Design and Architecture

<p>The Women's March made a huge impact, in part because of its widely worn pink knitted "pussyhat." Does the March for Science need its own unifying symbol? Lighting designer Steve Lieberman is "the man behind the lights" for the country's leading electronic music festivals and nightclubs. He talks about his early experiences with rave culture, and what it takes to spark the excitement of today's EDM fans.</p>

<p>When the Sears store in Santa Monica opened in 1947, thousands of people lined up around the block to get in. Seventy years later, it is being mothballed, joining hundreds of other closures of US department stores.</p>

<p>As President Trump embraces dirty fuels, what happens to LA's burgeoning cleantech industry? Start-up companies are planning for an uncertain future but staying optimistic. Veteran photographer Mick Rock defined a musical era. Now the camera has been turned on him. Mick Rock and Barnaby Clay talk about capturing glam and its legacy in <em>Shot! The Psycho-Spiritual Mantra of Rock</em>. </p>

<p>Hundreds of companies have expressed interest in participating in the construction of a new US-Mexican border wall. The designs range in terms of materials, shapes and complexity. But many questions still remain about the project and how it will be funded.</p>

<p>Fear of drought has inspired a new look in landscaping. But could an abundance of rainfall bring back bad old habits? Plus, gangsta gardener Ron Finley fights for his Eden in South LA. And Aeron chair co-designer Don Chadwick explains why designers should not be "dumbhanded."</p>

<p>Joan Juliet Buck was fired from the helm of French Vogue and later wrote an ill-timed profile of a tyrant's wife. Now she examines her life in <em>The Price of Illusion</em>. And architecture meets politics in the Watergate complex and Trump's hotel in DC's Old Post Office Building.</p>

<p>The former headquarters of the LAPD avoided a date with the wrecking ball Wednesday after a vote on its fate was postponed due to a clerical error. But city leaders are still moving ahead, despite concerns from preservationists.</p>

<p>The White House wants to roll back fuel economy standards. Could that mean more air pollutants coming out of car tailpipes -- just as LA is seeing a surge of home construction along freeways? And a fashion world provocateur, Rick Owens, talks about designing furniture inspired by land art and brutalist architecture, and raising existential questions on the runway.</p>

<p>In Washington, DC, the historic Old Post Office Pavilion has earned a second life as Trump International Hotel. The luxury hotel with a restaurant and bar has become a favorite hangout for the DC elite. It’s also earned criticism -- including a lawsuit by owners of a nearby wine bar -- because President Trump, his family and White House staffers continually promote the hotel.</p>

<p>The tiny house movement is booming, even though in most places, people can't legally live in them. But that didn't stop a group of enthusiasts from learning how to build one at CAFAM. What will they do with their tiny homes? And as Angelenos have passed measures to build more housing for the homeless, a group of architecture students is trying to speed up access to shelter -- with designs for temporary housing with "curb appeal."</p>

<p>An effort to slow development in Los Angeles has failed, with Measure S receiving less than a third of LA voters' support. So what's next?</p>

<p>President Trump wants to build a border wall along the US-Mexican border, and hundreds of construction and engineering companies are lining up to help. Who’s interested, and why? Plus, as Los Angeles gets taller and denser, more of us will be living in apartments. We look to other global cities for design inspiration, and hear from an L.A. architect who is embracing an apartment-centric future.</p>

<p>Much of daily life is spent on menial tasks but game designer and philosopher Ian Bogost says it's time to think of chores the way we think of playing games -- as fun. And, big dreamers built New York, but what about the dreams that got away? Sam Lubell and Greg Goldin talk about Never Built New York, and what LA can learn from the Big Apple's missed opportunities.</p>

<p>Architecture buffs can take a walking tour this Sunday highlighting the work of black architects in Compton. The tour is in honor of Black History Month, and is an offshoot of a new map documenting the contributions of African American designers and architects in Los Angeles.</p>

<p>What makes production design so special? We consider the five Oscar nominees this year for production design and why their films stand out. As artists respond to President Trump's administration, we look how art movements became weapons in the past century's great ideological battles. And what makes a person creative? And what does the Cold War have to do with it? A historic study of the minds of the greatest Mid-Century architects is described in a new book.</p>

<p>Santa Monica is one step closer to having the most extensive, earthquake retrofitting program in the nation. The City Council gave tentative approval Tuesday night to a plan that could require safety enhancements for as many as 2,000 buildings. City leaders say the action is long overdue.</p>

