MDC 2019 will take place once again at the beautiful Asilomar Conference Center – just steps from Asilomar State Beach.
Registration Fees (Before August 30)
$565 (Member), $785 (Non-Member) and $265 (Emerging Professional Members).
Book your housing early to guarantee a spot on-site with the Asilomar Housing and Meal package – $598 for a two night stay or $898 for a three night stay with meals. Save by booking double or triple room occupancy.
MDC 2019 will take place once again at the beautiful Asilomar Conference Center – just steps from Asilomar State Beach. Registration fees before August 4 are $565 (Member), $785 (Non-Member) and $265 (Emerging Professional Members).
Book your housing early to guarantee a spot on-site with the Asilomar Housing and Meal package – $598 for a two night stay or $898 for a three night stay with meals. Save by booking double or triple room occupancy. Check back often to stay informed about our 2017 speaker line-up!
View photos from the 2017 Monterey Design Conference »
View the 2019 MDC Conference Committee list here. »
View photos from the 2015 Monterey Design Conference »
By Tim Culvahouse, FAIA, with thanks to Shelly Kappe, Hon. AIA; Paul Welch, Hon. AIA; David Meckel, FAIA, and Robert Ivy, FAIA
Entering its fourth decade, the Monterey Design Conference (MDC) brings together the country’s—and the world’s—leading architects and design thinkers for an intellectually vibrant weekend at Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California. It emerged out of the 1978
AIA California Council Annual Meeting in Orange County, which the AIA California Council president, the late George Bissell, had dedicated to the theme of “design.” Bissell, “the father of MDC,” anointed a dynamic trio of co-chairs—Ray Kappe, FAIA, Timothy Vreeland, FAIA, and Bernard Zimmerman, FAIA, who conceived an ambitious format that anticipated today’s Pecha Kucha events: Groups of invited architects gave four-minute talks on their work in parallel sessions; each session had a designated recorder; and, at the end of the day, everyone got together and shared the results in a common “wrap-up” session.
Spurred by the excitement of that meeting, the AIACC inaugurated its first dedicated design conference the following year. Conference Chair Richard Saul Wurman—who went on to found the TED Conferences—dubbed it “Design 101,” inviting architects from the three states served by Highway 101 (California, Oregon, and Washington) to gather at the Monterey Convention Center. Held annually for its first few years, Design 101 soon outgrew its downtown facilities and in the mid-1980s moved to Asilomar, gaining both generous space and a glorious bayside setting amidst the buildings of Julia Morgan and John Carl Warnecke.
Designed by designers for designers, the now biennial MDC brings together a virtual Who’s Who of the design world in the remarkably intimate space of Morgan’s Merrill Hall, where every session is a plenary session. Presenters and participants alike comfortably span the generations. Around the turn of the millennium, David Meckel introduced a “Tribal Elders” session, which has since featured Pierre Koenig, Sym van der Ryn, Ray Kappe, Warren Callister and Jack Hillmer, William Krisel, and Paffard Keatinge-Clay. At the other reach of the career trajectory, the conference features “Emerging Talent,” future leaders of the profession. A film focused on some aspect of design culture, sometimes accompanied by the maker or the subject, provides an additional dimension to festivities. Shared meals and after-hours gatherings carry the discussion deep into the night.
AIA Executive Vice President Robert Ivy, former editor-in-chief of Architectural Record and long-time MDC master of ceremonies, sums up the remarkable fellowship that is the Monterey Design Conference: “Asilomar’s unique location—adjacent to the Pacific in a grove of trees, where wood smoke mingles with the salt spray—invites casual conversation, relaxation, and stimulation in a natural setting that encourages friendship and expansive thought.”
Julia Morgan in 1898 in her Paris apartment. She studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, then the world’s most prestigious architecture school.CreditCreditJulia Morgan Papers, Special Collections and Archives, California Polytechnic State University
“In 1913 Phoebe Apperson Hearst, whom she had met through Maybeck, hired Morgan to transform 30 acres on the Monterey Peninsula into the Y.W.C.A. conference center, renamed Asilomar, or “refuge by the sea.” Over the next 16 years Morgan would add 16 buildings, most in a rustic Arts and Crafts style featuring dramatic exposed wood trusses, redwood walls and stone fireplaces. Asilomar became a state park in 1956, and in 1987 Morgan’s buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places.”
