Ian Besler

Besler & Sons

About

About

Ian Besler (he/him/his) (cv) is a designer, educator, and writer whose work is situated at the edges between interfaces, media, software, and cities.

His practice is especially interested in the vernaculars, defaults, incidentals, and workarounds of visual communication and digital interactions. He was raised in Chicago. He is currently based in Chicago1985–2009 Los Angeles2009–2018 Rome2019 New Jersey2018–2019.

He works at Besler & Sons, LLC, a design studio that he co-founded in with Erin Besler, an Assistant Professor of Architecture at Princeton University School of Architecture. Besler & Sons are United States Artists Fellows in Architecture & Design. They were finalists for MoMA PS1’s Young Architects Program, the Flatiron Public Plaza Design Competition, and participants in the Chicago Architecture Biennial and the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Architecture/Urbanism.

Besler & Sons have participated in more than forty-five public installations and exhibitions internationally. They have been profiled and their work featured in The New York Times T Magazine, Dezeen, Wallpaper*, Architect Magazine, Domino Magazine, The Architect’s Newspaper, and Archinect.

Besler & Sons design buildings, objects, videos, interfaces, and exhibitions to expand the definition of architecture through active participation with amateur creators, construction trades, and design software. They work to create new audiences and opportunities for social engagement. Alongside their practice, they pursue design research through teaching and writing, with publications in journals including Log, Pidgin, Future Anterior, Project, San Rocco, and Perspecta.

Ian has taught courses in graphic design, interaction design, and user experience design at Pratt Institute, Santa Monica College, the University of Southern California, and ArtCenter College of Design. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the Media Design Practices program at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, where he was awarded the Milken Family Foundation Design Fellowship, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the College of Media at the University of Illinois.

Trained as a journalist and media designer, his multidisciplinary creative practice applies tools of writing, reporting, and visual communication, such as interviews, site visits, and collaborative workshops, to interrogate and reimagine the role of digital tools and interfaces in how we create and experience the physical and digital spaces across which we increasingly live.

His writing has been published in Medium, Gizmodo, Archpaper, and the LA Forum Newsletter. His essay “Super Models, or: Some (Scale) Models That I’d Like to Know” received a Core77 Design Award for Writing & Commentary.

A book of image and texts, titled Best Practices: A Companion to Architecture and Its Messy Relationship with Building Materials, Signage Systems, Communication Equipment, Plant Life, and People, written with Erin Besler, was published in by Applied Research and Design Publishing.

News

  1. Ian presents recent work in a talk titled “Screen Fatigue” as part of discussion series with the student chapter of the AIGA at Pratt Institute.

  1. The book Best Practices: A Companion to Architecture and Its Messy Relationship with Building Materials, Signage Systems, Communication Equipment, Plant Life, and People by Erin Besler and Ian Besler, with a foreword by Sylvia Lavin and additional contributions by Fiona Connor, Jonathan Jae-an Crisman, and Wendy Gilmartin, is published by Applied Research and Design Publishing.

  2. The Communications Design program at Pratt Institute launches the BFA Thesis 2021 Archive, designed and built by Besler & Sons.

  1. Erin and Ian are announced among the 2020 Graham Foundation Grantees for the forthcoming publication Best Practices, with contributions from Fiona Connor, Jonathan Jae-an Crisman, and Wendy Gilmartin, to be published by AR+D Applied Research and Design Publishing in .

  2. The Communications Design program at Pratt Institute launches the BFA Thesis 2020 Archive, designed and built by Besler & Sons to highlight the work of students in their thesis year during the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic.

  3. The text “The Whole Architecture Catalog” by Besler & Sons is published on e-flux Architecture as part of Intelligence, a collaboration between BIO 26 / Common Knowledge, the 26th Biennale of Design in Ljubiljana and e-flux Architecture.

  1. The exhibition Architecture Arboretum, curated by Sylvia Lavin and with graphic design and exhibition design by Besler & Sons, opens at the Princeton University School of Architecture.

  2. The web design for Erin’s site, created using the Besler & Sons’ “Business Casual” website template, is featured on It’s Nice That.

  3. Erin and Ian lead a workshop titled “Casa Qualcosa,” hosted by David Shanks and Luca Ponsi at the Syracuse University School of Architecture Florence program.

  4. Erin and Ian present recent work in a lecture titled “Making Do” at the Syracuse University School of Architecture Florence program.

  5. Erin and Ian present recent work and are awarded the USA Fellowship in Architecture & Design at the assembly of United States Artists in Chicago.

  6. Ian presents recent work in a short talk titled “Strangely Specific” as part of the Fellow Travelers talks series at the American Academy in Rome.

  7. Ian and Erin lead a public workshop titled “Some Assembly Required,” as part of the group exhibition Cinque Mostre 2019: Δx Displacement, curated by Ilaria Gianni at the American Academy in Rome.

  8. Ian and Erin present recent work in a lecture titled “Content Aware Fill” at the The School of Architecture at Taliesin in Scottsdale.

  9. Ian and Erin are named 2019 USA Fellows in Architecture & Design by United States Artists.

  1. The single-channel works “Google Los Angeles Resolution Frontier” and “Google Mexico City Resolution Frontier” are screened as part of Sight Sites, a workshop organized by Noémie Despland-Lichtert and Brendan Shea for Roundhouse at the Escuela Libre de Arquitectura in Tijuana.

