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Gehry's involvement is a potential turning point in the decades-long movement to transform the concrete-lined waterway that winds through the heart of the Los Angeles Basin. [...]
it appears to be a broad reworking of the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan that L.A. city officials adopted in 2007 [...]
the new plan is getting a cold reception from the community of activists who have helped draw attention over the years to what was once a forlorn environmental cause.
— latimes.com
In an exclusive published earlier today by the Los Angeles Times, Peter Jamison takes a hard look at Frank Gehry's newly-announced collaboration with city officials to revitalize the LA River. Details are still very scant at this time, and Gehry's office has been tight-lipped about what their... View full entry
“Musings about a Brutalist building’s friendliness quotient are a distraction” - Anthony Carfello, artist — LA Forum Architecture / Urban Design
Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design Summer 2015 Newsletter surveys and critiques LA's own collection of high-quality brutalist buildings in a 'must be collected" issue that grew out of its own google map “Brutalism Los Angeles” and other resources. The Newsletter features a... View full entry
Architect Frank Gehry has often talked about the influence artists have had on his building designs. [...] An early work from the 1960s by sculptor Larry Bell in the Frank Lloyd show offers a partial template for a Gehry design built three decades ago in Toluca Lake.
Gehry's World Savings and Loan branch at Riverside Drive and Mariota Avenue is a sky-lighted, one-story hall framed by tall facades out front and in the back, as if a full second story had been planned but never built.
— latimesblogs.latimes.com
The United States Olympic Committee said Monday that it was withdrawing Boston as its proposed bid city because resistance among residents was too great to overcome in the short time that remained before the committee had to formally propose a bid city by Sept. 15. [...]
U.S.O.C. intended to move quickly to prepare a bid from another city. While he did not mention Los Angeles by name, many people involved in the Olympics expect Los Angeles to enter the competition.
— nytimes.com
More news from the 2020 and 2024 Olympics:Zaha's Tokyo Olympic Stadium cancelled – Abe calls for a redesign from scratchDavid Manfredi, the architect behind Boston’s 2024 Olympic bidBoston wins U.S. Olympic Committee's bid for 2024 GamesWhich U.S. city will win the 2024 Olympic bid? Boston... View full entry
If the project is scaled up, it could have a substantial impact on the urban fabric: Los Angeles has a total of almost 900 miles of alleys, roughly the length of the coast of California. Proponents believe that on a citywide scale, green alleys could act as significant rainwater sponges, mitigate the heat island effect, and reduce vehicle use, as well as bring social and health benefits to nearby residents. — nextcity.org
Tori Kjer, a program director of the Trust for Public Land, and her colleagues won support from local South L.A. communities for their proposed Avalon Green Alley Network Plan, which will transform the city's alleyways into more community-friendly spaces for playing and for bike and walking... View full entry
The Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX debuted this week three new public art commissions designed to greet departing and arriving passengers and provide a measure of calm and reflection amid the chaos of air travel.
The artists involved all have strong ties to Los Angeles -- Mark Bradford, Pae White and the Ball-Nogues studio each resides or works in the L.A. area.
— latimes.com
The invitation was cryptic. A small piece of wood with a laser-burned message that read, "June 30, 2015. Please join us for tea and wishes overlooking the city. Sunrise, Griffith Park." — Los Angeles Times
It's a rather charming story: an anonymous collective of artists have fashioned a Japanese-inspired teahouse out of charred wood reclaimed from the 2007 Griffith Park fire and offered it as a gift to the city. Surreptitiously assembled in parts, the teahouse was inaugurated yesterday morning for a... View full entry
Here's a line I never thought I'd have the pleasure of writing:
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez is sparring with elderly Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the pending sale of the nuns' former convent in Los Feliz to international superstar singer Katy Perry.
— latimes.com
On Tuesday, the City of Los Angeles announced that the team of Populous and HMC Architects had been selected to design the $350 million expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, beating out other proposals from teams lead by Gensler and AC Martin. — urbanize.la
LA Mayor Eric Garceitti's office recently also released a set of renderings of the recommended new design by Populous & HMC Architects.All images via Mayor Eric Garcetti's Facebook. View full entry
MAD Architects is making their U.S. residential debut with the unveiling of 8600 Wilshire, which is scheduled to break ground along Wilshire Boulevard in the one and only Beverly Hills this October. Described by the architects like an oasis-like 'hillside village', the stark-white glass villas and... View full entry
The California Supreme Court decided unanimously Monday that cities and counties may require developers to provide below-market-rate housing as a condition of a building permit.
The decision is expected to make it easier for Los Angeles and other cities with housing shortages to force developers to build or pay for affordable housing.
— LA Times
Loath to lose more housing, Los Angeles lawmakers are now taking steps to help legalize 'bootlegged' apartments that have long existed without municipal blessing...The goal, City Councilman Felipe Fuentes said, is to 'maintain affordability and try to get folks into stable, dignified housing.' Both tenant and landlord groups praised the budding plan as a 'win-win'...But the idea has already raised concerns among some residents who see it as a reward for flouting the law. — Los Angeles Times
More:In Los Angeles, homelessness is becoming more visibleMonterey Park City Council adopts tougher penalties for landlords of illegal boarding homesWill Los Angeles be seeing more housing development along its LA River?Another case of "poor door" for proposed Vancouver high-riseHonolulu Law... View full entry
The L.A.-Waze partnership is, at least in theory, an initial step toward allowing the city’s planners and engineers to regain a healthier role in mediating the kinds of longstanding cross-town conflicts that Waze has renewed and amplified. Whether the deal will help to resolve fundamental long-term issues related to the city’s growth and inadequate infrastructure is another matter. — newyorker.com
Turner Impact Multifamily Fund will target opportunities to acquire housing for workers making up to 80 percent of the area’s median income. The goal is to provide housing for those who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing, but too little to afford a home or luxury apartment near their workplace [...]
“Workforce housing is an overlooked segment of the real estate market with a significant mismatch in supply and demand that we believe offers a compelling investment opportunity”
— labusinessjournal.com
More homeless people in Los Angeles are leaving Skid Row for other more visible areas of the city, such as parks and near freeways. [...]
Some of the increased visibility is the result of lawsuits. Until the city can supply more affordable housing, the homeless can legally camp on sidewalks from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. [...]
Marketplace reports that advocates say they’ve seen a rise in middle-aged homeless people, some victims of recession-era job loss.
— nextcity.org
