Puzzling Assemblies

Puzzling Assemblies, by award-winning architects and educators Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu, is an in-depth investigation into the robust relationship between architectural concepts and puzzle logics.

Organized into three primary sections, Puzzling Assemblies is a dissection of this idea—offering insights into its potential to enrich contemporary architectural thinking. Through rigorous design investigations, detailed drawings, and diverse analysis, Oyler Wu unpacks some of the fundamental assembly methods of puzzled forms and engage a series of physical and perceptual operations that boldly reimagine them at a range of scales.

Succinctly composed and incisively abstract, Oyler Wu presents an inviting examination that expands on tectonic and aesthetic principles of this process, offering a fresh perspective on the evolution of their design approach. With essays from practicing architects like Nader Tehrani, Marcelyn Gow, Paul Lewis, Ed Ford, David Erdman, and Anna Neimark, and a new series of models and projects—Puzzling Assemblies presents a technical primer for multivalent explorations in design, introducing a methodology that emphasizes experimentation and discovery.

Dwayne Oyler and Jenny Wu are partners at the Los Angeles based architecture firm, Oyler Wu Collaborative. Internationally recognized for its innovative designs in tectonic form and architectural intervention, their projects range from high-end furniture design and installation to buildings and urban planning.

 

In 2021, the firm was awarded the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture, and they received 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. In addition to the architectural practice, Jenny Wu also founded LACE by Jenny Wu, a line of 3D printed fine jewelry in 2014. Since its launch, LACE has catapulted as a leader in the jewelry industry, producing statements pieces that are unique in their design, production, and material quality. Both Dwayne and Jenny have been full-time faculty members at the Southern California Institute of Architecture since 2004 and have taught visiting design studios at various other institutions such as Cooper Union, Columbia GSAPP, Syracuse University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Principal and Founder at NADAAA, currently teaching at Cooper Union. Boston, MA.

Principal and Founder at First Office, currently teaching at SCI_Arc. Los Angeles, CA.

Principal and Founder at LTL Architects (NY), co-author of 'Manual of Biogenic House Sections'. New York, NY.

Architect and author of Searching for Authenticity, The Details of Modern Architecture (2 Volumes), and The Architectural Detail, currently Emeritus Faculty at University of Virginia. Charlottesville. VA