  2. The group exhibition 44 Low-resolution Houses, curated by Michael Meredith and including the project “Cabins,” opens at the Princeton University School of Architecture gallery in Princeton.

  3. The group exhibition Adjacencies, curated by Nate Hume and including the Besler & Sons’ project “Roof Deck at MoMA PS1,” opens at the Yale University School of Architecture in New Haven.

  4. Ian is appointed as a Visiting Assistant Professor in Communications Design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

  5. The group exhibition Privacies Infrastructure, including the project and public workshop “Storage Ensemble,” is featured in e-flux.

  6. Besler & Sons lead “Storage Ensemble,” a public workshop on constructing storage sheds in Echo Park as past of the public exhibition Privacies Infrastructure, curated by Jia Gu and Aurora Tang for Materials & Applications.

  7. The group exhibition Privacies Infrastructure, curated by Jia Gu and Aurora Tang for Materials & Applications, and including the project and public workshop “Storage Ensemble,” opens in Echo Park.

  8. Ian is interviewed in a feature for Architect Magazine about Besler & Sons’ collaborative partnership with THIS X THAT.

  9. Archinect’s “event picks” for the summer include the group exhibition Privacies Infrastructure, curated by Jia Gu and Aurora Tang for Materials & Applications, and including the project and public workshop “Storage Ensemble.”

  10. The retail pop-up “Trusses on Trucks” for THIS X THAT is featured at the LA Design Festival in the Arts District in Downtown Los Angeles.

  11. Erin and Ian lead a public workshop on fabricating and constructing “Los Angeles Building Party Hats,” hosted by Days in Los Feliz.

  12. Ian presents recent work in a lecture titled “Content Aware Fill” at the Communications Design program at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

  13. The group exhibition “Inscriptions: Architecture Before Speech,” curated by K. Michael Hays and Andrew Holder, and including the projects Low Fidelity and Roof Deck, opens at the Druker Gallery at Harvard Graduate School of Design.

  14. The THIS X THAT Pop-Up Shop, with exhibition design by Besler & Sons, and featuring work by Architecture Office, Besler & Sons, Joanna Grant, Jimenez Lai, New Affiliates, and Welcome Companions opens at The MOCA Store at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in Los Angeles.

  1. Erin and Ian present recent work as part of Architecture 101, a discussion series organized by THIS X THAT at the Standard in Los Angeles.

  2. Erin and Ian present recent work as part of the conference Powerful IV, organized by the LA chapter of the American Institute of Architects at the Dorthy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles.

  3. “Props” terrazzo home accessories are featured in Interior Design Homes magazine.

  4. Ian presents recent work as part of TestLab Berlin, a design studio organized by Jenny Rodenhouse for ArtCenter College of Design.

  5. The installation Enjoy Your Deck :-) opens at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

  6. The installation “Super Models,” by Sylvia Lavin with Erin Besler (Besler & Sons, LLC), Jessica Colangelo (Somewhere Studio) and Thomas Kelley (Norman Kelley) opens at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.

  7. The text “Sample Room” by Besler & Sons is published in OfficeUS Manual, part of the U.S. Pavilion for the 14th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale, edited by Eva Franch i Gilabert, Ana Miljacki, Ashley Schafer, Carlos Minguez Carrasco, and Jacob Reidel.

  8. Metropolis Magazine’s Paul Makovsky mentions Besler & Sons “Props” home accessories in an article in The Chicago Tribune.

  9. The Graham Foundation announces a grant award for the group exhibition Privacies Infrastructure, including Besler & Sons, and curated by Jia Gu and Aurora Tang.

  10. Texts by Besler & Sons are included in the exhibition Cloud of Thoughts curated by Hitoshi Abe at Okamura Design Space R in Tokyo.

  11. Erin and Ian are interviewed as part of the Small Studio Snapshots series for Archinect.

  12. “Props” terrazzo home accessories are featured at The 2017 San Francisco Art Book Fair as part of the collection “In Support of Books,” curated by Norma Studio.

  13. “Props” terrazzo home accessories are included in the architecture journal Log in a feature about domestic design objects.

  14. Ian presents recent work as part of the Design Immersion Days summer seminar program at SCI-Arc.

  15. “Props” terrazzo home accessories are featured in Warehouse Home magazine.

  16. The group exhibition “New California Craft,” curated by Jonathan Lo and including the retail collection of Besler & Sons’ “Props” terrazzo home accessories, opens as part of the Los Angeles Design Festival.

  17. “Props” terrazzo home accessories get a mention in Azure Magazine in a feature about emerging trends in product design.

  18. The Los Angeles Times previews the Los Angeles Design Festival, including the exhibition “New California Craft,” curated by Jonathan Lo and featuring work by Besler & Sons.

  19. The retail collection of Besler & Sons’ “Props” terrazzo home accessories are available at the Marciano Art Foundation Bookstore in Los Angeles.

  20. Mimi Zeiger says that Besler & Sons exhibition design “gives a bit of quirky humor” to “The Duck and the Document” in a review for Architect Magazine.

  21. The Los Angeles Times says the exhibition “The Duck and the Document” mixes “the scholarly and the political in a particularly effective way” in a review by architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne.

  22. The terrazzo piece “Parking Chock” is featured at the Los Angeles gallery of The Future Perfect in the West Hollywood Hills.

  23. “Props” terrazzo home accessories are featured at INTRO/NY in Manhattan as part of the collection “In Support of Books”, curated by Norma Studio.