| 8:00AM–5:00PM | Registration/Information Desk
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Surf & Sand |
| 8:00AM–12:00PM | Exhibit Setup
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Sea Galaxy |
| 9:00AM–10:00AM | Continuing Education Academy Sessions (CES)
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| 10:15AM–11:15AM | Continuing Education Academy Sessions (CES
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| 11:30AM–12:30PM | Continuing Education Academy Session (CES)
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| 12:00PM–1:00PM | Lunch (Ticket Required)
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Crocker Dining Hall |
| 12:00PM–2:00PM | Visit Exhibitors / Bookstore / Lounges – sponsored by PacCoast, sponsor, sponsor
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Sea Galaxy |
| 12:45PM–1:45PM | Continuing Education Academy Sessions (CES)
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| 2:00PM–2:30PM | MONTEREY DESIGN CONFERENCE OPENING PLENARY SESSION
Welcome & Introductions Reed Kroloff, Principal, Jones|Kroloff, Event Emcee David Hecht, AIA, Conference Chair | Principal, Tanner Hecht Architecture
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 2:30PM–3:30PM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit)
Alberto Kalach, Principal, Kalach & Taller de Arquitectura X (Mexico City)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 3:30PM–3:45PM | EMERGING TALENT (.25 AIA CES Credit)
Chris Warren, AIA, Principal, WORD
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 3:45PM–4:45PM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit)
Mark Cavagnero, FAIA, Principal, Cavagnero Associates Architects (San Francisco) |
Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 5:00PM–6:00PM | Welcome Reception
Exhibits / Bookstore / Lounges
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Sea Galaxy/ Biergarten |
| 6:30PM–8:00PM | Dinner (Ticket Required)
Dinner in the dining hall is included for those staying on property at Asilomar or Deer Haven. Off-site participants may pre-purchase tickets.
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Crocker Dining Hall |
| 7:00PM–8:00PM | Visit Exhibits / Bookstore / Lounges
Check out our 2019 AIA California Award Recipients
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Sea Galaxy |
| 8:00PM–10:00PM | After Party: Fireside With Friends
Enjoy some great Bluegrass music by fellow architect Michael Holliday FAIA, his son Erik Holliday, Associate AIA and their band. Continuing networking and enjoy cold refreshments by the bonfire under the Pacific sky.
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Crocker Bonfire Area |
| 7:00AM–5:00PM | Registration/Information Desk
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Surf & Sand |
| 7:00AM–8:00AM | ADA Session (1 AIA HSW Credit/1 CA ADA CE)
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Merrill Hall |
| 7:30AM–9:00AM | Breakfast (Ticket Required)
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Crocker Dining Hall |
| 8:15AM–9:15AM | ADA Session (1 AIA HSW Credit/1 CA ADA CE)
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Merrill Hall |
| 9:15AM–9:30AM | MONTEREY DESIGN CONFERENCE PLENARY SESSION
Reed Kroloff, Event Emcee
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 9:30AM–10:30AM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit)
Yvonne Farrell, Principal, Grafton Architects (Dublin)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 10:30AM–11:00AM | Coffee Break / Visit Exhibitors/ Bookstore / Lounges – sponsored by PacCoast, Leicht Haus by Blue Plum, and Mission Bell
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Sea Galaxy |
| 11:00AM–11:15AM | EMERGING TALENT (.25 AIA CES Credit)
Edward Ogosta, AIA, Principal, Edward Ogosta Architecture (Los Angeles)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 11:15AM–12:15PM
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HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit)
Brian MacKay-Lyons, Hon. FAIA, Principal, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects (Halifax)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 12:15PM–2:00PM | Lunch (Ticket Required) / Visit Exhibitors / Lounges – sponsored by PacCoast, Leicht Haus by Blue Plum, and Mission Bell / Bookstore
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Sea Galaxy |
| 1:00PM–2:00PM | Continuing Education Academy Sessions (CES)
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| 2:10PM–2:15PM | MONTEREY DESIGN CONFERENCE PLENARY SESSION
Reed Kroloff, Event Emcee
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 2:15PM–3:15PM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit)
Donlyn Lyndon, FAIA and Richard Whitaker, Designers Emeritus, Sea Ranch
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 3:15PM–3:30PM | EMERGING TALENT (.25 AIA CES Credit)
Dan Spiegel, AIA and Megumi Aihara, ASLA, Principals, SAW // Spiegel Aihara Workshop, Inc. (San Francisco)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 3:30PM–4:30PM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit)
Robert Harris, FAIA Partner, Sustainability and Leader of the Eco-Conservation Studio, Lake | Flato (Austin)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 4:30PM–6:00PM | 25th Monterey Design Conference Celebration – Sponsored by PacCoast Join us as we celebrate the 25th Monterey Design Conference since its inception in 1979. In 1981 it was named Monterey 101, and the event continued to develop as refinements were made throughout the years. Today we continue the legacy of showcasing the value of design around the world and in California while keeping an eye on design for the future. |
Sea Galaxy/ Biergarten
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| 6:00PM–7:00PM | Dinner (Ticket Required)
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Crocker Dining Hall |
| 7:10PM–8:30PM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit) Gregg Pasquarelli, AIA, Principal SHoP (New York City) | Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 8:30PM–9:00PM | 75th Anniversary Celebration of AIA California – Sponsored by Architectural Record
Not only is it the 25th time the Monterey Design Conference has been held, it is AIA California’s 75th Anniversary of being the voice of the architectural profession in California.
