When driving through the streets of Los Angeles, one would expect the urban structures of a dynamic city to be as unique as its inhabitants. But that's not entirely the case, and why is that? The Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles poses that question--and what could have been--with their upcoming exhibit "Never Built: Los Angeles", which opens this Saturday.
Co-curators Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin worked with Clive Wilkinson Architects to bring to life an intriguing, alternate vision of Los Angeles. The highly anticipated exhibit will delve into the most ambitious proposed projects through various media like drawings, models, videos, and their accompanying writings.
After two years of digging through archives, Lubell and Goldin discovered rare images and untold narratives that have remained unseen by the public eye--even by native Angelenos. Imagine the city having more green space and parks if Olmsted and Bartholomew's 1930 "Plan for the Los Angeles Region" were not stopped by business groups, or what the core of the city would have looked like if Lloyd Wright's 1925 "Civic Center Plan" was approved.
On the other hand, the exhibit keeps itself grounded by presenting the numerous complexities and issues of applying idealized visions into the real world, many of which are still relevant today. An "offshore freeway" in Santa Monica would have altered the pristine scenery of the Santa Monica Bay. Would Goodell Monorail's 1959 proposal of a high-speed transit system done anything to ease urban congestion? An exclusive look into the never-built "Bible Storyland", a theme park conceived in the early 1960s by the designers of Disneyland, stresses common but significant factors like public interest when planning such major projects.
Never Built: Los Angeles is a thought-provoking experience that uniquely depicts the city's rich architectural history while exploring the architectural potential for the ever-changing City of Angels.
For more information, visit http://aplusd.org/exhibitions-current
2 Comments
I hope that this will be a good one. One of my first interviews was with an architect that envisioned an extension to LAX airport by building an island out onto Santa Monica Bay. Kinda of visionary and never built. He was also the architecture of a Playboy sponsored ultramodern "Ultimate Bachelor Pad". I wish i remember the architects name.
More visionary, of course, is the complete transformation of Los Angeles by SCI-Arc co founder Glen Small. Written up in Reynar Banhem's MEGASTRUCTURES as one of the most completely worked out 20thC utopias. It is a very interesting project.
Does anyone know what or who is in the show?
GARBAGE IN GARBAGE OUT
A follow up email from Glen Small re the exhibit. "I was never contacted by anyone"
Just show the 'extensive' research for unbuilt is the same old tired stuff. Neutra, Wright, nostalgia; nothing new. Nothing green, nothing progressive.
No wonder the A&D Museum is, well, irrelevant.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.