Design and Architecture

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hundreds of residents of Malibu lost their homes during the Woolsey Fire last month. Now the city is starting to rebuild. But there are some big questions to consider. Should houses be permitted in the most fire-prone areas? Should homes be rebuilt with more fire-resistant materials?</span></p>

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Malibu residents who have lived through past infernos say nothing compares to the Woolsey Fire. Most people who lost homes don’t plan on leaving. But the design and siting of homes may have to change, and Malibu may have to permit new kinds of structures. Plus, what we can learn about the future of driving from an automaker that didn’t show any cars -- and other takeaways from the LA Auto Show.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The LA Auto Show kicks off this week. Visitors can see the latest car models and learn about the technology under the hood. But one car manufacturer is not showing any cars at all during the press and trade days, and that has everyone buzzing.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This week, DnA visits the UAE and finds oil. We talk to the curator of “Crude,” an art show about oil’s impact on the lives and cities of the Gulf - and the Southland. And the founder of the alternative mobility convention LA CoMotion explains why LA is the “transportation technology capital of the world.” Plus, two women creatives at Dubai Design Week talk about designing - and dressing - for their Saudi culture, while embracing change. </span></p>

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Woolsey Fire has come and gone, leaving about 1,500 homes and other structures burned to the ground, according to Cal Fire, and hundreds more are damaged. Now as homeowners embark on rebuilding, experts say this is a taste of a new normal (or abnormal) and it’s time for some big picture resilience thinking. </span></p>

<p>Wilshire Boulevard Temple broke ground on a new events center designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA. It’s Koolhaas' first religious building, and his first ground-up building in LA following several near misses. And, the Formosa Cafe is getting a complete makeover. The 1933 Group explains how they plan to restore the iconic Hollywood night spot to its original glory.</p>

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jim Carrey is known as an actor and comedian, but in the last couple years he’s taken up political cartooning. He tells DnA about expressing his anti-Trump feelings through art. And buying a house in LA can be a competition. Can a personal letter to the seller give you a leg-up? The editor of “Dear Seller” shares stories of what prospective buyers write to land their dream house.</span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a77ede33-7fff-ec26-8a08-3a7ed705f2c8"><span>Construction cranes are omnipresent in downtown LA. But a couple of upcoming projects really have people talking. A long delayed Frank Gehry project across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall is moving forward. And renderings of a Jenga-like tower at Pershing Square, with cantilevered swimming pools jutting out from all sides, got a lot of buzz.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-08311ab5-7fff-b466-0d56-89107f9f4884"><span>What will the high-rise office space of the future offer? Maybe fresh air from a hole in the curtain wall, the piped-in sound of trickling water and the smell of the seashore? These are what you’ll find in downtown LA’s “Workplace Innovation Lab.” Will workers want it? And, Otis College of Art and Design turns 100 this year. The school is looking back, and forward, at a big party this weekend that will have input from its military alumni.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-db2f457c-7fff-ba0a-d7f7-d2723dbfeb2d"><span>Today is Halloween, but there’s a holiday starting tomorrow that’s also become a full-blown LA celebration: Day of the Dead. As the tradition becomes mainstream and retailers cash in, some Latinos are anxious that it’s becoming a “Mexican Halloween” and not a commemoration of their dearly departed ancestors. </span></span></p>

<p>For the past century, LA has pushed rainwater and polluted urban runoff out to the ocean. Now it's trying to capture and clean that water in infrastructure that is also an attractive public space. Measure W on next Tuesday's ballot raises taxes for this vision, but others disagree. And while Day of the Dead has become a full-blown LA celebration, some Latinos are anxious it’s becoming just another commercial holiday.</p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d38b1575-7fff-55cb-d9ba-404d7bec14e1"><span>Measure W hopes to capture water from downpours. How about simply pulling it from the air? A local design team has just won the prestigious Water Abundance Xprize competition, with a retrofitted shipping container that promises to draw H2O from the atmosphere. Ninety-eight teams entered the competition and LA's Skywater/Skysource Alliance, led by architect David Hertz with inventor Rich Groden, won. </span></span></p>

