Materials & Applications (M&A) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit cultural organization dedicated to building a public culture of experimental architecture. With a focus on architectural ideas and processes, M&A curates critical exhibitions and commissions new work by under-recognized architects, designers, and artists. Since 2002, M&A has produced more than 20 temporary site-specific installations and over 100 programs presenting new ideas in art, architecture, and design.

To support the site-specific installation Earthen Comforts: Airing Earth at the Craft Contemporary courtyard which stages mass and fiber as shared infrastructures for collective comfort in the Los Angeles summer. Earthen columns are paired with a lightweight, collectively woven canopy to create layered microclimates, offering visitors differentiated experiences of light, atmosphere, temperature, and texture. Thermal design is reframed as a civic concern, cultivated through shared practices rather than individualized air-conditioning. Together, these efforts foreground shared learning and experimental craft practice as urgent responses to increasing heat insecurity. The installation will be on view May 31 through October 25, 2026.