Dwayne Oyler & Jenny Wu: Puzzling Assemblies

Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu established the architecture and design firm of Oyler Wu Collaborative in Los Angeles in 2004. The firm is recognized for its experimentation in design, material research, and fabrication. The office relies on the constant exchange between design and making, encompassing a variety of scales, with small, intense installations built alongside the design of large-scale projects. The work is driven by an insistence on striking a balance between design experimentation and technical feasibility, often finding creative solutions in the zones between the two.

Oyler Wu has been recognized through various awards, including the 2021 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture, and the ACADIA Digital Practice Award of Excellence in 2018. In 2017, they were the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize recipient and were awarded the Design Vanguard Award from Architectural Record in 2013. Recently completed projects in a 17-story residential project in Taiwan, and a public art piece in Keelung Harbor, Taiwan. Current projects include the National Taiwan Museum of Comics in Taichung, Taiwan, a three-unit residential development in Los Angeles, and a pavilion in Taylor Yard for the City of Los Angeles.

Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu will discuss their recent work alongside the ideas outlined in their new book, Puzzling Assemblies. The lecture offers a dissection of this central idea, examining its potential to enrich contemporary architectural thinking through the robust relationship between architectural concepts and puzzle logics. Through rigorous design investigations, detailed drawings, and wide-ranging analysis, Oyler Wu will unpack the fundamental assembly methods underlying puzzled forms, outlining a series of physical and perceptual operations that boldly reimagine these methods across a range of scales.

Mirroring the structure of the book, the lecture will survey work at multiple scales, expanding on the tectonic and aesthetic principles that inform their practice and offering a fresh perspective on the evolution of their design approach.