The communities and neighborhoods along the LA River in the Northeast of Los Angeles have traditionally had poor access to parks and open space. The Riverside Bridge is an opportunity to immediately transform the bridge span into a park to enjoy recreationally and to connect the Glassell Park and Cypress Park communities to the Greater Los Angeles area. It is also an opportunity for extending the LA River Greenway Trail to Downtown Los Angeles and to Pasadena for bicyclists and pedestrians. — change.org

Now known worldwide for its trademark curves, it's nearly impossible to imagine anybody but Frank Gehry designing Disney Hall. One critic recently lauded the exuberance of the building's design and "The way it seems eager to expand outward like a bunch of balloons in a child's fist."

Gehry called it a sailing ship.

“I like the image of it as something moving. Our culture is so filled with movement compared to a hundred years ago. Everything is moving or flying," said Gehry. — scpr.org

The chaos surrounding the Grand Avenue redevelopment may turn out to be a good thing — at least for Frank Gehry and quite possibly for the project as a whole.

LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina and the Grand Avenue Authority surprised developer Related Cos. last week by severely criticizing and temporarily rejecting its plan for a retail complex crowned by hotel, apartment and condo towers. — latimes.com

National Building Museum and Metropolis Magazine contributor Andrew Caruso recently sat down with AIA Gold Medalist Thom Mayne to talk about the early days of his career and the major design school, public projects, and trajectory of work that followed. Thom talks innovation, politics, education… and about debunking his reputation as the “bad boy” of architecture. — metropolismag.com

Architect John Parkinson designed some of L.A.'s most iconic buildings: City Hall, Union Station and the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, to name a few. Still, the British expat has been largely forgotten in the shadow of more popular architects [...].

Author Stephen Gee's latest book, "Iconic Vision: John Parkinson, Architect of Los Angeles" takes a look at Parkinson's life and how he maintained a low profile despite being the creator of so many iconic L.A. structures. — scpr.org

"Our collaboration has been since 1989, and now it's long-term," Toyota says of Gehry. "With Frank, I learned many, many things."

Chief among them, he says: "Flexibility."

"His thinking is very free and without restrictions. His spirit and creative mind is [open]. And we were able to work together in this way," Toyota says.

During the construction of Disney Hall, Toyota, ... was inspired by Gehry's design and perfected what he sees as his personal style of acoustics. — latimes.com

“It has long been our goal to ensure that the contemporary artworks in the Broad collections are seen by the broadest possible public,” said Eli Broad. “We believe that free general admission to The Broad will help draw visitors to all of the cultural institutions along Grand Avenue.”

The Los Angeles City Council voted [...] to tentatively rescind a decade long ban on murals. [...]

One of the biggest of supporters of the ordinance was muralist Kent Twitchell, he painted the Freeway lady along the 101, the LA Marathon Mural, and giant Los Angeles Conservancy portraits next to the 110 freeway in Downtown LA. Twitchell also co founded the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles. — scpr.org

Corporate America is moving away from conventional layouts where an employee's status is measured by the amount of space he occupies. Instead, more compact, playful designs are coming into favor.

People can do their jobs almost anywhere with their cellphones and laptops, the reasoning goes, so let's make the office a place where people are stimulated by close interaction at their workstations and chance meetings in inviting public spaces such as lounges and coffee bars. — latimes.com