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Anyone who's seen the iPhone-shot feature Tangerine or cruised by the doughnut shop at night knows that Donut Time wasn't just another of Los Angeles' dozens of purveyors of sweet, glazed pastries. Much more significant than that, it had long served as a haven for sex workers — many of them transgender women — who make a living on the streets nearby.
"I didn't think it would ever go away. It's really sad," [Tangerine director Sean] Baker says. "I think the film caught an end to an era."
— LA Weekly
According to LAist, Donut Time's closure may be related to a massive mixed-use development proposed for that stretch along Santa Monica Boulevard, where (of course) gentrification is on the rise. It's not yet known if anything will replace Donut Time.More on Archinect:Stonewall Inn formally... View full entry
Usually, you go to these fast casual things and you're in and out in a minute...In all of the commercial projects that we do, the reason that we do them and the reason that we probably get hired to do them is that we are interested in this idea of making a joyous space for everyday activities...
It's not so much about the brand name being reinforced everywhere as much as it is to provide this urban amenity living room.
— Barbara Bestor, on KPCC
Most people don't rave about the interior design in the average Jamba Juice. But Barbara Bestor and her practice might have changed that in the expanded Old Town Pasadena location they recently revamped. Bestor chats with KPCC's Alex Cohen in this 8-minute conversation about the new “Innovation... View full entry
In a surprising new study, Stanford researchers have found that drought-ravaged California is sitting on top of a vast and previously unrecognized water resource, in the form of deep groundwater, residing at depths between 1,000 and nearly 10,000 feet below the surface of the state’s always thirsty Central Valley.
[...] new research could prove controversial among scientists trying to interpret what it means for a state that has battled over water, and its distribution, going back many decades.
— washingtonpost.com
Other drought-related stories in the Archinect news:California eases some drought restrictions but makes others permanentHow is water used in California?"Grassroots Cactivism," 1st place winner in Dry Futures Speculative category"Liquifying Aquifer", 1st place winner in Dry Futures Pragmatic... View full entry
Don't let the sweltering summer heat curb your creative inspiration. 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... View full entry
The Los Angeles Police Commission approved a new policy directing LAPD officers to treat homeless people with “compassion and empathy.”
The policy was meant to be a broad statement – a “philosophy more than it is the nuts and bolts,” [Cmdr Todd] Chamberlain recently told police commissioners. More specifics will come in future directives, he added.
But the new statement [unsurprisingly] was met with some skepticism from homeless advocates.
— Los Angeles Times
“Gary Blasi, a retired UCLA law professor who studies homelessness, said it would take more than a policy to improve interactions between officers and those living on the city’s streets. To do that, he said, the city should limit laws that unfairly criminalize situations involving homeless... View full entry
A fresh set of three dozen projects were recognized in the 2016 Los Angeles Architectural Awards. Organized by the LA Business Council, the awards recognize some of L.A. County's top-notch designers and projects...
“This year designers rose to the challenge to design more eco-conscious and efficient features, and generally improve the way people live through architecture”
— Bustler
Here are a few of this year's winners:Beyond L.A. Award - Harbin Opera House. Architect: MAD Architects.Landscape Architecture Award - Apollo at Rosecrans. Design Architect: Ehrlich Architects | Landscape Architect: LRM Landscape Architecture and Urban DesignHealthcare Award - Kaplan Family... View full entry
Don't let the sweltering summer heat curb your creative inspiration. Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater L.A. region? Archinect and Bustler compiled a snappy list of engaging... View full entry
CALIFORNIA WON’T BE throwing much shade this summer. It would need trees to do that. Last year almost 30 million trees died in the Golden State—and that number is expected to double or triple by the end of 2016. The high mortality rates come at a time when the state needs healthy forests most, with climate change looming always and a La Niña—El Niño’s dry hermana—on the way. — Wired
"The likely outcome? California’s landscape will radically transform, starting with a surge of wildfires that will trigger mudslides, diminished water quality, and the rise of new vegetation."For more news from the dried out Golden State, check out these links:California eases some... View full entry
Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater L.A. region? Let Archinect and Bustler help you out! We compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions, upcoming exhibitions and ongoing... View full entry
Los Angeles is in for a lot of (proposed) change, especially in its downtown core. Yesterday, the City of L.A. announced Mia Lehrer + Associates and OMA as the winners of a competition to design a new public park called the FAB Park...Proposed for the well-trafficked streets of First and Broadway in downtown L.A., the 1.96-acre FAB Park will integrate “the themes of food, art, and land.” — Bustler
Find out more on Bustler.Previously on Archinect:Take a look at these bold visions for Downtown LA's next parkA critical look at Downtown L.A.'s ambitious plans for two new public parksAgence Ter and Team wins Pershing Square Renew with “radically flat“ proposal View full entry
Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater L.A. region? Let Archinect and Bustler help you out! We compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions, upcoming exhibitions and ongoing... View full entry
Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater L.A. region? Let Archinect and Bustler help you out! We compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions, upcoming exhibitions and ongoing... View full entry
Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater L.A. region? Let Archinect and Bustler help you out! We compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions, upcoming exhibitions and ongoing... View full entry
OK, so this would mean the way to make San Francisco as affordable as (say) Portland would be to either cut everybody’s salary in half, or fire half of them, or allow the city’s population to rapidly grow about 50 percent, to about 1.2 million, while the number of housing units increased even faster. — Michael Andersen, on Medium
In discussing San Francisco's rising housing costs over the years, journalist Michael Andersen re-emphasizes some points in this recent blogpost by a man named Eric Fischer, who took his own approach in analyzing the city's housing prices before 1979, when SF's rent-control rates began being... View full entry
Curious where to find interesting architecture-related happenings in Los Angeles, or where other design-inclined folks are gathering in the Greater L.A. region? Let Archinect and Bustler help you out! We compiled a snappy list of engaging lectures, discussions, upcoming exhibitions and ongoing... View full entry