<p>Retailers in LA have been slow to welcome transit riders into their stores, but that's changing: a new passageway connects The Bloc directly to the Metro. Will Angelenos use it? As Modernism Week kicks off in Palm Springs, we hear about two Los Angeles exhibitions of modernist art, design and architecture. And an engineer has created a 3D model of the human heart, inspired by his daughter's heart condition.</p>

<p>Usually when you went to go to the mall you drive there, park, and then drive home. A new shopping area in downtown LA called The Bloc wants to make it easy to get there by train. So they’ve opened a pedestrian passageway that connects directly to the busy 7th Street/Metro Center station. This marks a shift in how retailers view public transit, and is meant to appeal to downtown's growing car-free residential population.</p>

<p>Measure S, the development moratorium on the March 7 ballot in Los Angeles, could have a profound impact on the city’s future growth. But exactly how? Experts on both sides of the issue consider how S might affect high-profile projects already in the pipeline. And, Netflix explores the creative process of designers in their new documentary series <em>Abstract: The Art of Design.</em> </p>

<p>Elon Musk has always claimed innovation as central to his reputation, from sending rockets into space to building luxury electric cars. Now he's taking on a different sort of problem: LA traffic.</p>

<p>After years of fighting with the federal government, the City of Santa Monica has struck a deal to close its almost century-old airport in 2028, and shorten the runway right away. Is everyone happy with the agreement? What will happen to the valuable 227-acre site? Also, President Trump wants to build a US-Mexico border wall. Urban planner Michael Dear says we already have one, and it's proven ineffective.</p>

<p>Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso's planned 145-unit luxury residential tower near the Beverly Center is moving forward, despite public opposition. </p>

<p>How did a pink knitted hat become the symbol of a movement? We talk to a co-founder of the Pussyhat Project. Former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros explains why Dr. Ben Carson deserves to oversee the nation's public housing program. Some cutting edge architects are designing large projects for a booming downtown, but will they get built? One of those is by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, and he explains his unconventional approach to the Arts District.</p>

<p>Last week's decision to move the San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles upset a lot of football fans in San Diego. But when the new L.A. Chargers logo was unveiled, that upset a lot of people too - because it was awful. The team promptly introduced two more logos, which were all ridiculed online. Why do new logos incite so much passion?</p>

<p>The chairman of President-elect Trump's inauguration committee says to expect a tone of "soft sensuality" at Friday's inauguration. What on Earth does that mean? And, Los Angeles officials want to ban political campaign contributions from developers who have projects pending before City Hall. Is that legal? Is it "misdirection" from the real problem: a dysfunctional planning process? And what does it have to do with efforts by some to slow growth in Los Angeles?</p>

<p>The force is apparently with Los Angeles. That's because LA beat out San Francisco for filmmaker George Lucas's new blockbuster museum. It's a big win for Southern California, and the complex is expected to be a boon for South LA.</p>

<p>As everything from a hairbrush to a bikini becomes "smart," has the "Internet of Things" gone too far? <em>DnA</em> checks out the latest "smart" technology at CES. And we visit London's famed Battersea Power Station, where a massive high-end development anchored by Apple and a new US Embassy are revitalizing a rundown neighborhood. But some Londoners are asking, what's in it for us?</p>

<p>CES, the massive Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, turns 50 this year. Is it still relevant? And the fast food empire we know as McDonald's started as a burger stand in San Bernardino. Lisa Napoli explains how the post-World War II building boom of freeways and suburbs birthed a food culture.</p>

<p>A look back at 2016, losses and gains in design, architecture and a changing Los Angeles. Don't splurge at that New Year sale! Interior designer Vern Yip's new book advises people on how to carefully create beautiful spaces, with the help of a ruler. And we look at the rise and fall and rise again of a historic theater on DTLA's Broadway.</p>

<p>Three star architecture firms from Europe have been tapped by LA developers to design massive, dense, infill developments in LA. It's exciting news for anyone who follows architecture. But will they get to realize these projects in a region that is resisting dense development even as it faces a huge housing crisis?</p>

<p>The Ghost Ship fire in Oakland has added to the insecurity of life for artists who've been occupying LA's warehouse spaces. And the City of Los Angeles approved a large Frank Gehry-designed project, but a mid-century bank building is complicating the plans.</p>

<p>Seniors are being kicked out of a Westwood Village independent living facility to make way for a luxury makeover. Is that an eviction too far? And did the Internet destroy hyper-gentrifying San Francisco -- and create a president? <em>I Hate the Internet</em> author Jarett Kobek says yes.</p>

