Design and Architecture

KCRW

Host Frances Anderton looks at design and architecture from a Los Angeles perspective.

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514 episodes
Updated Nov 6, 2020

Episodes514

Newest first

Dec 6, 2018 · 5 min
Rethinking homes in fire-prone areas
Hundreds of residents of Malibu lost their homes during the Woolsey Fire last month. Now the city is starting to rebuild. But there are some big questions to consider. Should houses be permitted in the most fire-prone areas? Should homes be rebuilt with more fire-resistant materials?
Dec 4, 2018 · 30 min
Malibu rising from the ashes; LA Auto Show
Malibu residents who have lived through past infernos say nothing compares to the Woolsey Fire. Most people who lost homes don’t plan on leaving. But the design and siting of homes may have to change, and Malibu may have to permit new kinds of structures. Plus, what we can learn about the future of driving from an automaker that didn’t show any cars -- and other takeaways from the LA Auto Show.
Nov 28, 2018 · 5 min
At the LA Auto Show, the future of cars is “not a car”
The LA Auto Show kicks off this week. Visitors can see the latest car models and learn about the technology under the hood. But one car manufacturer is not showing any cars at all during the press and trade days, and that has everyone buzzing.
Nov 27, 2018 · 30 min
Design in Dubai, Mobility in LA
This week, DnA visits the UAE and finds oil. We talk to the curator of “Crude,” an art show about oil’s impact on the lives and cities of the Gulf - and the Southland. And the founder of the alternative mobility convention LA CoMotion explains why LA is the “transportation technology capital of the world.” Plus, two women creatives at Dubai Design Week talk about designing - and dressing - for their Saudi culture, while embracing change.
Nov 21, 2018 · 5 min
Can we design homes to withstand wildfires?
The Woolsey Fire has come and gone, leaving about 1,500 homes and other structures burned to the ground, according to Cal Fire, and hundreds more are damaged. Now as homeowners embark on rebuilding, experts say this is a taste of a new normal (or abnormal) and it’s time for some big picture resilience thinking.
Nov 20, 2018 · 30 min
Rem Koolhaas in LA, Restoring Formosa Cafe
Wilshire Boulevard Temple broke ground on a new events center designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA. It’s Koolhaas' first religious building, and his first ground-up building in LA following several near misses. And, the Formosa Cafe is getting a complete makeover. The 1933 Group explains how they plan to restore the iconic Hollywood night spot to its original glory.
Nov 13, 2018 · 30 min
Jim Carrey’s cartoons, real estate love letters
Jim Carrey is known as an actor and comedian, but in the last couple years he’s taken up political cartooning. He tells DnA about expressing his anti-Trump feelings through art. And buying a house in LA can be a competition. Can a personal letter to the seller give you a leg-up? The editor of “Dear Seller” shares stories of what prospective buyers write to land their dream house.
Nov 7, 2018 · 5 min
Downtown to get another Frank Gehry project and maybe a Jenga-like tower
Construction cranes are omnipresent in downtown LA. But a couple of upcoming projects really have people talking. A long delayed Frank Gehry project across from the Walt Disney Concert Hall is moving forward. And renderings of a Jenga-like tower at Pershing Square, with cantilevered swimming pools jutting out from all sides, got a lot of buzz.
Nov 6, 2018 · 29 min
Workplace innovation, Otis centennial
What will the high-rise office space of the future offer? Maybe fresh air from a hole in the curtain wall, the piped-in sound of trickling water and the smell of the seashore? These are what you’ll find in downtown LA’s “Workplace Innovation Lab.” Will workers want it? And, Otis College of Art and Design turns 100 this year. The school is looking back, and forward, at a big party this weekend that will have input from its military alumni.
Oct 31, 2018 · 5 min
Fighting for the soul of Day of the Dead
Today is Halloween, but there’s a holiday starting tomorrow that’s also become a full-blown LA celebration: Day of the Dead. As the tradition becomes mainstream and retailers cash in, some Latinos are anxious that it’s becoming a “Mexican Halloween” and not a commemoration of their dearly departed ancestors.
Oct 30, 2018 · 30 min
Capturing LA’s water, Day of the Dead
For the past century, LA has pushed rainwater and polluted urban runoff out to the ocean. Now it's trying to capture and clean that water in infrastructure that is also an attractive public space. Measure W on next Tuesday's ballot raises taxes for this vision, but others disagree. And while Day of the Dead has become a full-blown LA celebration, some Latinos are anxious it’s becoming just another commercial holiday.
Oct 24, 2018 · 5 min
XPrize-winning team sources fresh water from the air
