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Now through August 25, take an immersive, tongue-in-cheeky video tour through Los Angeles at WUHO Gallery, with David Hartwell and Bill Ferehawk's "MEDIAN".Enter the narrow, deep gallery space and be at the center of MEDIAN–an "experimental moving image installation" projected onto the length... View full entry
The longer days of summer are here in sunny SoCal. Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater LA region? Archinect and Bustler compiled a snappy list of noteworthy events around town that... View full entry
Bunker Hill, an area of roughly five square blocks in downtown Los Angeles, holds a place in city lore similar to that of the water wars or the construction of Dodger Stadium: beginning in 1959, it was the subject of a massive urban-renewal project, in which “improvement” was generally defined by the people who stood to profit from it [...] subject of this short film by Keven McAlester, which compares what the same streets in downtown Los Angeles looked like in the nineteen-forties and today. — newyorker.com
Stills via YouTube.Related stories in the Archinect news:DTLA's Music Center Plaza will get a $30M remodel, its first since 1964Historic LA Times Building to be redevelopedLA's Donut Time, the LGBTQ landmark in “Tangerine”, is now permanently closed View full entry
Artwashing. What a great new political watchword. As in, watch out that your neighbourhood doesn’t get “artwashed” too. Just look how Tate Modern has wrecked London and how the Guggenheim trashed Bilbao. Get away, ye galleries! Let’s keep urban wastelands as bleak as they already are!
It’s a neat reversal of the thinking that has seen cities all over the world embrace art galleries, museums and biennials in pursuit of regeneration.
— the Guardian
The editorial hones in on struggles by residents of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights to push back against a rapid influx of galleries, which they view as the avant-garde of gentrification.For more on the community's efforts to resist becoming the next Silverlake/Echo Park/Culver... View full entry
Mayor Eric Garcetti's office released a statement yesterday announcing that Gruen Associates, Mia Lehrer + Associates, Oyler Wu Collaborative, and civil and structural engineering firm Psomas will design the final 12 miles of the San Fernando Valley portion of the Los Angeles River Greenway. The... View full entry
Grand Avenue’s Music Center Plaza is about to get a major renovation for the first time since it opened to the public in 1964.
Often overshadowed (literally) by the prominent Downtown venues that stand above it, the plaza is a gathering place and event space in its own right. Thus, a major part of the plan would increase event capacity from 1,500 to 2,500.
[LA County] has already given $2 million to plan the project, with $25 million of funding expected down the road.
— la.curbed.com
More recent L.A. news on Archinect:Michael Maltzan proposes greening L.A.'s 134 freewayDowntown LA has a new museum on the horizonHistoric LA Times Building to be redeveloped"Bouncy-house urbanism is on the rise." – Christopher Hawthorne rides the U.S. Bank Tower's 'SkySlide'Agence Ter and Team... View full entry
The longer days of summer are here in sunny SoCal. Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater LA region? Archinect and Bustler compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions... View full entry
"We’re not against art or culture," [says Boyle Heights activist Maga Miranda.] "...But the art galleries are part of a broader effort by planners and politicians and developers who want to artwash gentrification."
"We’re saying that they need to make a bigger effort to amplify the voices of the people that are gonna be most affected by this, and that doesn’t happen to be artists in this situation. It happens to be people who can’t afford to live here anymore."
— LA Weekly
Amid widespread gentrification in LA, activists in Boyle Heights have been scrutinizing the art galleries that set up shop there in recent years — including significant spaces like Self Help Graphics, which helped put the Eastside neighborhood on the cultural map. While activists want to... View full entry
Los Angeles moved one crucial step closer Thursday to tightening city rules meant to stop mansionization – the phenomenon of big, boxy homes popping up on not-so-big lots.
Local politicians first sought to tackle mansionization years ago, passing city rules to curb the size of new and renovated homes based on the size of the lots they were built on.
Neighborhood activists soon complained the rules were riddled with “loopholes” that afforded builders additional square footage [...].
— latimes.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:This Bel Air home could be yours for a mere half billion dollars (yes, B-illion)How architecture is helping make Arcadia a magnet for Chinese moneyReturn of 'mansionization' has some L.A. homeowners grumbling View full entry
The longer days of summer are here in sunny SoCal. Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater LA region? Archinect and Bustler compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions... View full entry
The city of Los Angeles has selected HDR to serve as program manager for the next three years for its robust Sidewalk Repair Program. The 30-year, $1.4 billion program aims to repair sidewalks to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensure universal access for all Angelenos. The second largest city in the U.S., Los Angeles is home to roughly 11,000 miles of sidewalks, many of which hinder passage because of cracks, buckles and bulging tree roots. — hdrinc.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Why Los Angeles is struggling to fix thousands of miles of sidewalksMichael Maltzan proposes greening L.A.'s 134 freewayAlissa Walker imagines a "utopian" Los Angeles in 2056 View full entry
Christopher Hawthorne, in keeping with his exploration of the ever evolving urban identity of Los Angeles, reached out via the L.A. Times to Michael Maltzan to see if the architect had any ideas about transforming L.A.'s freeways from noisy polluting agents into civic amenities. Maltzan has... View full entry
Sorry, I’m not able to send this directly through SnapFace since your iPhone 6 doesn’t support neural chat. Old-fashioned text pixels will have to do. Remember the movie “Her”? That’s what Los Angeles is like in 2056. L.A. is the densest city in the U.S., with a population that’s about a third larger than it was in 2016. Taller buildings are everywhere, including New DTLA — a corridor of super-talls that runs the length of Wilshire all the way to Santa Monica. — Los Angeles Times
The speculative fiction details a "utopian" city primarily characterized by efficient, far-reaching public transport and fewer cars. There's no longer a drought, and buildings are wrapped in "solar skins" designed by Elon Musk.For more speculative visions of a future California, check out these... View full entry
The longer days of summer are here in sunny SoCal. Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater LA region? Archinect and Bustler compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions... View full entry
It may not seem as if downtown Los Angeles is in need of yet another arts space. But it is coming nonetheless — and it’s aiming to fill a more locally minded role than some of the institutions around it.
The Main Museum will be a non-collecting institution housed in a series of historic early 20th century structures in the Old Bank District. Helmed by Allison Agsten, who previously served as the curator of public engagement at the Hammer Museum, the curatorial focus will be resolutely local.
— Los Angeles Times
The Main Museum is being designed by Tom Wiscombe Architecture and will have some 40,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space. There will also be a rooftop sculpture garden and amphitheater.The opening is still a way off though: the ground floor spaces are expected to open in 2018 an the rooftop should be... View full entry
