Alvin Huang, AIA is the Founder and Design Principal of Synthesis Design + Architectureand an Assistant Professor at the USC School of Architecture. He is an award-winning architect, designer, and educator that is focused on exploring the intersection between performance, technology, and craft in contemporary architecture and design. His work spans all scales ranging from hi-rise towers and mixed-use developments to temporary pavilions and bespoke furnishings. Each project is seen as a unique opportunity to pursue an identity that is rooted in technological and material experimentation as a means of challenging convention. This outlook defines the design agenda of the office, which seeks to balance both the experimental and the visionary with the practical and the pragmatic to achieve the extraordinary.
Alvin Huang’s work has been widely published and exhibited and has gained international recognition, including being selected to represent the UK at the Beijing Biennale in 2008 along with numerous awards including a 2014 ACSA New Faculty Teaching Award, 2014 ACSA Faculty Design Award (Honorable Mention), 2014 AIA Small Projects Award, 2014 Autodesk Small Business Innovation Award, 2013 Time Magazine’s 20 Best Inventions of the Year, 2013 AIA|LA NextLA Design Award, 2013 AIA California Council Merit Award, and 2009 D&AD Award for Environmental Design.
Alvin received a Master of Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory (2004) in London and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Southern California (1998) in Los Angeles. Prior to forming SYNTHESIS, he gained significant professional experience working with Amanda Levete Architects, Future Systems, Zaha Hadid Architects, and AECOM.
In addition to his work at SDA, Alvin is currently an Assistant Professor at the USC School of Architecture in Los Angeles, Co-director of the Architectural Association Visiting School Los Angeles, and Co-chair of the 2014 ACADIA Conference. He has also taught design studios and master classes at the Architectural Association (London), University of Texas (Austin), University of Calgary, Tongji University (Shanghai), Tsinghua University (Beijing), University of Lund (Sweden) and Chelsea College of Art (London). He has been an invited critic, guest lecturer, and keynote speaker at various institutions in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Japan and China.
