Ilaria Mazzoleni: IM Studio, SCI-Arc
Ilaria Mazzoleni is an architect and founder of IM Studio Milano/Los Angeles. Her conceptual work has been published internationally, and her built work can be found in Italy, California, and Ghana. Since 2005 she has been a full-time faculty member at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles. Her professional and academic investigation relates to sustainable architecture on all scales of design with a research focus on biomimicry, where innovation in architecture and design is inspired by the processes and functions of nature. Ilaria Mazzoleni holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Polytechnic of Milan, Italy, and a Master of Building Science from the University of Southern California’s School of Architecture, and has continued further studies in Valencia, Spain, on an Erasmus scholarship.
Michael Pinto: NAC Architecture, Woodbury University
Michael is an architect and educator. He is the Design Principal at NAC Architecture in Los Angeles. In teaching and in practice, he is driven by a series of social interests including education, equitable food systems, and social justice in urban design. Michael leads design from a position that places strong emphasis on community engagement. His work includes a variety of civic projects including schools, parks, community centers, libraries, and planning. He is currently also an Adjunct Professor at Woodbury University engaging students in projects about urban sustainability. Michael has a Bachelor of Architecture from Penn State University and a Masters Degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
PFLA is a group of educators, artists, gardeners, architects, designers, and chefs interested in framing food production as a way of connecting to place and community. Our creative practice centers on the social and its political implications. Through events centered on shared food experience, we foster personal connections to the act of eating and with the vast and varied foodscapes in our ever-changing urban environment. Engaging that process together, we become more aware of our shared investment in nourishing ourselves and each other.
Feeding our Cities: October 10, 2015 