  24. Craig Hodgetts says the exhibition “The Duck and the Document” is “provocative and thoughtful” in a review for The Architect’s Newspaper.

  25. The exhibition “The Duck and the Document: True Stories of Postmodern Procedures” curated by Sylvia Lavin and with exhibition design by Besler & Sons opens at SCI-Arc.

  26. Ian presents work as part of a graduate seminar lecture series at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

  27. Besler & Sons “Props” home accessories are featured as part of a product launch event at Consort in Los Angeles.

  28. Erin and Ian are interviewed about “Props” home accessories in a feature for Consort.

  29. Besler & Sons “Props” home accessories are featured in The New York Times Style Magazine.

  30. Besler & Sons “Props” home accessories are featured in The Culture Trip.

  31. Toronto’s Globe and Mail says that Besler & Sons and other Los Angeles design studios have “succumbed to terrazzo’s charms.”

  32. “Props” terrazzo home accessories are featured in The LA Art Book Fair at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA as part of the collection “In Support of Books,” curated by Norma Studio.

  33. Besler & Sons “Props” home accessories are featured in Design Milk.

  1. Erin and Ian are interviewed about “Props” home accessories in a feature about terrazzo for the style section of The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

  2. Erin and Ian lead a summer intensive section titled “Various Staircases” at the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building at University of Technology, Sydney.

  3. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories is featured in Dezeen as part of their Christmas Gift Guide 2016.

  4. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories are available at the Hammer Store at the Hammer Museum in Westwood.

  5. The MOCA Store in Los Angeles hosts a product launch party for the retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories.

  6. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories are available at the MOCA Store at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

  7. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories is featured on Dezeen.

  8. Erin presents work as part of the Fall Lecture Series at the Department of Architecture at Cal Poly Pomona.

  9. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories is featured in Architect Magazine.

  10. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories are available at the CAFAM Shop in Los Angeles.

  11. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories are available at the MOCA Store in Los Angeles.

  12. The retail collection of Besler & Sons “Props” terrazzo home accessories is featured on Sight Unseen.

  13. The installation “Practice Mat” opens in Los Angeles at the Craft and Folk Art Museum as part of the Materials & Applications group exhibition “TURF”.

  14. Besler & Sons launch the retail collection of “Props” terrazzo home accessories.

  15. The text “Like So” is published in the Yale School of Architecture journal Perspecta.

  16. The text “On Background” is published in the SCI-Arc journal Offramp.

  17. The installation “Practice Mat” opens in Los Angeles as part of the Materials & Applications group exhibition Turf.

  18. Erin and Ian participate in a panel discussion at the A+D Museum in Los Angeles as part of the group exhibition COME IN! DTLA.

  19. The work “Table of Contents” is published in the UCLA journal Pool.

  20. Erin presents work at the Helms Design Center in Culver City as part of the CalPoly Metro Program lecture series.

  21. The installation “3D Warehouse” opens as part of the group exhibition Come In! DTLA at the A+D Museum in Los Angeles.

  22. Erin and Ian participate in a panel discussion at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood as part of WestWeek 2016.

  23. Erin presents work as part of the symposium Fieldwork, organized by Sarah Hearne at University of Technology, Sydney.

  24. Danielle Rago interviews Erin and Ian as part of the Next Progressives series for Architect Magazine.

  25. The installation “The Entire Situation + StudFindr” opens at the UTS Gallery in Sydney as part of the group exhibition Fieldwork, curated by Sarah Hearne.

  26. The text “Along the Frontier of Resolution” is published in the journal Log.

  27. The text “Alright, Click on Your Guy” is published in the journal Arredamento Mimarlık.

  28. Beatrice Leanza writes that “the more nuanced presentations” at the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB) are found in thematic pavillions, in a review for Frieze, including “Now, There: Scenes from the Post-Geographic City,” curated by Mimi Zeiger and Tim Durfee.

  29. The text “Synthetic Turf: A Taxonomy of Patent Drawings” is published in the Winter newsletter of the L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design.

  30. Erin is interviewed about the installation “The Entire Situation + StudFindr” at the Chicago Architecture Biennial in Design Indaba.

  1. The thematic pavillion “Now, There: Scenes from the Post-Geographic City” at the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB), curated by Mimi Zeiger and Tim Durfee and including the installation “Google Los Angeles Resolution Frontier,” receives the Bronze Dragon Award.

  2. The installation “Google Los Angeles Resolution Frontier” opens in Shenzhen as part of the thematic pavillion “Now, There: Scenes from the Post-Geographic City,” curated by Mimi Zeiger and Tim Durfee at the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB).

  3. The installation “The Entire Situation + StudFindr” is called “THE must-see” at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial by Archinect.

  4. The Los Angeles Times says that “investigations of technology and digital culture” at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial “come in smartly measured doses” in a review by architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne.

  5. ArchDaily calls the installation “The Entire Situation + StudFindr” a “Must-See” at the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial.

  6. The installation “The Entire Situation + StudFindr” opens at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial.

  7. Mimi Zeiger interviews Erin and Ian, along with other Los Angeles studios, in a preview for the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial in The Architect’s Newspaper.

  8. The installation “Along the Frontiers of Resolution” opens in Vancouver as part of the International Symposium of Electronic Art (ISEA).