<p>DnA takes on art: in politics, money and public space. Interiors photographer William Abranowicz has a show of images marking the fight for voting rights at the Matt Blacke gallery, one of several LA museums and galleries that are encouraging voter participation. How did art become an “asset class”? Nathaniel Kahn explores the high-end art market in “The Price of Everything.” And two women try and awaken interest in LA public sculpture, by posing on it, in slinky outfits and with a great sense of humor.</p>

<p>Fashion designer Jonathan Skow, aka Mr. Turk, died Friday in Los Angeles at the age of 55. His flagship store is at the heart of Palm Springs’ design district, and he and his wife Trina Turk are key figures in the design and architecture community. We remember him and his contribution to the city he loved.</p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d4098940-7fff-1439-f013-bf107536d2c4"><span>What we learned about the future of mobility at our “Flipping the Bird” design jam at IndieCade this past weekend. Buy a condo in a Bjarke Ingels-designed tower, gift a house to a slum dweller? A Vancouver group applies the TOMS Shoes one-to-one gifting model -- to houses. And the Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been dazzling people with hand-made puppets for 55 years. Will it keep the magic as it leaves its home?</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-82c4181a-7fff-a5a9-f78e-6894d84437e8"><span>Love ‘em or hate ‘em, dockless e-scooters have disrupted the cities they land in. Can "game thinking" help us think more creatively, and less reactively, about their potential? That’s the question at the heart of an event this Saturday at noon called "Flipping the Bird!" It’s a collaboration between KCRW, DnA and IndieCade, the international festival of independent games.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6951f5d8-7fff-411b-48d3-3e538eead351"><span>Love ‘em or hate ‘em, dockless e-scooters have upended life in some parts of the Southland. Can "game thinking" help us think more creatively and less reactively about how to integrate disruptive new mobility options into cities? And, do you want to buy a house but can't afford it? How about buying and living in a property with friends? DnA meets a group that tried co-ownership -- and loved it, despite some problematic Target lights.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-995a3a17-7fff-2b82-342a-d0487ea1dc32"><span>It’s raining in Los Angeles. That’s news in a place that’s been dry for several months. And historically, when it rains in LA, the water whooshes out into the ocean as fast as possible. But local leaders are changing how they think about rain. Now they want to catch it, keep it and store it for future use on less rainy days, and do all this in a way that is attractive to the public and makes our flood control systems destinations in themselves.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a2b3af52-7fff-94b1-6045-0cb79a260f9b"><span>The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has three shows in LA. His new work “Life Cycle” at Marciano Art Foundation explores the state of refugees. He talks to DnA about exile, his roots as an “architect” and why he enjoys visiting casinos. A sociologist argues that only “social infrastructure” will save us from environmental disaster and civic meltdown. And a real estate marketer explains why buzz matters as much as sales in the world of celebrity development.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-02faa125-7fff-2181-7c79-97102abfae96"><span>A historic church in Lincoln Heights is asking for help. The Church of the Epiphany was built well over a century ago, and it played a role in LA’s Chicano movement. Now it’s competing to win preservation funding.</span></span></p> <p><br /><br /><br /></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4f457231-7fff-f25e-0c90-411e79fc2633"><span>Two women, one aging at home, the other priced out of her home, come together through a “home share” program. A graphic designer celebrates Concorde. Could supersonic flight make a comeback? And a data artist turns the Walt Disney Concert Hall into a multi-screen spectacle.</span></span></p>

<p>DnA visits The One, a "gigamansion" under construction in Bel Air with a record- breaking price tag of $500 million. And we'll compare the opulent homes of the first Gilded Age with the sleek glass boxes of what may be a new Gilded Age.</p>

<p>California state and city leaders are taking the lead in cleaning up the environment, with initiatives designed to help cities speed towards their emissions reduction goals in buildings and transportation. But some critics are asking, just how green are electric vehicles? Would greater energy reduction be achieved through car-unfriendly land-use planning?</p>

