Farm Urbana in Downtown LA is an embryonic installation of what may become a standard feature on urban rooftops. Two professors of information technology from UCI visit it to find out how the merging of technologies may help to make life sustainable.
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, called “The Wallis,” has good bones. It is relevant for three reasons: 1. its setting in dialogue with the existing urban context; 2. the symbiosis created between an historic landmark and a new building; and 3. the contemporary art language used for its expression.
“Solar Decathlon” is an interdisciplinary students’ competition for the design of sustainable dwelling units. Twenty finalist groups built their version of solar-powered houses that were expected to be cost effective, energy-efficient and attractive. Shown at the Orange County Great Park, it attracted thousands of people hungry for housing solutions.
An empty urban lot becomes alive through the performances of a Hispanic theater group and a dance group from CSULB. The event delivers a powerful message on the need for public urban spaces.
The architecture exhibition “A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture in Southern California” shows a large number of works by both veterans like Gehry, and Morphosis, and by a younger generation of architects. Besides providing an initial taste of it, this video brings the camera to “the real thing,” the sites of two architects’ works: Eric Moss’ multiple buildings in Culver City and Hagy Belzberg’s “Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust,” completed in 2010.
Architecture Awareness