  9. Erin presents recent work as part of The Architectural League Prize group exhibition lecture series.

  10. The installation “Amerimax Model Showroom” opens at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City as part of the The Architectural League Prize group exhibition.

  11. The text “A Taxonomy of Synthetic Turf Patent Drawings” is published in the UCLA journal Pool.

  12. The installation “Amerimax Motel Showroom” opens as part of the group exhibition One Night Stand at the Holiday Lodge Motel in Los Angeles.

  13. The text “Along the Frontier of Resolutions” is published in the Princeton journal Pidgin.

  14. The text “June Gloom Gray” is published on Re-Form.

  15. The exhibition “The Entire Situation” is featured in the journal Project.

  1. Erin is selected as a finalist for the Museum of Modern Art PS1 Young Architects Program.

  2. The Los Angeles Times calls the exhibition “The Entire Situation” a “budget do-it-yourself Richard Serra” in a review by critic Sharon Mizota.

  3. Erin and Ian present work and participate in a panel discussion as part of the L.A. Forum series Out There Doing It at the Neutra VDL House in Silver Lake.

  4. The exhibition “The Entire Situation” opens at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture Mackey Garage Top Gallery in Los Angeles.

  5. Ian presents recent work as part of a lecture series at the Wind Tunnel Graduate Center for Critical Practice in Pasadena.

  6. The text “Super Models or: Some (Scale) Models That I’d Like to Know” is awarded the Core77 Design Award for Writing & Commentary.

  7. The installation “Google Los Angeles Resolution Frontier” opens as part of the International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in Los Angeles.

  8. The installation “My Own Private Google Earth” opens as part of the Media Design Practices group thesis exhibition at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

  9. The text “Some Scale Models We’d Like to Know” is published in the journal San Rocco.

Total:

Best Pracitces

Project Description

A photographic essay about the city of Los Angeles and its messy relationship with building materials, signage systems, communication equipment, plant life, and people.

In visually cataloging the endearing and enigmatic ways in which contemporary cities take shape, “Best Pracitces” proposes a new way of thinking about neighborhoods, housing developments, sidewalks, streetscapes, and storefronts, not so much as places defined by dimensions, borders, building codes, or geographic features, but as assemblages of impromptu interventions, incidental and coincidental ephemera, and quick fixes.

Including extensive citations and diagrams, “Best Pracitces” argues for a sort of leveling of the playing field, advocating for a more thorough consideration of the unpermitted remodels, tears and tape-ups, slap-dash handiwork, half-assed paint-jobs, half-hearted D.I.Y. projects, cracked facades, misspellings, contradictions, compromises, and coincidences.

Edited by Jonathan Crisman. Foreword by Wendy Gilmartin. Published by No Style Press.

Graphics

Project Description

Delightfully tedious diagrams, cheerily exhaustive visualizations, websites, wayfinding systems, branding, signage, and identity collateral.

“Graphics” are primarily interested in the role of consumer technology and online sharing platforms in emerging vernaculars, everyday experiences, and prosaic routines around cultural production, media circulation, privacy, and identity.

Decks :-)

Project Description

A collection of do-it-yourself paper models of the ubiquitous online ‘how-to’ home improvement video. “Enjoy Your Deck :-)” reframes online video sharing platforms as a category of media that circulates architectural imagery, while simultaneously generating an attendant set of language, media, data, and associations, such as through comment sections, viewcount statistics, recommendations for related viewing, popup advertisements for local lumber yards, closed captions, and various options for sharing with friends and across social media.

Inscribed with a uniquely domestic focus, these videos activate the residential backyard as a space of public and private display, where aspiration, leisure, and performance are engaged through simultaneously productive and recreative tasks, such as chores, projects, pastimes, and parties. Requiring little more than basic building materials, some power tools, and a weekend, the construction of a backyard deck exemplifies the genre of online ‘how-to’ videos. The decks in these videos are surprisingly versatile forms. Their complexity, size, and architectural style are made to fit the site: they often stick to a simple plan.

How To

Project Description

What’s most compelling about online tutorial videos is the idea that, in their on-the-fly improvisational manner, they frequently oscillate from performative gestures to documents of an operational task. The best examples suggest the enactment of an inner monologue, almost like a Hollywood film director’s commentary over software interface–a manifestation of the chatter that connects and mediates the threshold between our intentions as software users and the computational actions that our chosen systems carry out.

The broad spectrum of online instructional videos—from the concise, deliberate, and coherent to the esoteric, bizarre, and endearingly inept—points to the potential that online media platforms possess for flattening previously recognized distinctions between amateur and professional creative, productive, and pedagogical practices.

Color Swatches

Project Description

A reported essay “June Gloom Gray and the Colorscape of L.A.” and online color swatch library exploring the visually restorative efforts of the Department of Beautification in the city of Los Angeles.

The interactive component of this ongoing research project includes a swatch set used by city contractors, with such color values as “L.A. Bridge Brown,” “Lamppost Gray,” and “Hydrant Yellow.”

Super Models

Project Description

A collection of scale models, tourist videos, and digital tchotchkes generated through the passtime of Earth browsing and sharing of objects found in digital places. Typically, we might say, the scale model can be understood as an object created for an architectural proposal – as a stand-in for something not present or as an approximation of a building yet to come.

“Super Models” suggests a broader set of implications in how scale models are made and understood as design objects. The work unpacks the implications of handmaking and hobbyist modeling and centers on Google Earth as both an important and curious site of production – a site which was once populated with a wealth of individually created digital models.

