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Say goodbye to the Sixth Street Viaduct along the L.A. River at ForumFest 2015, Oct. 25

2015-10-15T20:43:00-04:00

The L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design is partying along the Los Angeles River for ForumFest 2015, Bridge. Tunnel. Channel., happening at the Sixth Street Bridge tunnel on Sunday, October 25.

ForumFest highlights the historic Sixth Street Viaduct as a signifier of change in the city. The viaduct will be demolished in the coming weeks and be replaced by a new bridge by Michael Maltzan Architecture.

Enjoy a festive evening of DJs, live music, food and trucks, and artistic and musical surprises — all while supporting the L.A. Forum!

The party will feature temporary installations by architects and designers in the Forum’s 2015 Out There Doing It series: Typical Office (Duygun Inal and Ben Warwas); LA-BOR (Jia Gu and Jonathan Crisman); and PAR (Jennifer Marmon).

Jai & Jai Gallery (Jomjai and Jaitip Srisomburananont) will also present a curated series of video works by Chris Gassaway, Devin Gharakhanian, Nick Korody, Juanito Olivarria, Tomas Koolhaas, Akiko Yamashita, and art by...

Makers and Shakers: LA Forum's "Out There Doing It" 2013

2013-11-15T13:43:00-05:00

One of Los Angeles’ most sly urban characteristics is its sprawl: by being so large, its widely cast net defies characterization while also incubating remarkable experimentations. A few outstanding selections from that mélange are the members of Out There Doing It -- a collection of architects and designers curated by the LA Forum “as diverse as they are interdisciplinary”. These emerging professionals “actively question how architecture is represented, conceptualized, materialized, and publicized” -- encouraging accountability throughout the design process. The 2013 OTDI participants are: Anna Neimark of First Office, Bryony Roberts, ALLTHATISSOLID, and Design, Bitches.

Inspired by Russian suprematism and Metallica, practicing in bathrooms and coffeehouses, these designers cover ideas as expansive as the L.A. basin, in all its nooks and crannies. The 2013 OTDIers just completed their final event at ForumFest, the LA Forum’s annual fundraiser (this year honoring Michael Maltzan...

Interview with Michael Maltzan, ForumFest 2013 Honoree

2013-11-08T10:59:00-05:00

This Saturday, the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design will hold its annual ForumFest fundraiser, this year honoring Michael Maltzan. Operating as both educational and artistic platform, the LA Forum has helped shape the critical perspective on Los Angeles urbanism since 1987. In line with the Forum's impact on the city, Maltzan has contributed to L.A.’s theoretical urban identity as well as its physical one -- producing many critical writings on the city, along with projects on a variety of scales.

In anticipation of ForumFest, I spoke with Michael about his relationship to the city of Los Angeles, why he makes himself write, and the models for successful future cities.

Amelia Taylor-Hochberg: How is writing useful to architectural practice, and when considering urbanism?

Michael Maltzan: The thing I like so much about writing is that I find it very hard, and because of that, because it's not the most immediate way that I express what I'm thinking about, ...

LA ForumFest to honor Michael Maltzan

2013-11-01T15:02:00-04:00

Celebrating over 25 years of educational and advocacy work, the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design will honor architect Michael Maltzan, FAIA, of Michael Maltzan Architecture at their annual ForumFest. The LA Forum is a discussion platform for local architecture and urbanism, where design professionals and the general public alike can reflect on the nature and impact of architecture in Los Angeles.

Michael Maltzan was a natural choice for this year's ForumFest honoree -- established in Los Angeles since 1995, his firm embraces the diverse, sometimes contradictory Los Angeles landscape, while retaining a recognizable personality and form specific to his practice. He has also contributed to the architectural discourse on Los Angeles through multiple essays and critical pieces. Maltzan is perhaps most well-known in Los Angeles for his work with the Skid Row Housing Trust, as well as his many architectural and urban planning projects at the intersection of education...