The UC Davis Product Design Lab will be hosting a free talk by Lebanese architects and designers Rana Haddad and Pascal Hachem on Oct. 16 at noon in Cruess Hall, room 220.

Rana Haddad is an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the American University in Beirut. She is an architect, product designer and performance artist who uses her practice to question the ability of objects and places to become means of political expression in Beirut. She and Pascal Hachem (they are both co-founders of the design firm 200 Grs) will be giving a talk titled “Putsch.” The talk will cover their extensive work, and focus specifically on the ways they use art and design to call attention to the experience of refugees in Lebanon.

Their ground breaking work should be of interest to anyone curious about the role of design in public interventions, architecture, urban prototyping, and the role of art and design in activism. 

Here are references to some of their work.