Design and Architecture

This week officials broke ground on a $16 million bridge over the LA River that connects Atwater Village and Griffith Park. You can walk or bike, or even ride a horse over it. One thing you can’t do? Drive on it.

Koreatown residents are fighting to keep homeless housing out of their neighborhood. What does this mean for efforts to build a shelter in every LA council district? And hip-hop mogul Kanye West has huge ambitions that include his own design and architecture businesses. But could his recent controversial statements about race and politics derail these ambitions?

Starting in just two years, any new homes built in California will have to include solar panels and other energy-efficiency measures. Those are among the new energy standards that The California Energy Commission unanimously approved Wednesday.

As tensions simmer along the US-Mexican border, we look at cross-border design collaborations between San Diego and Tijuana. And does gender determine where you ride a bike? We’ll hear about efforts to get more women into cycling, and whether "bro culture" affects the planning of bicycle lanes.

If you've ever been stuck in traffic trying to get to Dodger Stadium, there's a possible end in sight to your frustration. Metro officials are considering a proposal for an aerial tram that could take you from Union Station to the stadium in 5 minutes.

The Los Angeles Football Club's new soccer stadium made its debut on Sunday. The designers used virtual reality, Hollywood storytelling and assistance from soccer supporters to bring it to life. And in our series on identity in design, structural engineer Roma Agrawal - who worked on The Shard in London, the tallest building in Western Europe - tells us about her mission to bring more women into the profession.

The new $350 million dollar arena of the Los Angeles Football Club sounds huge - 22,000 seats – but its owners say it will feel intimate. The Banc of California Stadium has the steepest seating bowl in Major League Soccer, at 34 degrees, and features shops, restaurants, and an events center.

President Trump may diss Mexico but designers and architects are flocking there. Now SCI-Arc has set up a satellite school in the capital and LA is learning from Mexico City. And, the buzz is starting for “Crazy Rich Asians.” Nelson Coates talks about the “unbelievable unabashed joy” of working as production designer on the movie and the role of identity in design below the line.

A controversial bill that would have led to more high-density housing in California died in a legislative committee this week. Why did SB 827 fail, and what’s next in the fight to build new housing?

A proposed state law could radically change California’s residential neighborhoods. Supporters hope the bill will create much-needed housing in the state’s growing cities. Critics say it will ruin their communities. And, Boyle Heights art galleries have been the target of an anti-gentrification campaign by artist-activists. One gallery owner offers to shut down to symbolically “acknowledge their practice.”