architecture critic and author
Author of many books on architecture, art and design, including Venice, CA: Art and Architecture in a Maverick Community and Architecture + Design LA and Building Community: New Apartment Architecture
PROFILE
Michael Webb
Guest
FROM Michael Webb
Design and Architecture
New apartment architecture SL11024, a 31-unit housing complex designed by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects, located in Westwood on the border of UCLA's campus More than 7,000 apartments are under construction right now in downtown Los Angeles, and others are going up in Hollywood, Koreatown, Culver City, Santa Monica and elsewhere in the Southland. But architecture critic Michael Webb says not enough are great to live in. He’s traveled the world to see some of the best apartment buildings at every income level. And architect Lorcan O’Herlihy explains what makes for great apartment design, and how his work represents an "amplified urbanism."
Design and Architecture
Pershing Square Renewed? Four teams will share their visions for a renewed Pershing Square this week. DnA talks to lead designers about their concepts for creating a great city park and asks: Can the park be lowered? Who will pay for it? And does public space need extensive programming to succeed or simply a green and pleasant space?
Design and Architecture
A Taste of the Future at 'A New Sculpturalism' A New Sculpturalism will show models, sketches and photographs of buildings constructed by more than 30 of LA’s leading and lesser-known architects. But, knowing that architecture is best experienced at human scale, MOCA also commissioned walk-in pavilions designed by young architects -- Elena Manferdini, Georgina Hujlich and Marcelo Spina of the firm Patterns, and Tom Wiscombe. In addition they asked Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues of Ball-Nogues to create a custom gateway (as we air, their participation is still being negotiated.) DnA visited each of the designers in their studios to get a sense of what they are building, and got a taste of the digital design and materials research that might inform buildings of the future.
Design and Architecture
Drama in the Making of 'A New Sculpturalism' A couple years back, MOCA brought in a visiting curator, Christopher Mount, to create a show of LA architecture dating back 25 years. The Getty granted the museum almost 450,000 dollars and he developed a show that he called A New Sculpturalism. He brought in over 30 architects, including three he considered to be fathers of this “sculptural” approach – Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne and Eric Owen Moss. But the framing of the show upset several of the architects, among them Frank Gehry who pulled out of the show in spring, leading to a stalling of the show. After negotiations between the Getty, MOCA, Frank Gehry and some of the other architects, the show got back on track.
To the Point
Olympics and Politics Seven years ago, the secretary general of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee said this summer's games would "not only promote our economy but also enhance all social conditions, including education, health and human rights." But, just four days before the Games will get underway, China's accused of breaking its promises to clean the air, relax controls on political dissidents and open up to the western media. One sports historian says nobody should have believed China's promises in the first place. But are the Olympics a sure path from despotism to democracy? We look at what Beijing does not want us to see, as well as what's on display, including architecture that rivals the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.
Design and Architecture
BCAM Comes to Town BCAM east façade, Installation of Urban Light Chris Burden, December, 2007 BCAM detail of glass core, north façade January, 2008, © Weldon Brewster BCAM southeast façade, BCAM Born scrim John Baldessari, January 2008 Installation of Urban Light Chris Burden, January, 2008 All images 2008 © Museum Associates, LACMA unless otherwise noted
Recommended
Film Reviews
First Man Here’s the radical notion behind Damien Chazelle’s “First Man”: Tell the story of mankind’s boldest adventure thus far, the Apollo 11 mission that reached the moon nearly a half-century ago, but tell it through a taciturn, emotionally closed-off hero, Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the lunar surface.
Good Food
Raising the bar: a world of drinks in LA “You know, Sinatra drank here.” This week you’ll hear about the past, present, and future of Los Angeles’ bar scene: from history buffs to the mavericks shaking up the bar industry by making it a more equitable and just place for all. Plus: a Koreatown cocktail bar with a tasting menu, and a visit from a vermouth maker.
Screengrab
Will viewers go for 'The Conners' without Roseanne? ABC premieres 'The Conners' this week. This is of course, 'Roseanne' sans Roseanne. After the network fired Roseanne Barr for racist tweets, the fate of the show was unclear. Now, it's back with the core family intact, except for the matriarch.