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Architecture & Design

Architecture has a long life span. What we build and create says multitudes about what we value. See the stories that are shaping the landscape of Los Angeles and beyond.

A young girl stands in the foreground with a backdrop of flying birds and a halo of concentric circles.

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A high view of the terra cotta-clad exterior of the Orange County Museum of Art
New Orange County Museum of Art Aims for Open Access for All
The new Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa, California opens on October 8, 2022 with five new exhibitions, including "California Biennial" and "13 Women."
A person sitting in a wheelchair poses in front of an RV trailer parked behind shrubbery.
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Emily Barker: Art in the Name of Accessibility
Artist Emily Barker sheds light on the systemic challenges of disabled people.
Orange County's Crystal Cathedral looks like a glass tower pointing straight up at the sky.
The Crystal Cathedral: A Glass Tower of Power and Politics in Orange County
The Crystal Tower's giant reflective glass tower remains one of the most distinctive buildings in Orange County. For decades, it was home to one of the most important evangelical Christian movements of the Cold War.
A giant brown doughnut attached to a drive-thru building with the words, "The Donut Hole, 'It's the Quality'", in white paint stands against a clear blue sky. A car emerges from the doughnut hole.
7 Weird Buildings Still Serving ‘California Crazy’
Whether you'd like to whet your whistle inside a whiskey barrel or fill your belly inside a bowl, here are seven places where you can feast your eyes upon some of the oddest and most entrancing remains of L.A.'s wackiest roadside architecture.
Sole Folks Is Helping Black Design Thrive
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Sole Folks Is Helping Black Design Thrive
Why incubators of Black creativity like Sole Folks are so crucial to the community.
A white house with a slanted roof. The slant is a low slope. The front door is a brown-red color. The house sits on a hill and has a driveway where an SUV is parked.
Must-See Modernist Architecture Destinations in L.A.
Every February, architecture fans and interior design enthusiasts descend upon Palm Springs for its annual Modernism Week. But if you're looking for something closer to home, here are six amazing modernist architecture destinations you can visit right now in the L.A. area.
An archival black and white photo depicts three men sitting and standing over a wooden table full of large sheets of paper. In the center is Victor Gruen, a white man, sitting on a chair and looking up at Clyde Grimes Jr., a Black man, standing next to him on the right. To the left is Robert Kennard, a Black man, bent at the hip, with his arms resting on the table and looking over at Grimes. The three men are dressed well, with crisp collared button-ups and ties.
Modernism Week Unearths History of Southern California’s Black Architects
"Stories Untold: Black Modernists in Southern California," a three-part symposium at Palm Springs' Modernism Week will both pay tribute to African American architects in Southern California — and look toward the future.
Participants make zines at a zine-making pop-up at Patria Coffee in 2018.
Zine Collections Showcase and Amplify Diverse Voices Even in the Age of Social Media
The simple fact that anyone can make a zine, regardless of whether or not they know how to use InDesign or have the money for a large press run, opens up the medium to a bevy of voices.
A pile of zines, small independently-published work. Most of the zines have Halloween and goth-themed artwork.
Want to Make a Zine? These Zine Makers Have Tips For Getting Started.
When it comes to making zines, there are no fixed rules. These homemade magazines can be handwritten on notebook paper or typed into a computer layout. Three zinesters share tips, advice and inspiration for getting started.
A freeway crosses a concretized river bed. This is an aerial view of the Los Angeles River as it meets the Rio Hondo.
L.A. Residents Push for More Inclusion in Gehry-Designed Arts Center
The Southeast Los Angeles Cultural Arts Center is a great idea on paper, but locals have well-grounded fear that bright and shiny developments like these would leave their best interests out in the cold.
A monument that depicts some astronomers in the foreground with the Hollywood sign in the background.
How the New Deal Continues to Shape L.A. 90 Years On
Invisibly, to this day, New Deal handiwork affects the lives of every American. See how WPA projects continue to touch the lives of Angelenos and ponder what a 21st-century iteration could achieve.
A light structure similar to scaffolds were used in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
How the Gleeful Aesthetic of L.A.’s 1984 Olympics Unified a Sprawling City
In 1984, Los Angeles exuded Olympic psychedelia, a gleeful '80s aesthetic which underlined the complementary power of sport, culture and art. It would also revitalize a bedraggled Olympic movement.
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