<p>As LA homes get smaller they are also getting bigger. Can they keep on growing? DnA explores large luxury houses, and finds out who is building them, who is buying them -- and why amenities matter. Plus, Tower of Voices in Pennsylvannia memorializes, with wind and chimes, those who went down with a fight on United Flight 93.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><span>These days, if you want to play a video game, there’s a good chance you’re doing it at home… on your computer or a console like Xbox or PlayStation. But starting this weekend you’ll have another option: a futuristic version of an arcade in the Arts District of downtown L.A. It’s called the Two Bit Circus Micro-Amusement Park. </span></p> <div><span><br /></span></div>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-920ac916-7fff-e8ef-0348-9f75ae4f5169"><span>DnA’s series This is Home in LA continues with a look at architect-designed homes and the continuing influence of midcentury modernism. We visit a dramatic, Case Study inspired house that's ruffling feathers in South Hancock Park; and we ask if design media have turned Modernism into a homogeneous style that's dampening creativity. Jenn Swann reports on American Legion Post 43's Art Deco home in Hollywood, now being turned into a movie theater in a bid to bring in a wider audience.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-d2a40f5a-7fff-6cf9-8835-84ca640e0f78"><span>A controversial plan to develop thousands of acres cleared a major hurdle this week in Los Angeles County, securing approval from the region’s planning commission. The idea is to convert 12,500 acres of open space into a new housing community. But not everyone is on board with the plan. </span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1844011e-7fff-15d6-cdd4-12662bef7841"><span>LA’s small lot ordinance was created to add density to residential neighborhoods and to expand home ownership. It's had a big impact, but a mixed one. And is Santa Monica about to kill e-scooters, or turn them into good citizens? Hear from the city’s mobility manager about choosing a roadworthy partner.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-50bb2ff1-7fff-340e-39c7-81f98d8f52b6"><span>There’s an old service station in Silver Lake, just a couple blocks south of the reservoir. You might not even notice it if you walk by. And yet this dilapidated old building has become the latest flash point in the debate over whether to preserve buildings that may have historic value, or allow new housing developments to take their place. </span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-016810f4-7fff-e891-06b9-e36292b91dc5"><span>The LA Phil's Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (or YOLA) is getting a new home in an old bank, designed by architect Frank Gehry. What does it mean for Inglewood? And, how about living 90 seconds from Whole Foods? DnA visits Runway at Playa Vista, a "vertical mixed-use" development, and a loft above a business on Pico Boulevard, and learns about LA’s version of living over the store.</span></span></p>

<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-885847aa-7fff-710c-d8ed-362fca194358"><span>Santa Monica lawmakers are weighing a proposal that might result in taking e-scooter sharing companies Bird and Lime off the streets. The companies are fighting back and rallying their supporters.</span></span></p>

<p>Los Angeles is following a trend set in other high cost cities for micro-units, at market-rate rents. Could this be the solution to a housing problem? Or could it validate living spaces that might just be too small? And you may have stayed at a hostel while traveling, but some LA residents are using Podshare as a long-term housing solution, sleeping in bunks with a roomful of strangers for months at a time.</p> <div><span><br /></span></div>

<p>Downtown Los Angeles has been experiencing a renaissance. It was known for decades as a place to work, but not live. That’s changing, as the area is seeing a boom in high-rise construction. One new megaproject, Metropolis, is a harbinger of things to come.</p>

<p>Is high-rise living the future of housing in downtown LA? DnA visits the Gensler-designed Metropolis tower complex to learn how the architects turned a freeway-adjacent site into sky-high luxury condos, and how its Chinese developer Greenland and Beverly Hills realtor The Agency are selling the new “downtown dream” to prospective buyers.</p>

<p>Affordable housing is being really well-designed, but it’s also very expensive. At every level, designers and builders are trying to work around a Rubik's cube of obstacles. DnA looks at the challenges and possible solutions to creating housing for the formerly homeless and low-income residents of Los Angeles.</p>

<p>How do you take a generic housing type and create a very personal home? DnA visits a new apartment building in Koreatown to find out how multi-family living can be the new LA dream. And we remember LA’s beloved restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, who died Saturday. DnA recalls how Gold taught Angelenos about LA through its food, from mini-malls to Vespertine.</p>