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Social Hall Terrace |
| 9:00PM–10:30PM | MOVIE NIGHT (1 AIA CES Credit)
Heath Ceramics: The Making of a California Classic
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Merrill Hall |
| 10:30PM–12:00AM | Academy for Emerging Professionals (AEP) Mixer
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Surf & Sand |
| 7:00AM–11:00AM | Registration/Information Desk
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Surf & Sand |
| 7:00AM–8:00AM | ADA Session (1 AIA HSW Credit/1 CA ADA CE)
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Merrill Hall |
| 7:30AM–9:00AM | Breakfast (Ticket Required)
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Crocker Dining Hall |
| 8:15AM–9:15AM | ADA Session (1 AIA HSW Credit/1 CA ADA CE)
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Merrill Hall |
| 9:15AM–9:30AM | Break/Check out of Room – check out is at 11:00AM
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| 9:30AM–9:45AM | MONTEREY DESIGN CONFERENCE PLENARY SESSION
Reed Kroloff, Event Emcee
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 9:45AM–10:45AM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit) Paul Kephart, ASLA, President and Marta Kephart, Vice President, RANA (Carmel)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 10:45AM–11:00AM | EMERGING TALENT (.25 AIA CES Credit)
Dan Weber, AIA, Principal, ANACAPA (Santa Barbara)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 11:00AM–12:00PM | HEADLINER (1 AIA CES Credit)
Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Partners, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office (Shanghai)
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 12:00PM–12:15PM | MONTEREY DESIGN CONFERENCE CLOSING REMARKS
Reed Kroloff, Event Emcee
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Merrill Hall & Chapel |
| 12:15PM–1:00PM | Lunch (Ticket Required)
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Dining Hall |
| 1:00PM–5:00PM | MDC Modern Home Tour (1 AIA CES Credit)
(optional – separate fee required)
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Social Hall Terrace |
| 2:00PM–3:30PM | Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the Monterey Bay Aquarium (1 AIA CES Credit)
(optional – separate fee required)
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
866 Cannery Row |
(844-632-1979)
“If you give a client what they want but not what they need, you are not an architect.”
Jack MacAllister, FAIA
“Virtually anything the human mind can imagine can be built.”
Robert Ivy, FAIA
“Don’t see the ugly as a negative, but rather a deep source of possibility.”
Marlon Blackwell, FAIA
Monterey Design Conference audience (Courtesy AIA California Council)[/caption]
When the Sonoma
2019 Monterey Design Conference Asilomar Housing Now FilledMODIFY EXISTING RESERVATION »
The Asilomar is now full. The link above will remain open until September 24, 2019 for existing reservations at Asilomar or Deer Haven to be modified.
Note: Please remember to purchase meals with your registration package if you are staying off-site.
If you would like to be placed on a wait-list for the Asilomar, please contact amy@orrganizedevents.com .
SPECIAL RATES AVAILABLE FOR MDC ATTENDEES
King Rooms – $170 per night plus tax
Queen/Queen – $189 per night plus tax
Rate good on a reservation with a two night minimum 10/25 arrival – 10/27 departure
Rate good through September 24
Call in reservations for group rate (831-250-8191) and ask for the Monterey Design Conference Rate
Double/Double – $110 per night plus tax
Queen/Queen – $110 per night plus tax
Rate good on a reservation with a two night minimum 10/25 arrival – 10/27 departure
Rate good through September 24
Call in reservations for group rate (831-373-2777) and ask for the Monterey Design Conference Rate
Lighthouse Lodge & Cottages
www.lighthouselodgecottages.com
Andril Fireplace Cottages
http://andrilcottages.com
Pacific Gardens Inn
http://www.pacificgardensinn.com
Sunset Inn
www.gosunsetinn.com
Rosedale Inn
www.rosedaleinn.com
Monterey Plaza Hotel
www.montereyplazahotel.com
InterContinental The Clement Monterey
www.ictheclementmonterey.com
Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay
www.portolahotel.com
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa
monterey.regency.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html
Hilton Garden Inn Monterey
http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/california/hilton-garden-inn-monterey-MRYMHGI/index.html
Hotel Pacific
http://www.hotelpacific.com
