The Midnight Charette Design and Architecture Show

This week David and Marina are joined by Elizabeth Timme & Helen Leung, Executive Directors of LA-Más to discuss the founding the organization, maintaining non-profit status, aiding communities through policy and architecture, social responsibility in design and more. Enjoy!

This week David and Marina are joined by Ryan Tyler Martinez to discuss all things architecture including teaching pedagogies, current trends in the profession, taking the ARE's, how film-making relates to architecture, attend SCI-Arc, the politics of being an architecture student and more!

This week David and Marina review Aladdin (2019) and compare it to the 1992 original, covering everything from character portrayal (Will Smith's genie, the not-creepy-enough Jafar, the updated and contemporized Jasmin, etc.), the old and new songs, camerawork, coloring, changes in the plot, the controversial racial issues surrounding the story and films of Aladdin (did you know it was originally set in China?!), the Rotten Tomatoes reviews of the film and more.

This week David and Marina discuss how to create a design portfolio that will you interviewed and hired. The two cover everything from the critical points most designers overlook and what employers look for in a portfolio to format, binding, book size, graphics, which projects to include, design, layout, digital formatting, and more.

This week David and Marina have a mixed conversation on the social awkwardness of Irish Pubs, perceived racism, the architecture of bars, talkers versus do'ers, honesty in offices, bitchy servers, the importance of exit interviews and other random things. Enjoy!

This week David and Marina are joined by Alissa Walker, Curbed's Urbanism Editor, to discuss how autonomous vehicles should be implemented in cities, housing densification in Los Angeles, the city's plan for the 2028 Olympics, the essential components of walkable streets, alternative transportation, Elon Musk's Loop proposal, and much more. Enjoy!

This week David and Marina discuss what should happen with the Notre Dame Cathedral post-fire, the architecture proposals for its rebuilding, memorial architecture, crisis response, tearing down buildings, the 9/11 development and the Game of Thrones: Battle of Winterfell. Enjoy!

This week David, Marina, and Ling discuss Avengers: Endgame in a SPOILER-filled review. The three cover plot, character portrayal, fight-scene choreography, the film's humor & relationship to Avengers: Infinity War, the quality of the 3d, visual styles and more. Enjoy!

This week David and Marina are joined by Jimenez Lai & Joanna Grant, Partners of Bureau Spectacular and Professors at UCLA and USC, to discuss the evolution of their office, architecture typologies (why would a parking structure be interesting?), graphics, near-death experiences, favorite buildings and more. Enjoy! 

This week David and Marina review Lascaux IV: The International Centre of Cave Art by Snøhetta. The two share their experience visiting the museum and their critique of the building's many galleries, architectural detailing, organization, cave art facsimile, and the artwork itself. The project makes good use of technology to display and communicate the 20,000-year-old artwork but falls short in its larger organization and flow. Enjoy!

Architect Neil Denari discusses experimental music, teaching urban design, morality, NYC during the 80s, the High Line's success and more. Enjoy!

This week David and Marina discuss their recent trip to France: tiny airplanes, a 20-hour layover in Paris, the architecture of the small southern French towns, local foods and people, Parisian attire, smelly cheese, socialism, normal French eating etiquette and more!

David and Marina discuss how to create a successful design résumé to get hired. The two cover everything from what to include if you have a lot of experience, résumé length, what offices look for in a résumé, how to stand out, how it should be structured, custom graphics, font size, including addresses, including headshots and more. Enjoy and Please leave a review!

Architect Alvin Huang discusses his time in London, the AA School, meeting Rem Koolhaas, his office, teaching at USC, cheap foods and more!

This week David, Marina and Ling review The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a wonky movie composed of six separate short-films directed by the Coen Brothers. The movie ranges from funny, weird, deeply sad, mysterious and loving. All of the characters are wonderfully played by a range of A-list actors and several impressive lesser-known ones. It's definitely worth watching!