What to Know
- ArtCenter College of Design celebrates the 20th anniversary of its South Campus, located at 870 S. Raymond Avenue in Pasadena
- The open-to-the-public party will feature talks, student art, a car show, and more, as well as a chance to step inside the 950 Building, built as the Southern California Cooperative Wind Tunnel in 1945
- The June 8 celebration, called "Beyond Supersonic," will also mark the opening of "the newly redesigned Mullin Transportation Design Center" at the campus
The beautiful bridge between art and engineering is so short, and so swiftly crossed, that talking about any significant distance between the two disciplines is an exercise best not undertaken.
And wherever art and engineering do happen to intersect? You've got yourself a particularly crackling nexus, one that is full of ideas, innovation, and electricity.
ArtCenter College of Design has long shimmered at that exact spot, but the school's South Campus goes even further in the whole "uniting art and engineering" field: The largest structure on the South Raymond Avenue campus, the 950 Building, is the former Southern California Cooperative Wind Tunnel.
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The wind tunnel, as well as other ArtCenter buildings, will open to the public on June 8, a celebration honoring both the 20th anniversary of the campus and "the newly redesigned Mullin Transportation Design Center."
Constructed as a joint venture and opened in 1945 — several prominent aviation companies were involved, while CalTech managed the capacious space — the wind tunnel has, in recent years, served students making their own contemporary creative explorations.
Visitors to "Beyond Supersonic," the powerful and apt moniker given to the upcoming event, can view several student artworks while also admiring the striking architecture and imaginative redesign of much of the campus.
You're invited to explore "several dynamic new state-of-the-art spaces — including tech labs, classrooms, and exhibition spaces — designed to provide professional-level learning and making experiences."
The campus is home to a diverse area of vibrant learning hubs, including the Sewing Lab, the Immersion Lab (think augmented reality and beyond), and Fine Arts Studios.
The Design Invitational — Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr, who designed Disneyland's Autopia automobiles, will be there — is on the schedule as well. Automobile enthusiasts can learn more about ArtCenter's vital role in transportation design and admire several eye-catching cars dreamt up by alumni.
Letterpress printing demonstrations at the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography, an ArtMarket featuring dozens of student vendors (shop whimsical wares like mugs and tees), and panels jumping into transportation, art, and what's to come are also on the schedule.
Your best bet? Blow by this site for more on the wind tunnel redesign and the "Beyond Supersonic" schedule before making for Pasadena on June 8.
Note that June 7 is a private invitation-only celebration. For more information, visit the ArtCenter site now.