Resolution Frontiers

Project Description

As digital representations become the predominant imagery that shapes our routine experiences and understanding of the environments around us, our capacity to influence, edit, reject, or undermine the objectivity and apparent immutability of the depiction is critical.

Delineating and giving names to edges like the “Frontier of Google Los Angeles,” or appropriating the humorless sobriety of Google Earth’s renderings of Africa on the moon, opens a discussion around the embedded assumptions for all simulations and representations that might appear on our screens. It isn’t so much that, as a place, Google Los Angeles is less legitimate or real than the County of Los Angeles or the lunar landing site in Google Sudan. Google Earth collapses the distinction between geopolitical or historical boundaries and the user’s own contrivances.

The resolutions and fidelities that Google Earth favors and neglects point to the mutability of all maps, models, territories, borders, and frontiers. The spaces that dictate the encounter, whether engineered by Google, Apple, Microsoft, governments, or militaries, or open-source communities, rely on certain concessions from the user: for instance, that political borders and place names are as real as coastlines and mountain ranges. But geobrowsers and mapping applications provide interfaces, authoring tools, and means of distribution with a certain amount of influence that was previously unattainable.

Who says that Apollo 11 didn’t land in Google Africa? Can’t you read a map?

MoMA PS1

Project Description

The roof occupies a fundamental position in architecture, creating inhabitable space both below and above. This is underscored by block party vernacular; we commonly hear admonitions to “raise the roof” or “tear the roof off,” and, even more hyperbolically, that the “roof is on fire.” Through these expressions, revelry is compounded with acts of architectural revision.

“Roof Deck” repositions MoMA PS1’s existing roof and refits it into the courtyard, where it is activated as a social space across a spectrum of programs and experiences — from celebrity yoga to ecstatic celebration, from the collection of construction materials to exhibition through social media. Along with the summertime impulse to flaunt and reveal comes the struggle to be fit and get in shape. Paralleling this, the roof is made fit and is also the site of performance and physical fitness programming on the roof deck.

The construction of the roof and deck exploit the tendency to accumulate waste that building practices typically produce. Rather than discard material remnants off-site, excess is cut and refit into the project for use. The roof’s gutter system redirects water that would otherwise go to waste into a collection and retention system, turning an otherwise mundane aspect of exterior architectural drainage into a feature that provides water fit for use. Borrowing from the language of the architectural building site, the always in-progress roof is made more fit as uses change and tempos shift.

Smart Cars

Project Description

A transdisciplinary research studio at ArtCenter College of Design, in partnership with Intel Corporation, and Jaguar Land Rover, “New Car Experiences” examines and proposes speculative interfaces, terrains, routines, and experience scenarios that emerge within transportation systems that incorporate autonomous vehicles.

How do our social relationships, residential arrangements, and experiences of movement at the scale of the street and the city adjust as self-driving cars and smart transportation devices become increasingly everday?

“New Car Experiences” was led by Ben Hooker and was the first in a series of multi-disciplinary design inquiries as part of an educational partnership between Intel Corporation, Jaguar Land Rover, and ArtCenter College of Design.

Drones

Project Description

A design research studio exploring the speculative narratives and repercussions for neighborhoods, privacy, and public space in a world inundated with cheap, consumer-grade drones. Of particular interest is the relationship between point-of-view and projection: How do arrangements of houses, sidewalks, streets, yards, flowerbeds, fences, driveways, front-porches and garages reorganize to accommodate and constrain flocks of roving video cameras and arrays of digital displays?

“Neighborhood Watch” was led by Ben Hooker and Shona Kitchen at ArtCenter College of Design.

Teaching

How to Design

https://www.how-to-design.org/

: 98 Students

  1. Digital Design Seminar (COMD 242)
    Communications Design, School of Design, Pratt Institute

  2. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  3. Mobile Design Seminar (GR DES 75)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  4. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  5. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  6. Product Design Seminar (COMD 380)
    Communications Design, School of Design, Pratt Institute

: 157 Students!

  1. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  2. Mobile Design Seminar (GR DES 75)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  3. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  4. Casa Qualcosa (Spring Workshop)
    Syracuse University School of Architecture Florence program, hosted by David Shanks and Luca Ponsi, with Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  5. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

: 120 Students!

  1. Digital Design Seminar (COMD 242)
    Communications Design, School of Design, Pratt Institute

  2. Thesis Project Seminar (CDGD 401)
    Communications Design, School of Design, Pratt Institute

  3. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  4. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  5. Digital Design Seminar (DES 203)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  6. Web Design Seminar (DES 303)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  7. Web Design Seminar (DES 303)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  8. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  9. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

: 157 Students!

  1. Digital Design Seminar (DES 203)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  2. Digital Design Seminar (DES 203)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  3. Web Design Seminar (DES 303)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  4. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  5. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  6. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  7. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 65)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  8. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  9. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  10. Digital Design Studio (FADN 202)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  11. Web Design Seminar (FADN 303)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

: 96 Students!

  1. Various Staircases (Summer Intensive)
    Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology, Sydney, with Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  2. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  3. Graphic Design Studio (FADN 202)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  4. Web Design Seminar (FADN 303)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  5. User Experience Design Seminar (GR DES 62)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  6. Web Design Seminar (GR DES 66)
    Design Technology Department, Santa Monica College

  7. Web Design Seminar (FADN 303)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

: 38 Students!

