John Chase

Image from LA Times.  All Rights Reserved.

The LA design community is mourning the passing of John Chase, former Urban Designer for West Hollywood, author, and larger-than-life figure, who died suddenly last Friday, August 13th. The LA Times published an obituary this week chronicling John's life, and KCRW's architecture and design program, DNA, had a nice remembrance of John on Tuesday's show.  A number of people have also been blogging about John's personal and professional impacts.  A memorial service is planned for next Tuesday, August 24th from 4 - 7pm at Plummer Park in West Hollywood.  Below are some links about John - he will be sorely missed.

LA Times Obituary 
KRCW DNA
DNA Blog - Discusses projects that define John's fun, eclectic, and passionate approach to urbanism 
LA Observed
Gelato Baby - Personal remembrance of John's impact
LA Weekly - Includes link to an interview with LAist from 2005
WeHo News  - Includes info on memorial service

LA River Video

Here is an NBC 4 Los Angeles follow-up story on kayaking in the LA River.

LA River Events and News

Image from LA Times.  All Rights Reserved.

The LA River has had a good couple of weeks, including first its designation as a navigable river by the EPA (which might seem laughable given its general low flow and concrete banks, but is actually an important step towards potential restoration of the river), and then a couple of interesting profiles of cultural uses of the river from the LA Times.  The first showcased a couple of environmentalists attempt to kayak down the LA River, and the second highlight an artist's performance project within the river. 

Image from LA Times.  All Rights Reserved.

Image from LA Times.  All Rights Reserved.

I thought both were interesting because they provided striking images and views of the river in a mix of environmental, cultural and aesthetic contexts, highlighting how the current form of the river has a unique value that shouldn't be minimized or lost, but also a great future potential. 

Santa Monica Palisades Garden Walk + Town Square Open House

 (Image from Santa Monica Civic Center Parks.  All Rights Reserved.)

Today is the first Community Workshop / Open House for the Santa Monica Palisades Garden Walk + Town Square project.  The Workshop will include a presentation by Field Operations, the lead design consultant for the project, and a number of activities to engage the community.  Further workshops are scheduled for September (Concept Design), November (Schematic Design) and January (Design Development).  More information is available at the project website:

You're invited to a Community Workshop + Open House + Site Walk on July 24th from 1 - 4 pm (presentation at 1:15 pm).  This is your opportunity to meet the Design Team, led by James Corner Field Operations, and make your mark. Kids are welcome.

Details
Where: Enter across from Santa Monica City Hall (1685 Main Street)
Attire: Walking shoes, sun hat and sunscreen
Parking: Validated parking in the Civic Center Parking Structure (333 Civic Center Drive)
Bus: Site served by Big Blue Bus lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10 or Rapid 3
Bike: Santa Monica's popular free bike valet on-site

LA's Downtown Civic Park

(Image from LA Times, courtesy of Rios Clementi Hale. All Rights Reserved.)

The Downtown Civic Park project in LA has been both a great hope for the city, and also a paramount example of the problems with retrofitting LA.  However, Rios Clementi Hale continues to strive forward with the project, and their comprehensive design for the site is promising to become a reality very soon.  Not only is groundbreaking on the project starting on Thursday, but Christopher Hawthorne at the LA Times provided a great look at some of the prototypes for the project, courtesy of the project's designers.

As the Civic Park downtown edges closer to a Thursday groundbreaking ceremony, its designers, Rios Clementi Hale Studios, are putting the finishing touches on a number of design elements. Most striking is a series of street furniture including chairs, benches and tables in a shade of hot magenta. Two of the chairs are shown above.

According to Mark Rios, who is leading the design team on the project, the first pieces of architecture planned for the park are a pair of support buildings. Executed in a simple, modern style, the buildings slide small interiors and shaded outdoor areas beneath sloping roofs. One, holding a cafe, will be located at the western end of the park, near Grand Avenue; the other will sit near Spring Street.

Hawthorne also offers a great discussion of what grand future the park might present for the slowly, but steadily, reviving core of Los Angeles. Hopefully some of the aspirations can become reality, but regardless, the park should offer a great showcase of design in LA, and the work of Rios Clementi Hale.  I will be excited to see the final product, and how it partners with other efforts to transform LA. 

(Image from LA Times, courtesy of Rios Clementi Hale. All Rights Reserved.)

Bike Corrals at Santa Monica Public Library

(Image from Evan G. on Flickr.  All Rights Reserved.)

Stumbled upon this photostream while on LAStreetsblog.  It showcases the new bike corral installed at the Santa Monica Public Library, replacing two parking spots with 18 parking spaces for bikes.  Nice, simple action to encourage biking even more in already bike friendly Santa Monica. 

Dwell on Design

 Image of Vapur Anti Bottle - from ConstructLA.

Dwell on Design was last weekend here in LA.  Sadly, I had a number of commitments that prevented me from attending, but another blog, ConstructLA, has a nice recap of their top 5 products from the expo.