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But even in the haze of construction, a seemingly endless swirl of workers, cranes and girders, the enormous scope of the project is coming into focus as its futuristic new home rises in Exposition Park: a grand homage to one of the nation’s best-known filmmakers, and a massive repository for an eclectic collection of 100,000 paintings, photographs, book illustrations and comic book drawings. — The New York Times
Following a series of legal issues, criticism, construction delays, and the pandemic, the long-awaited MAD Architects-designed $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art finally seems to be on track to complete. Since breaking ground in 2018, the project’s opening has been pushed back... View full entry
Michael Maltzan's long-awaited overhaul of the UCLA Hammer Museum has set a date for its public debut after more than two decades of work undertaken at the behest of director Ann Philbin. March 26th will mark the completed transformation of the 33-year-old Westside institution, with a new facade... View full entry
To say the last few months have been life-changing for Edwin Castro would be putting it mildly. In November, he bought a winning Powerball lottery ticket at a Mobil gas station in the Los Angeles suburb of Altadena. Last month, he finally claimed his record-shattering prize, taking home a $997.6 million lump sum before taxes. Less than 30 days later, he’s the proud owner of one of the flashiest new mansions in the star-studded Hollywood Hills. — Dirt
Castro purchased the mansion for $25.5 million, a discount from the property’s initial ask of $29.95 million. According to the Los Angeles Times, this is the most expensive sale in the Hollywood Hills this year and one of the neighborhood’s priciest ever. The home was built in 2022 by luxury... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to Los Angeles-based Aaron Neubert Architects, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series on the West Coast this week to explore the work of AB design studio, who are currently hiring for several positions. Founded in 2005 “as a conversation between two... View full entry
Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday to approve a motion requiring all non-ductile, concrete high-rise structures in LA County to be given seismic retrofits within the next ten years. The motion applies to all incorporated communities in the county and must be codified by... View full entry
Following last week’s look at an opening for an Architectural Designer at Vessel Technologies, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open position on Archinect Jobs for an Assistant Professor of XR Technologies at Arizona State University. Based at the... View full entry
Following last week’s visit to New York City-based BKSK Architects, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Los Angeles this week to explore the work of Aaron Neubert Architects who are currently hiring for a Junior / Intermediate Designer. Founded in 2006, with a presence in both... View full entry
LA's Destination Crenshaw initiative has revealed an updated opening day for its largest component along with news of $3.4 million in federal grant contribution that will help further shepherd the project towards its eventual completion later this year. The development’s Sankofa Park... View full entry
Amsterdam’s Kossmanndejong (KDJ) has been announced by the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County as the lead exhibition designer for the La Brea Tar Pits overhaul following a competitive international search process. In tandem with WEISS/MANFREDI and Los Angeles-based Gruen Associates... View full entry
Welcome to Super Nintendo World, the closest thing you can get to diving head-first inside a video game and experiencing the likely effects of swallowing one of Mario’s magic mushrooms.
For Universal, it represents the first expansion beyond film- and TV-themed rides, and a step up in designing a total environment – with the opening timed to capitalise on the release of an animated Super Mario Bros movie this spring.
— The Guardian
The park expansion officially opens on February 17th. Visitors will find attractions like the overpriced Toadstool Cafe, a “sedate crawl” signature race experience (sans shortcuts), cuter small details, and Bowser’s Castle, which apparently includes a self-help library and bomb-making... View full entry
Mayors across a variety of American towns and cities have used the U.S. Conference of Mayors to voice concerns about their ability to address the dual crises of housing affordability and homelessness. As reported by Politico, specific struggles shared by mayors include attracting investors... View full entry
This month, listings appeared on multiple websites advertising the 2.5-acre property at 8150 Sunset Boulevard as being for sale. The now vacant lot, which sits at Sunset's intersection with Crescent Heights Boulevard, is the former site of the Garden of Allah, and more recently, the Lytton Savings Building. — Urbanize Los Angeles
The amended plan includes a retail center and residential tower with 38 total units of affordable housing divided into two sculptural volumes that straddle a 2.5-acre plot. Once developed, it will join Gehry’s similarly-designed Ocean Avenue Project and the 45-story The Grand LA as the... View full entry
On Monday, Jan. 9, [Frank] McCourt scored a court victory when Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff sided with proponents. Beckloff rejected a challenge to the unusual relationship between McCourt’s private company and the county’s public mega transit agency, LA Metro, which was struck without competitive bidding. — Los Angeles Daily News
The former Dodgers owner was behind the leadership team that had been selling the project under the guise of environmental concerns (the scheme does reduce traffic by about 3,000 cars for each of the stadium's 81 home games) after cutting an alleged sweetheart deal with Metro Chief Phil... View full entry
Anderton’s book provides further powerful evidence that density is not something to be scared of, but is fertile ground for architectural invention, creating more neighbourly, walkable communities, and ultimately making Los Angeles a more livable city for all. — The Guardian
The Guardian’s Oliver Wainwright joined Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles author Frances Anderton for a walking tour of select historic apartment buildings that included Richard Neutra’s 1937 Strathmore Apartments in Westwood (noteworthy as the first apartment Charles and... View full entry
To ease Los Angeles’ crushing housing shortage, the city needs a lot more new homes, especially affordable ones. Yet the City Council has been sitting on two community plans that would make it easier for developers to construct housing and boost the number of low-income units in downtown and Hollywood. What’s the holdup? Politics and scandal. — Los Angeles Times
One of the plans, the Downtown Community Plan, which aims to add 100,000 new homes to Los Angeles’ downtown core through 2040, was put on hold after an audio recording surfaced revealing three council members making racist and offensive comments about their colleagues and constituents. Two of... View full entry
