Design and Architecture

Can you help the world as you shop? That’s the goal of social entrepreneurship. But how can you tell what companies are good from those that only sound good? DnA discusses “living” Christmas trees, “transparent” supply chains and gifts worth giving.

Thousands are descending on Miami Beach for Art Basel. LA art gallerists and critics talk about why the fair matters -- for good and bad. Plus, will Pershing Square get yet another redesign?

Millions listen to music as mp3s through little earbuds. Not Henry Rollins. He takes DnA on a wild sonic tour of his high fidelity sound systems. Can nature and huge buildings merge into a harmonious whole? Chinese architect Ma Yansong explains how they can.

Michael Maltzan and Amy Murphy take on anxiety in the city in their installation design for LACMA’s Haunted Screens. Birdman’s costume designer discusses an outfit choice for maximum embarrassment. Plus, Avishay Artsy explores a provocative plan for the future of Auschwitz II.

A writer, a photographer and a street artist discuss how they capture the “real LA”  in their work.

The cuisine and the look of Grand Central Market are changing; End of an era? Or a mix of vendors and cultures that shows LA at its best? Plus, we take a look at how software is revolutionizing skyscrapers and lawn wars in a California suburb.

Frank Gehry’s proposal for an Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the new Big Blue Bus stops in Santa Monica cause controversy. What do we want in our public space?

Back in the mid-1990s, the Los Angeles LGBT Center scrambled to find an architect willing to design for them; but now, top architects are competing to build a brand new campus for the organization. Plus, director Thom Andersen discusses the depiction of Los Angeles and its architecture in his film, Los Angeles Plays Itself.

A thousand-foot slip n slide has ignited a deluge of drought shaming. But how much water does it consume compared with other water-based leisure activities? Plus, the designers behind Soderbergh’s new series talk about designing turn-of-the century medicine.

From wearables to drones, technology continues to redefine our everyday lives – for better, or weirder?