  1. Making Do (Graduate Seminar)
    Media Design Practices, ArtCenter College of Design

  2. Web Design Seminar (FADN 303)
    Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California

  3. New Space (Graduate Studio)
    Media Design Practices, ArtCenter College of Design, Studio Led by Benjamin H. Bratton, Anne Burdick, and Metahaven (Vinca Kruk, and Daniel van der Velden)

: 11 Students!

  1. New Car Experiences (Graduate Studio)
    Media Design Practices, ArtCenter College of Design, Studio Led by Ben Hooker

Total: 677 Students!

“I really appreciate the fact that Ian is a really big meme, it makes the class a lot more enjoyable when your professor is kind of up to date with memes (i think??)”
“He’s chill and easy to talk to!”
“O.R.G.A.N.I.Z.E.D”
“I really like Ian. :D He runs our class like we’re a design firm though....still not sure how I feel about that.”
“Ian’s just awesome, man. Really nice dude that does cool stuff. Gonna miss him next semester.”
“I have really enjoyed this course and having Ian as a professor.”
“Ian knows what’s up. He was always ready to answer questions and provide help whenever someone needed clarification.”
“Ian’s very clear and specific about what he wants […] definitely an organised person which helps a lot […] you can tell Ian cares about the class and wants to structure it to the best of his ability :D”
“I dig all your lectures. So refreshingly simple and easy to understand. The readings I enjoy too. So glad I chose your class!”

“im actually learning something - ian is very meticulous and i think its annoying like i love and hate him at the same time but i think its good for the future when we're working…”
“Phenomenal professor, cares about students & takes his time to make sure students understand procedures & techniques learned in class.”

“I really love Ian’s teaching style. I think he’s funny and does a good job of going slow enough to make sure people are following but fast enough to keep the course interesting. He’s a great teacher and easily one of the best teachers I had at USC. GIVE THIS MAN A RAISE!”
“You’re a great professor and have really inspired me the last semester! I loved your class and I honestly regard you as one of the best professors I've had at USC.
“loved this course! incredible professor”
“I appreciated that Ian had the expertise to teach us information from a professional perspective.”
“I really enjoyed this class’s supportive environment and diversity of projects. Thanks Ian!”
“I loved this class. I learned so much from you and I really appreciate how much you helped me. Thank you!”
“I loved the structure of this class, it felt very efficient and well thought out.”
“Fun class, professor tries to make it really enjoyable. Learned so much, at an easy enough pace – effective learning.”
“besler is great, he’s super intelligent and helpful when explaining difficult concepts with photoshop/illustrator without being mean or judgemental. love his course and him as a professor.

“Ian is very funny. He’s kind, passionate about the subject, and always made himself available for office hours for additional support. He explains concepts very well, made web design seem easy (amazing!), and taught one of the most helpful classes I have ever taken at Roski.”
“Ian is very patient and kind with students. He teaches a lot of information in a short period of time.”
“He is very knowledgeable about the subject matter; he was helpful when it came to figuring out problems with the coding as well as giving advice.”
“Very enthusiastic about the subject – making the class more engaging; fair in evaluating work.”
“Passionate and clear about class materials”
“Professional and knowledgeable on web design”

Summer, 2017

“Awesome Professor!! Really easy going but still cares about students and their progress. Ian gives great lectures and relevant assignments. He really puts in the extra time and effort to make sure his students are understanding the coursework. 10/10 recommend!!”

“Awesome teacher, he cares about his students, gives everyone a chance to ask questions and is always there to help A+ in my book. would take him again.”

Writing

: 3 Texts!

  1. “El catálogo completo de arquitectura”
    PLOT No. 53, Buenos Aires, edited by Rodrigo Kommers Wender. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  2. “No Muss, No Fuss” [Forthcoming]
    LUNCH No. 15 THICK, University of Virginia School of Architecture, edited by Ben Small. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  3. “The Whole Architecture Catalog”
    e-flux Architecture, Intelligence series, BIO 26 / Common Knowledge, the 26th Biennale of Design in Ljubiljana, edited by Nick Axel. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

: 2 Texts!

  1. “More Glueing, More Doing” [Forthcoming]
    Pidgin Magazine No. 24 Princeton University School of Architecture. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  2. Best Pracitces [Forthcoming]
    No Style Press. Edited by Jonathan Crisman

: 2 Texts!

  1. “More Glueing, More Doing” [Forthcoming]
    Pidgin Magazine No. 24 Princeton University School of Architecture. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  2. Best Pracitces [Forthcoming]
    No Style Press. Edited by Jonathan Crisman

: 3 Texts!

  1. “Enjoy Your Deck :-)”
    Make New History: Chicago Architecture Biennial 2017 exhibition catalog, Lars Müller Publishers. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  2. “Sample Room”
    OfficeUS Manual, U.S. Pavilion for the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale, edited by Eva Franch i Gilabert, Ana Miljacki, Ashley Schafer, Carlos Minguez Carrasco, and Jacob Reidel. Pentagram/Lars Müller Publishers. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  3. “Amerimax Model Showroom”
    Young Architects 17: Authenticity, The Architectural League of New York, Princeton Architectural Press. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

: 9 Texts!

  1. “Like So”
    Perspecta 49: Quote, Yale School of Architecture. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  2. “On Background”
    Offramp 11: Ground, Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  3. “Creating Maker Spaces in Schools of Art and Design” [PDF]
    Intel Design School Network, ArtCenter College of Design. With Elise Co and Jessica Lee. Edited by Anne Burdick.

