
Benjamin Ball grew up in Colorado
and Iowa where his mother's involvement in theatre proved
influential. While studying for his degree at the Southern
California Institute of Architecture, Ball logged stints at
Gehry Partners and Shirdel Zago Kipnis. Upon graduation, he
sought work as a set and production designer for films (including
the Matrix series) as well as music videos and commercials
with such influential directors as Mark Romanek and Tony Scott.
His experience ranges from work on the Disney Concert Hall
and small residential commissions for boutique firms to complex
medical structures and event design. In his current collaboration
with Gaston Nogues, Ball is exploring the intersection of
architecture, art and product design through physical modeling
and the use of digital and more traditional forms of production.
A major goal of his design endeavors is to create experiences;
because of this, he feels "a building that is not built
is not architecture."
Gaston Nogues was born and
raised in Buenos Aires before moving to Los Angeles at age
12. Frequently accompanying his father to his job as an aerospace
engineer, Nogues acquired a fascination with the hands-on
process of building. An honors graduate in architecture from
SCI-Arc, he moved directly from school into a position at
Gehry Partners where he worked in product design and production
and became a specialist in creative fabrication. He remained
there until 2005 except for a one-year stint in 1996 as an
assistant curator at a fine arts publishing house, Gemini
GEL. In his current collaboration with Benjamin Ball, Nogues
is focused on fabricating what they visualize; on process
as it relates to the built object. In his spare time, Nogues
builds custom automobiles.
In 2006, Ball-Nogues Studio was awarded
the Best of Category distinction for Environments for their
installation Maximilian's Schell by ID Magazine. Ball-Nogues
is the recipient of two Los Angeles AIA Design Awards and
Interior Design Magazines Best of Year Award for their installation
Rip Curl Canyon. In 2007 their installation Liquid Sky was
the winner of the Museum of Modern Art / P.S.1's Young Architect's
Program competition and Ball-Nogues became one three design
teams who were awarded a United States Artists Target Fellowship.
Their work has appeared in publications worldwide including
the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Architectural Record,
Architectural Digest, Interior Design, Icon, Log 10, Sculpture,
and Surface.
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