Future City. . . LTDW, John Lautner

This is my third reminder about Little Tokyo Design Week, but I cannot emphasize enough how interesting this event promises to be, with a galaxy of interesting design-architecture people, steel…

This is my third reminder about

Little Tokyo Design Week, but I cannot emphasize enough how interesting this event promises to be, with a galaxy of interesting design-architecture people, steel container pods filled with exhibits (one of them, Ultra Expo, shown right, curated by Sylvia Lavin), a co-mingling of Japanese and local talent and, on Saturday night, a fast-paced

Pecha Kucha in which 48 designers and commentators will offer up two-minute presentations of six slides each on the topic of the Future City (I’ll be one of the presentors), not to mention a DJ-set by KCRW’s very own

Eric J. Lawrence. The event kicks off today.

One of the masters of future thinking was the late, great architect, John Lautner, who, until his dying day, complained about his home of Los Angeles even as he built some of its greatest icons (see the Garcia residence, left). This Saturday, July 16th, would have been Lautner’s 100th birthday and to celebrate, the

John Lautner Foundation will launch a program of exhibitions, film screenings, home tours, symposia, receptions, and much, much, more.