[...] the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission signed off the initial phase of the long-proposed remodel of Pershing Square. [...]
The first phase of the project, as detailed in a presentation from Gruen Associates partner Debra Gerod, would focus on the Olive Street side of the park. The most visible of the proposed changes is the removal of the cafe building, creating space for a new landscaped plaza with outdoor seating.
— Urbanize Los Angeles
French landscape practice Agence Ter, working in collaboration with Los Angeles-based firms SALT Landscape Architects, Deborah Murphy Urban Design + Planning, Rachel Allen Architecture, among others, won the 2016 international design competition to redesign Pershing Square, the oldest public park in Downtown LA. Gruen Associates is the architect of record on the project.
For more project details, take a look at the April 14, 2021 Cultural Affairs Commission Presentation.
2 Comments
some people say nothing ambitious or innovative can get built in America today - but this shows us that dull ordinary things can be damn hard to get done too.
It's especially difficult when the council member behind launching the "task force" for the redesign competition in the first place recently got busted by the FBI for RICO for other projects in DTLA...
https://esotouric.com/pershingsquare/
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/new-indictment-rico-case-against-former-la-city-councilman-jose-huizar-adds-5
makes the project seem pretty sus in hindsight, no?
All these flashy proposals, thousands upon thousands of hours by all parties involved... ... and what is *basically* going to happen is some demolition to open up the park along hill st, some glass elevator shafts, and new landscaping.
Don't get me wrong... I actually thing these will be some decent improvements and I'm excited about the transformation regardless, but I chalk this one up to overpromising and underdelivering which LA seems to be pretty darn good about with respect to public parks and infrastructure these days. Oh, and corruption. Yeah, corruption... that cruel mistress.
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