<p>The City of Los Angeles’ Department of Public Works voted today to remove 18 trees in Hollywood. The city says the trees are damaging the sidewalks. Urban forestry advocates say it’s imperative that a hot region like the Southland maintains its tree canopy. Can we have both?</p>

<p>Los Angeles is pushing for greater densification, even as many Angelenos still dream of the single family home. We visit the city of Lakewood to see how they are keeping that dream alive. And we visit a metals supplier in Gardena, to find out how steel tariffs are impacting design projects in Los Angeles.</p>

<p>President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum have angered foreign leaders and led to retaliatory measures. How are these economic taxes affecting the construction and manufacturing industry here in the Southland?</p>

<p>Sick of high rents but want to be close to the ocean? Very close? DnA explores the charms and challenges of living aboard a boat, and learns about the changes coming as Marina del Rey becomes more “corporate.” And we meet Emory Douglas, “revolutionary artist” for the Black Panthers whose bold graphics still hold lessons for protest art today.</p>

<p>Is the solution to LA's housing crisis in our backyards? DnA visits a Highland Park couple that worked with the city on test-building an ADU, or accessory dwelling unit. Did it pencil out, and can ADUs be a new frontier for design innovation? And do you know the name of the man who built much of downtown Los Angeles? DnA speaks to the director of the first-ever documentary about architect John Parkinson.</p>

<p>A new supportive housing complex opened last week for formerly homeless families, low-income people and seniors. As the city and county of Los Angeles invest in building new affordable housing, Mosaic Gardens at Westlake is a sign of things to come.</p>

<p>How did the invention of the modern-dome tent change the story of homelessness in LA? And are they a form of "home" for their occupants? This is the first episode in a series DnA is calling “This is Home in LA: From the Tent to the Gigamansion (and everything In between).” It’s a look at house and housing archetypes in LA today, and we begin with the smallest, cheapest form of dwelling: the tent.</p>

<p>Orange County Museum of Art gets new a museum designed by Morphosis Architects, and it tips its hat at Richard Serra’s “Connector.” Will it bring urban life to suburban Costa Mesa? And design critic Alexandra Lange explores “good” toys and playgrounds and wonders if children would be just as free and creative if left to play with a cardboard box.</p>

<p>The Orange County Museum of Art closes this weekend. But not forever. After 41 years in Newport Beach, it’s moving to its new permanent home in Costa Mesa. And one of LA’s best-known architects, Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis, has designed it.</p>

<p>A historic summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un raises hopes among Korean-Americans. Could brothers and sisters reconnect? Could technology and infrastructure in the hermit kingdom make a great leap forward? And Santa Monica considers a pilot program for dockless e-scooters, as competition heats up between rival companies. Will it limit a popular, clean, first mile last mile solution -- or contain a public nuisance?</p>

<p>Starting Thursday, LA’s design community will congregate at the four-day Los Angeles Design Festival (LADF), an annual celebration that celebrates our city’s rich design culture. It includes four days of conversations, studio tours, design shows, and parties all centered at ROW DTLA in downtown LA’s industrial district.</p>

<p>We remember fashion icon and handbag designer Kate Spade. The arrival of autonomous vehicles and online shopping has Santa Monica considering the way forward in a future disrupted by tech. Ruth E. Carter designed the costumes for "Black Panther" and tells DnA about creating an identity on screen for a community long left out of the picture.</p>

<p>If you’re at a restaurant or cafe in Malibu and ask for a straw, starting June 1 you won’t be given a single-use plastic straw. The same goes for stir sticks or other plastic utensils. The environmentally-oriented beach town is just one of a growing number of cities outlawing single-use plastic implements.</p>

<p>We bid farewell to Andy Warhol’s Interview, and talk to artist and celebrity photographer Matthew Rolston about working for the magazine, and the creation of the “glamour- industrial complex.” And the hippie movement may have begun in California, but it spread across the globe - even beyond the Iron Curtain. We visit an exhibition of Soviet hippie culture at The Wende Museum.</p>