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the developer, Townscape Partners, agreed to reduce its tallest tower to 178 feet and add more affordable housing and more parking spaces. It will also provide $2 million to ease traffic congestion.
The project will have 229 residential units, including 38 for low-income families. There will be 65,000 square feet of commercial space and a pedestrian plaza.
— latimes.com
When Gehry's Sunset Strip development was approved by the L.A. City Planning Commission last August, the plan called for 28 affordable housing units (15% of the total stock)—a number that some at the Commission meeting were concerned set a "low bar" for a development of its size, stature and... View full entry
"We explained what the agency does and what we stand for, and he gave me a handshake right there," offering to work pro bono. [...] Of his design — a series of two-story, garden-surrounded buildings that echo the modest scale of the neighborhood, their shiny roofs the only Gehry-esque note — he says: "This building is not fancy but has all of my heart and soul in it. I worked hard to make spaces for the kids and families that would use it so that they would feel special." — hollywoodreporter.com
Gehry's Watts involvement previously in the Archinect news:Frank Gehry-designed children's center planned for Watts neighborhood in L.A.Can a Frank Gehry design help change the dynamic of Watts? View full entry
After more than four years of wrangling over Frank Gehry's proposal for the Eisenhower memorial, the Eisenhower family has removed its objections to a modified version of the initial design. Although information about specific design changes and compromises was scant, according to Reuters the... View full entry
River LA, formerly the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation, has posted a video interview with Frank Gehry about his work on the LA River revitalization project. The nonprofit organization works to build public support for the project. “I think when I started it I had trepidation,”... View full entry
For decades, the concrete-lined L.A. River has been more famous for being a bone-dry iconic conduit for films like Terminator 2 than a major watery artery, but that may change: in a talk with Christopher Hawthorne on Monday, Frank Gehry mentioned that his design may just save the city significant... View full entry
[John Irwin, one of the project's developers, noted:] "This is the right direction for development in L.A., embracing both the benefits of good planning—as well as a commitment to providing affordable housing at varying income levels, which we have agreed to increase” [...]
Ryu’s Chief of Staff Sarah Dusseault argued before the commissioners that setting such a low bar for affordable housing would set a bad precedent as the city is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis.
— losfelizledger.com
More Frank on Archinect: Frank Gehry's renderings for L.A.'s Sunset Strip revealedWhat's happening with Frank Gehry's masterplan for the LA River?Artist Daniel Buren spruces up Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton with colorful interventionLos Angeles River revitalization: prosperity for all or just a... View full entry
River LA is less interested in giving a clear picture of what Gehry’s plan eventually may include than in tamping down charges that it has been born of secrecy — and worries that it may operate as a Trojan horse, a kind of high-design architectural cover, for rampant real-estate speculation [...]
A central goal of this master plan... will be to strike an effective balance between maintaining flood-control measures while opening up the river to new kinds of public access.
The two designers from Gehry's office leading research on the River's masterplan, Tensho Takemori and Anand Devarajan, emphasize that the approach now is about learning, not designing: “This is just meant to be information,” said Takemori. “There’s no designs, no proposals or anything... View full entry
Thanks to in situ artist Daniel Buren, the white glassy curved sails of the Gehry-designed Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris have received a generous splash of vibrant color — or 13 colors, to be exact...Developed in collaboration with Frank Gehry, Buren's temporary piece, titled “The Observatory of Light“, made its official debut this past Wednesday. It took 29 nights over a period of five weeks to apply the dyed filters and white 8.7 cm-wide strips throughout the building's 3,528 glass panes. — Bustler
Read more about Buren's intervention on Bustler. View full entry
Sea level forecasts by a coalition of scientists show that the Silicon Valley bases for Facebook, Google and Cisco are at risk of being cut off or even flooded, even under optimistic scenarios where rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions avoid the most severe sea level increases.
Without significant adaptation, Facebook’s new campus appears most at risk.
— the Guardian
San Francisco to mandate solar panels for new constructionsWhile the Frank Gehry-designed campus was elevated to prevent flooding, even a 1.6 ft rise – on the low end of predictions – will "inundate" the campus. Google is a little better off but will also be swamped if the Antarctic ice sheet... View full entry
When news broke on Thursday morning that architect Zaha Hadid had died, she was quickly mourned by a trio of her peers: Frank Gehry and Joseph Giovannini sat together over breakfast and called Robert A.M. Stern to have a group cry.
“We just loved her,” Gehry tells TIME. “We’d just seen her a few weeks ago at Yale,” where he and Hadid were teaching concurrent studios. “It’s one of the things we do—we time them so we’re all together at Yale at the same time so we can sort of hang out.”
— TIME
In a touching piece, TIME records Frank Gehry's reactions to the death of Zaha Hadid, a close personal friend and colleague.Gehry helped Hadid obtain her first major commission, the Vitra Fire Station in Germany. “She did an extraordinary job with it,” Gehry recalls. “Everybody was... View full entry
“If we do it right,” Gehry said at an event in September, “we can really make the High Line look like a little pishy thing.” Given that Manhattan’s elevated park, at merely 1/35th the length of the river, has helped transform the surrounding neighborhood into a playground for the rich, residents of LA’s river-adjacent communities are right to be concerned. — thenation.com
The LA River development project previously in the Archinect news:Mayor Eric Garcetti on Frank Gehry's plans for the LA River: "a cooperative, collaborative, regional approach"Does Frank Gehry – or his firm – have what it takes to save the LA River?Gehry enlisted to masterplan LA River... View full entry
“It is a great honor to receive the 2016 Annenberg Award from FAPE, an organization that believes that art and design can foster a deeper appreciation of all cultures. This is a principle that is central to my work as well, so it is wonderful to be included in FAPE’s legacy of cultural diplomacy through art. Art and architecture work in concert, and are vital to sparking creativity, enhancing understanding, and creating a dialogue.” — Frank Gehry, via fapeglobal.org
The eight-year-old award was created by the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies, "to honor distinguished Americans who have demonstrated a commitment to the arts, and who exhibit long-term excellence and innovation in the exchange of creativity and ideas that represent the rich and... View full entry
Earlier this month, developer Townscape Partners and Gehry Partners presented an unsolicited plan to the Beverly Hills City Council to build a huge mixed-use campus that would include hip office space, a five-star hotel, retail, and a three-acre public park on about seven acres of land...the council is expected to approve an agreement at their meeting tonight that should help this unexpected and enormous project take a big step forward. — Curbed
You can find the full project staff report here.More recent news about Frank Gehry:Mayor Eric Garcetti on Frank Gehry's plans for the LA River: "a cooperative, collaborative, regional approach"Frank Gehry is the first architect to be awarded the Harvard Arts MedalFrank Gehry and Maya Lin find... View full entry
When we finally see this river restored to its natural beauty, it’ll be thanks to the work of thousands of people over decades.
The work that Frank Gehry is doing builds upon this—looking at how we can stitch together these 88 cities of LA County, including the 15 different jurisdictions along the river’s 51 miles—some of the most diverse and interesting communities that we’ve ever known. [...]
people have put aside their differences and said: This is an opportunity to move forward.
— planningreport.com
Get caught up with more news on Gehry's ongoing redevelopment strategy for the LA River:A closer look at reasons why the Los Angeles River revitalization is taking so longDoes Frank Gehry – or his firm – have what it takes to save the LA River?"They should grow up": Frank Gehry to critics of... View full entry
These days, it’s hard to think clearly about the Los Angeles River. Once the lifeline of the city and, before that, the Tongva people, the river was paved in the early 20th century following a series of devastating floods and then – at least according to a well-worn narrative – forgotten by... View full entry