Geoffrey von Oeyen completed a dream house for his brother, only to see it destroyed by the Woolsey Fire two years ago. As he nears completion on the rebuild, he reflects on living in the wildland-urban interface. Also, Janna Ireland is on a mission to tell stories about Black people and their creativity. She talks about her new photo book of buildings by the architect Paul Revere Williams.  ..read more

Roman Mars has spent 10 years using his radio show “99% Invisible” to reveal the everyday quirks and delights of U.S. cities. Now he’s co-written a book called “The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design.” Mars talks with DnA about tales from LA, writing for print v. radio, and whether he secretly yearns to be a designer ..read more

Americans are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. A coliving project in Hollywood was designed to remedy it. Then came a pandemic. Ten months after its opening, DnA explores the design of Treehouse with creative director Sean Knibb, architect Jeff Soler, and reporter Adriana Cargill. Some residents also share how the project just might be what the doctor ordered at a time of extreme isolation ..read more

Air flow to better health One of the most common ways COVID-19 gets transmitted is indoors, via tiny airborne droplets. So-called super spreader events are said to result from a convergence of three v’s: venue, vocalization, and ventilation. That’s when a lot of people gather indoors and talk or sing, such as at a religious service, choir practice, or college cafeteria luncheon. Poor ventilation is believed to intensify transmission.  The LA Times reported recently that people living on the streets of Los Angeles were experiencing lower rates of coronavirus than the housed. While the unho ..read more

The man who made a mouse On December 9, 1968, Silicon Valley witnessed an event that’s become known as the “mother of all demos.” For the first time, computer engineer Douglas Engelbart introduced elements of the personal computer. His concept was a machine that anyone could use simply by manipulating images on a screen. It represented a dramatic break from prior computers that were operated only by experts, who entered and retrieved information using punched cards, typewriters and printouts. To manipulate those images, Engelbart envisioned a device that could move a cursor across a screen. T ..read more

The City of Santa Monica relies heavily on tourism, dining and retail. All these businesses crashed during the COVID-19 lockdown.  Restaurants owners on Main Street, between Pico Boulevard and Pier Avenue in the Ocean Park neighborhood, were desperate.  So the city jumped in and took action. They took out the parking lanes on both sides of Main Street and made them available to restaurants for socially distanced, outdoor dining. They put in heavy K-rail as a protective barrier from cars. Restaurants added decor and diners came streaming back. “It had a transformative effect,” says An ..read more

The XPRIZE Foundation is known for hosting lucrative competitions to solve some of the big challenges of our time. They have tackled space travel, the oceans and robotics. Now it is taking on face masks. XPRIZE has launched the “Next-Gen Mask Challenge.” One million dollars will go to three teams of 15 to 24 year olds who can design a mask that people want to wear. Competitors must solve five of the many deterrents to mask-wearing, and make it fashion-forward. “We did a survey of thousands of people around the world to tell us, ‘If you don't currently wear a face mask, why?’” explains Emily Mu ..read more

Andrew Baxter built a career preserving and protecting statues made of bronze and other metals.  He and his team at Bronze et al have worked on Henry Moore sculptures at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., The Three Shades by Rodin at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and a Seymour Lipton bronze at the Virginia Marine Museum. He also works for private art collectors and he has buffed busts of dignitaries at the White House.  He has also worked on the maintenance of the statue of Robert E. Lee and other monuments to Confederate generals in Richmond, Virginia — the one-time capit ..read more

Los Angeles does not have statues of slave traders, but its land use has been shaped by racial inequality. Redlining, restrictive covenants, urban renewal, and building freeways through communities of color are all ways in which Black people were denied equal opportunity to the American Dream. Judith Taylor is a partner with HR&A Advisors. She consults on real estate and economic development in Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and elsewhere in the region. She focuses on transportation-related development in the Crenshaw District and South LA. She is grappling with how to bring much desired ..read more

When people think of a big tech workplace, they often imagine foosball tables, meditation rooms, lounging areas, bright colors and eye-catching artworks, and cafeterias with free food and coffee. These “creative” offices are open-plan with internal streets and nooks for smaller meetings.  They are designed by big names in architecture to stimulate disruptive ideas. The companies want environments that are planned for unplanned encounters.  But with California’s shelter-in-place orders continuing, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Square are telling their employees that they can ..read more