept ofarchitecture and the profession. Students were asked to measure and draw their

own bedrooms or sleeping areas, and then design their own "fantasy bedrooms"to scale. For their final project, students designed a new playground for theschool.

The final session included an exhibit displaying student's "playgrounds of thefuture" projects, ending with students acceptance of certificates for thesemesters course.

It is safe to say that the interchange was very rewarding for the mentors, but italso proved just as important for the students. After a few class sessions,students began to make connections to lessons learned in other classes such as

geometry. Students also gained an enhanced vocabulary while learning newarchitecture terminology And not surprisingly, the more the teachers dedicated tothe courses, the more the students behavior and attention improved.

Imre Takacs, a 35-year veteran ofGensler and very enthusiasticmentor (pictured left) sadly passedaway this past weekend.Expressing the sense of personalfulfillment he received whileteaching at PLN, he sharedHopefully all these beautifulchildren gained anotherperspective in life and saw newopportunities which are waiting forthem out there in the big world. Forme personally the beauty and

bottom line of these past few months of experience is that I also learned a lot.Itis AIA|LAs hope that more members take on the role that Imre and the architectslisted below took, to help provide underprivileged children with a chance to seehow architecture and design can change and improve lives.

Participating AIA|LA Members included:

Fred Case - Clark Construction Group Lee Brennan - Cunningham Group Architecture Ellen Lanet - Ellen Lanet, Architect Imre Takacs - Gensler Sevan Benlian - Gensler Nick Christopher - Gensler Dara Douraghi - Gensler

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Charrisse Johnston - Gensler Angelica Marquez - IBI Group Monica Rodriquez - Killefer Flammang Architects Lydia Vilppu - Lydia Vilppu Architecture Jodie Mendelson - Puchlik Design Associates Bamik Pegahi - RBB Architects Kevin Boots - RBB Architects Hilary Babcock - Richard Meier & Partners Rick Leslie - Rick Leslie Architects Andre Krause - Shimoda Design Group Jhiah Chang - ZGF Architects Kristi Litton - ZGF Architects Terri Moore - ZGF Architects Kate Moxham Zoe Post

Norah MacLeod Kevin Wronske Patrick Fromm

If you would like to be a part of this fantastic team, please contact CarloCaccavale atmailto:carlo@aialosangeles.org for more information.

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