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As part of a broader vision to revitalize Downtown Los Angeles, City Councilmember Jose Huizar spearheaded the creation of the public-private partnership Pershing Square Renew, which aims to overhaul and redesign Pershing Square into a new town square...The finalist proposals have received plenty of scrutiny over the last few months, but the public will get to hear from the architects themselves tonight when they present their concepts at the Downtown Palace Theater in L.A. — Bustler
↓ James Corner Field Operations with Frederick Fisher & Partners ↓ Agence TER and Team ↓ SWA with Morphosis ↓ wHY with Civitas See more of each proposal on Bustler. Previously on Archinect: A critical look at Downtown L.A.'s ambitious plans for two new public parks Take... View full entry
Every April, music fans venture in droves to the High Desert outside of Los Angeles for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival – a veritable rite of spring for the selfie era.And, like with any good spring bacchanal, the musical experience is often enhanced through the consumption of... View full entry
the city's council voted unanimously to create a program to "develop autonomous vehicles as public transportation."
The council's vision is for self-driving vehicles to provide "on-demand, point-to-point transportation," with citizens "requesting a ride using their smartphone." The shuttles wouldn't replace public transportation, but augment it [...]
Phase one of the city council's program includes reaching out to companies like Tesla and Google to explore "potential partnerships."
— theverge.com
Beverly Hills isn't the only city considering adding on-demand driverless vehicles to its transportation offerings – but given its small size, affluence, and well-maintained road infrastructure, it could be a prime zone for testing municipal adoption of autonomous vehicles.As an on-demand public... View full entry
The Associated Press reports a California legislative panel advanced a bill Tuesday committing the state to cover up to $250 million in cost overruns as part of Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The Senate Governmental Organization Committee approved the bill in a 7-0 vote after proponents said they’re confident they can provide the Games without the serious deficits that have challenged other recent host cities. They pointed to Los Angeles’ profitable hosting of the 1984 Olympics.
— gamesbids.com
Previously in the Archinect news:LA 2024 plays up a sunny disposition in their logo for the Olympic bidL.A. seeks to accelerate infrastructure projects in advance of potential OlympicsLA mayor Garcetti confident that 2024 Olympics in his city would pay for themselves View full entry
No longer confined to collecting dust in storage rooms, over a thousand slides documenting modern architecture's emergence in Southern California have been digitized by the USC Library, and are now available to view for free online.The approximately 1300 slides were culled from the collections of... View full entry
Last week the city council in Mountain View, California, took a significant step toward addressing Silicon Valley's housing affordability crisis. The city approved a new planning document for its North Bayshore district that envisions the creation of up to 10,250 units of high-density housing. Mountain View only has about 32,000 households total, so that would be a substantial 32 percent increase
[...]
— Vox
"The big question is whether this represents an isolated victory for housing advocates or whether it's the start of a trend toward denser development in Silicon Valley more broadly."For more on the housing woes of the world's tech capital, check out these links:Can Silicon Valley save the Bay... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2016Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming... View full entry
California apartments with commanding views of the Pacific are now in danger of collapsing into the ocean.
Erosion blamed on El Niño rains is tearing away at the cliffs of Pacifica, just outside San Francisco. Drone footage shows how volatile the situation is, and how close to the literal edge some apartments are
— huffingtonpost.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:To better predict sea level rise, scientists resort to crowdsourcing and ask drone owners to help create dataHave these heavy rains alleviated the California drought?Officials Set Fire to House Teetering Over 75-Foot Cliff View full entry
"Small houses can tell big stories," read the apt white words on the pamphlet's blue cover.
The shotgun house's Ocean Park neighborhood had once been full of such modest dwellings. It was a working-class place — home to carpenters and painters and people who washed other people's laundry.
But that kind of history most often is erased over time, as little houses make way for bigger ones. Ordinary people often don't chronicle their lives — and when they leave, their stories do too.
— LA Times
Related:"Stop the unpermitted demolition": Roche Dinkeloo's shiny UN Plaza Hotel lobby might be remodeledIt's easier now to tear down "historic homes" in Beverly Hills than before – is this progress or folly?Preserving a Home in All Its Marred GlorySelective memory: Old Penn Station, ruined... View full entry
Scott Slater has a plan. It is not a popular plan, but he wants to pump 814bn gallons of water from under the Mojave desert to Los Angeles and other drought-stricken communities in southern California, and make more than $2bn doing so...In addition to environmental concerns, others object to a private company being able to make billions from water. Slater says they do not understand the law, which in California states no entity can own water but they can buy, sell and trade the right to use it. — The Guardian
America: The land where nothing is free, indeed.h/t New RepublicMore on Archinect:Have these heavy rains alleviated the California drought?Thirst-quenching as Los Angeles heats up: Next Wave @ UCLAIn face of drought, San Diego's desalination efforts won't stop thereMeet the architects behind the... View full entry
...this week's higher temperatures and sunny skies serve as a reminder that one watery week doesn't erase the years of hardcore drought that have dragged on in SoCal and all of California.
The record-breaking rains are a reason to be excited, certainly, but "Although this is a favorable start to the year, there are still 3-4 more critical months that will determine how much rain/snow will fall and accumulate during the wet season," [says] David Miskus, a meteorologist ...
— Curbed
Relevant:Drought reveals 16th century church beneath Mexican reservoirIn face of drought, San Diego's desalination efforts won't stop thereThirst-quenching as Los Angeles heats up: Next Wave @ UCLAFatal shores? Sea snakes wash up on Southern California beaches View full entry
Last July, the Beverly Hills City Council voted to modify the city’s historic preservation ordinance, thereby making it easier to demolish buildings that were at one point deemed “historic.” While the City Council understands this a mark of progress—allowing more real estate money, and therefore more revenue, to flow into the city—historically minded citizens believe the modification places architecturally and historically relevant buildings onto a very slippery slope... — LAist
Related:Roam L.A.'s Westside with these travel tips from Ehrlich Architects' Takashi Yanai$500,000,000 spec house under construction in LAMAD unveils "hillside village" project for Beverly Hills View full entry
Using drones for aerial photography has been a source of controversy for several years now. But amid increasing concerns over privacy and safety, some conservation scientists are hoping drone owners will help them to document sea level rise.
With an expected increase in storm activity in the Pacific Ocean this winter, scientists believe they are getting a glimpse of the impacts of climate change on coastlines.
— scpr.org
To see an interactive example of a DroneDeploy-stitched high-resolution map, click here.Related stories in the Archinect news:The Ehang passenger drone might be another way people will get around town somedayLicense and registration, please: new FAA regulations mandate drone... View full entry
[Hyperloop] has the swagger of Elon Musk rather than the stigma of a public bureaucracy. Second, it’s going to be, like, a billion times faster than HSR. [...]
And yet, this combination of enthusiasm and magnetism doesn’t buy farmland. It doesn’t ease eminent domain takings. It doesn’t blast through bedrock or relocate utilities. It doesn’t design station area plans. [...]
The very same mountains, cities, canals, farmers, and habitats that complicate HSR also complicate Hyperloop.
— cp-dr.com
For past reporting on Hyperloop in all its emerging forms:Designing the Hyperspace: UCLA studio imagines Hyperloop's future in CaliforniaA first look at the Hyperloop's real tubes and imagined winged terminalsUnpacking the Hyperloop's lofty promisesElon Musk launches Hyperloop Pod Competition to... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter/Spring 2016Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back frequently to keep track of any upcoming... View full entry