KCRW's DnA: Design & Architecture

A look back at 2016, losses and gains in design, architecture and a changing Los Angeles. Don't splurge at that New Year sale! Interior designer Vern Yip's new book advises people on how to carefully create beautiful spaces, with the help of a ruler. And we look at the rise and fall and rise again of a historic theater on DTLA's Broadway.

Three star architecture firms from Europe have been tapped by LA developers to design massive, dense, infill developments in LA. It's exciting news for anyone who follows architecture. But will they get to realize these projects in a region that is resisting dense development even as it faces a huge housing crisis?

The Ghost Ship fire in Oakland has added to the insecurity of life for artists who've been occupying LA's warehouse spaces. And the City of Los Angeles approved a large Frank Gehry-designed project, but a mid-century bank building is complicating the plans.

Seniors are being kicked out of a Westwood Village independent living facility to make way for a luxury makeover. Is that an eviction too far? And did the Internet destroy hyper-gentrifying San Francisco -- and create a president? I Hate the Internet author Jarett Kobek says yes.

Los Angeles is a character in the romantic musical La La Land, from famed landmarks to infamous freeway traffic jams. The Germans come to the rescue of a Modernist house in the Pacific Palisades built by "father of German democracy" Thomas Mann. And artist Doug Aitken's latest installation involves diving gear and a trip to Catalina.

The effort to bring a streetcar back to downtown Los Angeles passed another hurdle this week. The LA City Council voted 13-0 to approve a 3.8-mile route that includes Grand Park, the Convention Center, the Fashion District, and theaters and shops along Broadway.

Fidel Castro is dead. What might his passing mean for the historic city of Havana, where development was stalled for almost 60 years? Lewis MacAdams, poet-activist, passes on the torch at Friends of the LA River. We discuss the future of the LA river with MacAdams and FOLAR's new Executive Director, Marissa Christiansen.

The Los Angeles River is losing one of its fiercest advocates. Lewis MacAdams founded Friends of the Los Angeles River three decades ago, and will soon step down as president.

The return of SUVs was the big trend at this year's LA Auto Show. And what is the future of electric mobility under a Trump administration? And the longtime LA architecture firm A.C. Martin Partners is putting the finishing touches on Wilshire Grand Center. Cousins Chris and David Martin discuss the challenges of building LA's tallest skyscraper and the firm's future.

There's a new supertall building in town. If you've been anywhere near downtown LA, even miles away, you've seen it go up.

Architects erupt over a memo supportive of President-Elect Donald Trump, issued by the American Institute of Architects. And some Silicon Valley insiders are comparing tech to big tobacco or even gambling -- eager to sell people on a pleasure that is dangerously addictive. Is it time for a "slow technology" movement?

Voters in Los Angeles on Tuesday agreed to tax themselves to pay for mass transit, homeless housing, and parks. They also want developers to pay for affordable housing. And Santa Monica voters rejected a controversial anti-density measure.

Los Angeles and San Francisco are competing to play host to George Lucas' Museum of Narrative Art, which comes with a site-specific design by Ma Yansong. Jade Chang draws from her experience covering LA's art and design scene in her first novel,The Wangs Vs. The World.

Voters in California will decide next week whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Meanwhile, the fast-growing cannabis industry is turning to high-end product design and sleek new dispensaries to attract new customers and clean up its image.

How does the booming marijuana industry shed its illicit image and attract new customers? By turning to high-end product design and sleek new dispensaries. And Santa Monica residents will vote next week on Measure LV. Will it slow growth or create new problems? The initiative is being closely watched as a bellwether for development in the Southland.