<p>Los Angeles is a character in the romantic musical<em> La La Land</em>, from famed landmarks to infamous freeway traffic jams. The Germans come to the rescue of a Modernist house in the Pacific Palisades built by "father of German democracy" Thomas Mann. And artist Doug Aitken's latest installation involves diving gear and a trip to Catalina.</p>

<p>The effort to bring a streetcar back to downtown Los Angeles passed another hurdle this week. The LA City Council voted 13-0 to approve a 3.8-mile route that includes Grand Park, the Convention Center, the Fashion District, and theaters and shops along Broadway.</p>

<p>Fidel Castro is dead. What might his passing mean for the historic city of Havana, where development was stalled for almost 60 years? Lewis MacAdams, poet-activist, passes on the torch at Friends of the LA River. We discuss the future of the LA river with MacAdams and FOLAR's new Executive Director, Marissa Christiansen.</p>

<p>The Los Angeles River is losing one of its fiercest advocates. Lewis MacAdams founded Friends of the Los Angeles River three decades ago, and will soon step down as president.</p>

<p>The return of SUVs was the big trend at this year's LA Auto Show. And what is the future of electric mobility under a Trump administration? And the longtime LA architecture firm A.C. Martin Partners is putting the finishing touches on Wilshire Grand Center. Cousins Chris and David Martin discuss the challenges of building LA's tallest skyscraper and the firm's future.</p>

<p>There's a new supertall building in town. If you've been anywhere near downtown LA, even miles away, you've seen it go up.</p>

<p>Voters in Los Angeles on Tuesday agreed to tax themselves to pay for mass transit, homeless housing, and parks. They also want developers to pay for affordable housing. And Santa Monica voters rejected a controversial anti-density measure.</p>

<p>Los Angeles and San Francisco are competing to play host to George Lucas' Museum of Narrative Art, which comes with a site-specific design by Ma Yansong. Jade Chang draws from her experience covering LA's art and design scene in her first novel,<em>The Wangs Vs. The World</em>.</p>

<p>Voters in California will decide next week whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Meanwhile, the fast-growing cannabis industry is turning to high-end product design and sleek new dispensaries to attract new customers and clean up its image.</p>

<p>How does the booming marijuana industry shed its illicit image and attract new customers? By turning to high-end product design and sleek new dispensaries. And Santa Monica residents will vote next week on Measure LV. Will it slow growth or create new problems? The initiative is being closely watched as a bellwether for development in the Southland.</p>

<p>A Frank Gehry-designed project on Sunset Boulevard is moving forward, despite neighborhood opposition.</p>

<p>Can you "ideate" and "prototype" your way to a better, more fulfilling life? That’s the premise of the book <em>Designing Your Life</em>, though some designers question the use of "design thinking" as a means of career counselling and self-investigation. And in time for Halloween, the book <em>Ghostland</em> explores what kinds of architectural details make a place feel haunted, as well as what stories of hauntings tell us about our own prejudices and biases.</p>

<p>The world needs to cut back on HFCs but Americans love staying cold; does that mean you need to get a smaller fridge or turn off the air-conditioning? Los Angeles was once a city of neon; now the colorful gas lighting is making a comeback. Why? Avishay Artsy tours Jewish Los Angeles, and finds some of LA’s most noted designers and builders.</p>

<p>The LAPD Academy in Elysian Park has undergone a makeover, as the department adapts to an era of community policing. An MIT freshman has created what's believed to be the first fingerprint-enabled smart gun. And a French artist finds inspiration in the cracked concrete of the Los Angeles River.</p>

<p>Back when most people had barely heard of a Prius or LEED certification, 300 builders and product designers committed to sustainable design gathered at a small convention called Greenbuild. Now it is one of the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to “green building” and holds its fifteenth annual conference and trade show this week at the LA Convention Center.</p>

<p>Artist Patrick Shearn, known for his eye-popping music festival installations, goes public, with musical clouds inside Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Liquid Shard. LA welcomes the Greenbuild Conference; but what is next in sustainability now greenbuilding has gone mainstream? Plus, we investigate the gender wars that have erupted over a men's fashion choice: cargo shorts.</p>

<p>We've all heard of NIMBYs: people who oppose growth because they don't want their neighborhoods to change. Now, there's a counter-movement forming of people who say the only way to solve the housing crisis in expensive cities is to keep building.</p>

<p>Some high-profile European architects have projects in the works for the Southland and have waded into the argument about density. <em>DnA</em> looks at projects both spiritual and commercial from famed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA, and we check out a mammoth mixed-use project in the Arts District by Herzog & de Meuron.</p>