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?
By Frances Anderton • • 28m ListenPhoto: Peter Shire, Bel Air Chair, 1981, wood, steel, and upholstery fabric. (Joshua White/MOCA)
In this episode
2 storiesFarewell LA freeways, but what takes their place?
San Gabriel communities have fought for years over a long-planned 6.3 mile extension to the 710 Freeway, connecting it to the 210. Last week the Metro Board killed it off for good and Mayor Eric Garcetti called it a sign of times, noting that “Los Angeles has moved on from freeways.”
Read the story16 minPeter Shire's playful art makes a comeback
Anyone who grew up in the 1980s will remember postmodernism: bright colors, cartoony shapes, a sense of fun, in furniture and buildings and art and TV shows. It got its start with Ettore Sottsass' Memphis group in Milan and was a rebuke to super-serious modernism. Some loved it, some hated it.
Read the story11 min
