Scofidio + Renfro
Partner with the design studio of Diller, Scofidio + Renfro
PROFILE
Charles Renfro
Guest
FROM Charles Renfro
Design and Architecture
Can the Broad Art Foundation Transform Grand Avenue? A few years ago, New York’s High Line architects Diller, Scofidio + Renfro won the commission to design Eli Broad’s art foundation, located opposite MOCA on Grand Avenue. The self-described, “unreasonable” Broad has not wasted a minute, and the Broad Art Foundation building is around halfway complete (we last checked in during January of 2011). Architect Charles Renfro was in LA last week, talking at Woodbury University about the firm’s work, which is known for its theatricality or what they describe as “mise-en-scene.” While there Frances sat down with Charles to talk about the project—from its conception to the status of its complex construction, and most importantly, what it can do for Grand Avenue. The Broad-in-progress, photo by Bennett Stein The "hole" in the middle of Grand Avenue, opposite The Broad, photo by Frances Anderton Top image: A rendering of the completed building
Recommended
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."
Design and Architecture
Farewell LA freeways, Peter Shire is back Angelenos don't want more freeways but we seem not to want mass transit either. Metro has killed the 710 freeway extension, and bus and train ridership is down across the region. What's the future of getting around in LA? And, Peter Shire is having a comeback. What attracts a new generation to his playful ceramics and furniture?
Bookworm
Morgan Parker: There Are More Beautiful Things than Beyoncé Morgan Parker says that the poems in her book There Are Things More Beautiful than Beyoncé take a stand against the clichés of the dominant culture.
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”