  4. “Table of Contents” [PDF]
    Pool #1: Table, UCLA A.UD. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  5. “Along the Frontier of Resolution”
    Log 36: ROBOLOG. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC.

  6. “Alright, Click on Your Guy” [PDF]
    Arredamento Mimarlık: After the Star. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC.

  7. “Special Effects” [Forthcoming]
    Medium

  8. “Shift Happens” [Forthcoming]
    Alumni Series Journal, Media Design Practices, ArtCenter College of Design

  9. “A Taxonomy of Synthetic Turf Patent Drawings [PDF]”
    L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design newsletter.

: 13 Texts!

  1. “Mapping the Information Age”
    A/N Blog, The Architect’s Newspaper. Edited by Mimi Zeiger

  2. “Click On Your Guy: Interface Vernacular and the Aspirational Performance of Software Tutorials Online”
    Medium

  3. “The Entire Situation” and “StudFindr”
    The State of the Art of Architecture, Chicago Architecture Biennial exhibition catalog. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC, and Satoru Sugihara, ATLV

  4. “Los Angeles Resolution Frontiers”
    Now, There: Scenes from the Post-Geographic City exhibition catalog. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  5. “Along the Frontier of Resolution”
    International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA) 2015 exhibition catalog. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  6. “Sculptor Michael Parker’s Disco Ball Sauna Steams Up This Pasadena Gallery”
    A/N Blog, The Architect's Newspaper. Edited by Mimi Zeiger

  7. “Arik Levy Reflects on Design with His New Exhibit at Los Angeles’ Please Do Not Enter Gallery”
    A/N Blog, The Architect's Newspaper. Edited by Mimi Zeiger

  8. “A Taxonomy of Synthetic Turf Patent Drawings”
    Pool, UCLA A.UD. With Erin Besler, Besler & Sons, LLC

  9. “A Taxonomy of Synthetic Turf Patent Drawings”
    Medium

  10. “Along the Frontier of Resolutions” [PDF]
    Pidgin Magazine No. 19 Magic. Princeton University School of Architecture. With Erin Besler

  11. “The Meticulous Engineering Behind Your Neighbor’s Fake Lawn”
    Gizmodo, Gawker Media. Edited by Meg Neal

  12. “June Gloom Gray and the Colorspace of L.A.”
    Medium re:form. Edited by Sarah Rich

  13. “Along the Frontier of Resolution” Lab Blog, Media Design Practices, ArtCenter College of Design

: 3 Texts!

  1. “Along the Frontier of Resolution: Panoramic Vision, Earth Browsing, and Model Making,”
    Medium

  2. “Some Scale Models We’d Like to Know”
    San Rocco No. 9 Monks and Monkeys. With Erin Besler

  3. “Super Models or: Some Scale Models That I'd Like to Know”
    Core77 Design Awards. Writing and Commentary, Student Category

Total: 30 Texts!

Press

: 3 Mentions!

  1. ArchDaily
    “Graham Foundation Announces 2020 Individual Grants.” By Eric Baldwin

  2. Archinect
    “Graham Foundation awards $320,800 to individuals ‘working worldwide on urgent issues’.” By Antonio Pacheco

  3. Suitcase Magazine
    “14 Must-Have Items To Revamp Your Workspace.” By Fleur Rollet-Manus

: 7 Mentions!

  1. Broadway World
    “Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Will Host Eighth Annual ‘23 Days of Flatiron Cheer’.”

  2. Archinect
    “Five architecture school exhibitions to check out this Fall and Winter.” By Antonio Pacheco.

  3. e-flux
    “e-flux Architecture Announcement: Architecture Arboretum.”

  4. The Architect’s Newspaper
    “Hou de Sousa is the winner of this year’s Flatiron Plaza Holiday Design Competition.” By Leilah Stone.

  5. The Architect’s Newspaper
    “Rejected Spotlights Denied, Trashed, and Half-Conceived Architectural Ideas.” By Matt Shaw.

  6. It’s Nice That
    “Double Click August is Full of Playful Designs That Prompt User Interaction.” By Ruby Boddington.

  7. Forbes
    “Six Furniture Trends To Watch Out For This Fall.” By Natasha Wolff.

: 8 Mentions!

  1. Archinect
    “Drawing a Blank: Harvard GSD’s Recent Exhibition, Inscriptions, Asks Visitors to Imagine Architecture Before Speech.” By Matthew Allen.

  2. The Architect’s Newspaper
    “Princeton exhibition breaks down the language of housing.” By Jonathan Hilburg.

  3. e-flux
    “e-flux Architecture Announcement: Privacies Infrastructure.”

  4. Architect Magazine
    “Public Relations for Small Firms.” By Jeff Link.

  5. Archinect
    “Our LA architecture and design event picks for Summer 2018.”

  6. Wallpaper*
    “In the Frame: Standout Designs from Around the Globe.”

  7. Design Milk
    “A New Pop-Up Shop by THIS X THAT at MOCA’s Geffen Contemporary.” By Vy Tran.

  8. The Architect’s Newspaper
    “Young Designers Pop Up at L.A.’s Geffen Contemporary.” By Antonio Pacheco.

: 8 Mentions!

