Design and Architecture

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.”

A has a massive housing problem. There are a number of initiatives to resolve the homeless crisis and the creation of more affordable housing. But, do any of these solve the basic problem in LA, which is resistance to the construction of new housing?

Facebook has tweaked its design to give users clearer control over their information. Can these changes help the social media giant become “friends” again with its users? The Bombay Beach Biennale has come to the Salton Sea. How do the locals feel about the influx of art and opera? And CalArts marks the 50th anniversary of the “House of Dust,” a house inspired by a computer-generated poem.

California is beginning to allow the testing of self-driving cars with no humans at the wheel. Critics say the technology is not ready for the roads, but supporters say autonomous vehicles will make streets safer. And Christopher Hawthorne is leaving his post as the Los Angeles Times’ architecture critic to take up a new job as the city of LA's first-ever Chief Design Officer. What does that job entail exactly?

As Uber investigates last week’s fatal crash in Tempe, Arizona involving a self-driving car, the company has decided to pull its application to test self-driving cars on California streets. What does this mean for California's plans to continue testing autonomous vehicles?

The final episode of DnA’s Bridges and Walls examines the "fourth border,” the Southland’s seashore. Undersea fiber optic cables connect the world, but why is Hermosa Beach a popular landing site for them? What price do we pay for our digital connections? And we'll consider  an alternate route for traffic-weary Angeleno commuters: a  ferry service between the beach towns.

Traffic is so awful that dreaming up alternative transit routes is now an LA pastime. And for those sitting on the 405 or PCH, one idea that is being floated -- excuse the pun -- is the idea of ocean-based transit.