Measure W hopes to capture water from downpours. How about simply pulling it from the air? A local design team has just won the prestigious Water Abundance Xprize competition, with a retrofitted shipping container that promises to draw H2O from the atmosphere. Ninety-eight teams entered the competition and LA's Skywater/Skysource Alliance, led by architect David Hertz with inventor Rich Groden, won.
Oct 23, 2018 · 30 min
Voting rights, art and the market, Public Sculpture Archive
DnA takes on art: in politics, money and public space. Interiors photographer William Abranowicz has a show of images marking the fight for voting rights at the Matt Blacke gallery, one of several LA museums and galleries that are encouraging voter participation. How did art become an “asset class”? Nathaniel Kahn explores the high-end art market in “The Price of Everything.” And two women try and awaken interest in LA public sculpture, by posing on it, in slinky outfits and with a great sense of humor.
Oct 17, 2018 · 5 min
Remembering Palm Springs fashion icon Jonathan Skow, aka Mr. Turk
Fashion designer Jonathan Skow, aka Mr. Turk, died Friday in Los Angeles at the age of 55. His flagship store is at the heart of Palm Springs’ design district, and he and his wife Trina Turk are key figures in the design and architecture community. We remember him and his contribution to the city he loved.
Oct 16, 2018 · 30 min
Scooter wars, gifting houses, puppets on the move
What we learned about the future of mobility at our “Flipping the Bird” design jam at IndieCade this past weekend. Buy a condo in a Bjarke Ingels-designed tower, gift a house to a slum dweller? A Vancouver group applies the TOMS Shoes one-to-one gifting model -- to houses. And the Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been dazzling people with hand-made puppets for 55 years. Will it keep the magic as it leaves its home?
Oct 10, 2018 · 5 min
Rethinking mobility with “Flipping the Bird!” design jam
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, dockless e-scooters have disrupted the cities they land in. Can "game thinking" help us think more creatively, and less reactively, about their potential? That’s the question at the heart of an event this Saturday at noon called "Flipping the Bird!" It’s a collaboration between KCRW, DnA and IndieCade, the international festival of independent games.
Oct 9, 2018 · 29 min
Flipping the Bird, co-buying a house
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, dockless e-scooters have upended life in some parts of the Southland. Can "game thinking" help us think more creatively and less reactively about how to integrate disruptive new mobility options into cities? And, do you want to buy a house but can't afford it? How about buying and living in a property with friends? DnA meets a group that tried co-ownership -- and loved it, despite some problematic Target lights.
Oct 3, 2018 · 5 min
As storm clouds gather, LA County prepares
It’s raining in Los Angeles. That’s news in a place that’s been dry for several months. And historically, when it rains in LA, the water whooshes out into the ocean as fast as possible. But local leaders are changing how they think about rain. Now they want to catch it, keep it and store it for future use on less rainy days, and do all this in a way that is attractive to the public and makes our flood control systems destinations in themselves.
Oct 2, 2018 · 29 min
Ai Weiwei, social infrastructure, marketing luxury real estate
The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has three shows in LA. His new work “Life Cycle” at Marciano Art Foundation explores the state of refugees. He talks to DnA about exile, his roots as an “architect” and why he enjoys visiting casinos. A sociologist argues that only “social infrastructure” will save us from environmental disaster and civic meltdown. And a real estate marketer explains why buzz matters as much as sales in the world of celebrity development.
Sep 26, 2018 · 5 min
Historic Lincoln Heights church competes for preservation funds
A historic church in Lincoln Heights is asking for help. The Church of the Epiphany was built well over a century ago, and it played a role in LA’s Chicano movement. Now it’s competing to win preservation funding.

Design and Architecture

Rethinking homes in fire-prone areas

Malibu rising from the ashes; LA Auto Show

At the LA Auto Show, the future of cars is “not a car”

Design in Dubai, Mobility in LA

Can we design homes to withstand wildfires?

Rem Koolhaas in LA, Restoring Formosa Cafe

Jim Carrey’s cartoons, real estate love letters

Downtown to get another Frank Gehry project and maybe a Jenga-like tower

Workplace innovation, Otis centennial

Fighting for the soul of Day of the Dead

Capturing LA’s water, Day of the Dead

XPrize-winning team sources fresh water from the air

Voting rights, art and the market, Public Sculpture Archive

Remembering Palm Springs fashion icon Jonathan Skow, aka Mr. Turk

Scooter wars, gifting houses, puppets on the move

Rethinking mobility with “Flipping the Bird!” design jam

Flipping the Bird, co-buying a house

As storm clouds gather, LA County prepares

Ai Weiwei, social infrastructure, marketing luxury real estate

Historic Lincoln Heights church competes for preservation funds