  1. Interior Design Homes
    “Nine Terrazzo-Inspired Designs.”

  2. Archinect
    “Besler & Sons Tag-Team as They Wrestle with the Challenges of Starting a Small Practice.” By Mackenzie Goldberg.

  3. Domino
    “How to Bring the Terrazzo Trend Home.”

  4. Log
    “The Little Things.”

  5. Warehouse Home Magazine
    “Terrazzo Designs: On Trend & Timeless.”

  6. Los Angeles Times
    “The Los Angeles Design Festival Returns with an Emphasis on DTLA.” By Lisa Boone.

  7. Archinect
    “This Week’s Picks for LA Architecture and Design Events.” By Justine Testado.

  8. The Architect’s Newspaper
    “Craig Hodgetts Reviews Sylvia Lavin’s ‘The Duck and the Document’ Exhibition at SCI-Arc.” By Craig Hodgetts.

  9. The Globe and Mail
    “Material World: Refresh Your Home with Spring’s Top Design Trends.” By Anya Georgijevic.

  10. Forbes
    “Chicago Architecture Biennial Announces Participants for 2017 Edition.” By Ann Binlot.

: 20 Mentions!

  1. Custom Home
    “Products: Props by Besler & Sons.” By Selin Ashaboglu.

  2. Dezeen
    “Besler​ ​&​ ​Sons Launches Speckled Terrazzo Home Accessories.” By Dan Howarth.

  3. Architect Magazine
    “Object of the Moment: Props by Besler & Sons.” By Selin Ashaboglu.

  4. Sight Unseen
    “Saturday Selects.” By Sean Santiago.

  5. The Architect's Newspaper
    “Materials & Applications Brings Experimental Architecture to the L.A. Public Through Mini Golf.” By Antonio Pacheco.

  6. The Architect's Newspaper
    “The Architectural League Prize Turns 35.” By Sharon McHugh.

  7. The Architect's Newspaper
    “Eleventh edition of SCI-Arc’s academic journal Offramp hits the internet.” By Antonio Pacheco.

  8. KCRW Design & Architecture
    “A Mini-Golf Course Designed by Architects.” By Avishay Artsy.

  9. LA Weekly
    “A Closer Look at an Architecturally Significant Mini-Golf Course in Echo Park.” By Brian Feinzimer.

  10. Pasadena Now
    “ArtCenter College of Design Publishes Report on How to Build Next-Level Maker Spaces.” By Teri Bond.

  11. LA Weekly
    “This Pop-Up Mini-Golf Course in Echo Park is Actually a Collection of Architectural Wonders.” By Catherine Womack.

  12. LAist
    “L.A.’s Problems Have Been Turned into this Echo Park Mini-Golf Course.” By Juliet Bennett Rylah.

  13. Archinect
    “This Week’s Picks for LA Architecture and Design Events.” By Justine Testado.

  14. KCRW
    “5 Design Things to do This Week: TURF: A Mini Golf Project.” By Avishay Artsy.

  15. The Wall Street Journal
    “L.A.’s Arts District: A Walking and Gawking Guide.” By Margot Dougherty.

  16. KCRW
    “5 Design Things to do This Week: Panel Discussion: Creative Work in Los Angeles at the A+D Museum.” By Avishay Artsy.

  17. Los Angeles Downtown News
    “A Downtown Museum Show Inspired by Downtown.” By Eddie Kim.

  18. Go Design Go
    “Expansion and how it’s affecting Downtown L.A.’s Art District.” By Caitlin St. John.

  19. Architect Magazine
    “Next Progressives: Besler & Sons.” By Danielle Rago.

  20. Design Indaba
    “Erin Besler: Repositioning architectural practices for new design.” By Jamie Matroos.

: 8 Mentions!

  1. The Architect’s Newspaper
    “On Horizons.” By Todd Gannon.

  2. Archinect
    “Chicago Architecture Biennial: The 10 Most Outstanding Entries.” By Jessica A.S. Letaw.

  3. Archinect
    “The Humanity of the Chicago Architecture Biennial.” By Amelia Taylor-Hochberg.

  4. ArchDaily
    “15 Must-See Installations at the Chicago Architecture Biennial.”

  5. Chicago Tonight
    “Preview of the First Chicago Architecture Biennial.” By Erica Gunderson.

  6. The Architect's Newspaper
    “Midwest Calling.” By Mimi Zeiger.

  7. Archinect
    “2015 Architectural League Prize ‘Authenticity’ Winners to Lecture and Exhibit Next Month.” By Justine Testado.

  8. BlouinArtinfo
    “Chicago Architecture Biennale Announces 63 Participating Firms.” By Anna Kats.

: 6 Mentions!

  1. Architectural Digest
    “MoMA Young Architects Finalists Are Announced.” By Anna Kats.

  2. Metropolis
    “First Look: Getting to Know the Finalists of the 2015 MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program.” By Zachary Edelson.

  3. Architizer
    “Something to Yap About: The 2015 Finalists for the MOMA/PS1 Young Architects Program.” By Matt Shaw.

  4. Artnet News
    “The Short List for MoMA PS1's Young Architects Program Is Out.” By Sarah Cascone.

  5. Designboom
    “Shortlist Announced for 2015 YAP Courtyard Installation at MoMA PS1.” By Trent Fredrickson.

  6. Architect Magazine
    “MoMA Announces Five Finalists to Apply in 2015 Young Architects Program.” By Caroline Massie.

Total: 51 Mentions!