Symposium: LA-ND. The Future of Land Value in LA

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design is a champion of ideas and their articulate expression. Our exceptional faculty teach students to engage the world around them, to see ideas as productive forms of response, and to leverage design and writing as expressions of newly curated perspectives. These ideas are grounded in a critical engagement with the history and theory of architecture and the future contingencies of contemporary culture. Through rigorous inquiry, we interrogate contemporary urban issues and propose possible futures with equal measures of expertise, optimism, and vision.

UCLA Architecture and Urban Design

<H3>Join us for a symposium hosted by Jeffrey Inaba and the IDEAS Urban Strategy Studio. </H3>
LA’s past and future are tied to land – as in land development, land value, and landmarks. In other cities the grid dictates urban growth and buildings conform to its strict order. In LA the land rules: street grids buckle and dissolve along the foothills, and structures and open spaces follow the principles of grading. Mountains, valleys, and water determine the shape of urban districts and the path of roads and freeways. Land is also the city’s primary material for construction. Every plot of earth has been moved and shaped, turning fields, hills, and canyons into neighborhoods, infrastructure, and popular destinations. The LA River, Mulholland’s reservoirs, Hollywood Bowl, Griffith Observatory, UCLA, Bunker Hill, the 101, 405, 5, Dodger Stadium, the Getty, and hillside enclaves from Pacific Palisades to Pasadena all were built by transforming the land into a new typography.
In the "City of Angels," the more there is engineering the higher the land value. Cut and fill, and terracing have made it possible to build in locations desirable for their proximity to nature and elevated views. Reclamation has enabled development in low lying areas that have convenient access to water and coastal zones. But as the effects of climate change intensify, these engineered lands are at greatest risk of peril. They are literally where real estate economics and climate unpredictability have begun to collide. This practice of designing the land has increased the threats of fire, flooding, and landslides, but it is also possibly our best means to confront the city’s new reality of extreme climate. LAnd will explore the history and future making of land and urban strategies to improve the quality of life in LA.
To discuss land history, technologies, and design, UCLA Architecture and Urban Design is excited to host presentations by three renowned speakers: Christopher Hawthorne, Chief Design Officer of the City of Los Angeles, and former LA Times Architecture Critic; Francesca Ammon, Associate Professor of City and Regional Planning and Historic Preservation at University of Pennsylvania, and the author of Bulldozer: Demolition and Clearance of the Postwar Landscape; and Débora Mesa, Architect and Principal of Ensamble Studio (Madrid and Boston).
 
<H3>Program:</H3>
3:45-4 PM: Registration
Introductions: Chair, Heather Roberge and IDEAS Urban Strategy Studio lead, Jeffrey Inaba 
Christopher Hawthrone: Presentation and conversation moderated by UCLA AUD Professor, Dana Cuff
Débora Mesa: Presentation and conversation moderated by IDEAS Urban Strategy Studio lead, Jeffrey Inaba
Francesca Ammon: Presentation
Reception: Explore recent student work from the M.S.AUD post-professional program
 
<H3>About the IDEAS Campus: </H3>
UCLA Architecture and Urban Design's IDEAS campus is a 15,000 square-foot facility located near Culver City, and the exclusive location for our one-year, post-professional Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design (M.S.AUD) program. An incubator for collaborative, cross-disciplinary design research, students and faculty work with partners across Entertainment, Mobility, Technology and Urban Strategy to apply the analytical and design processes of architecture and urban design to emerging developments in these industries. By engaging with experts from other fields, we can expand architecture’s field of influence and leverage design to propose alternative, more intelligent futures.
<H3> </H3>
<H3>About the IDEAS Event Series:</H3>
The IDEAS Event Series looks beyond architecture’s traditional boundaries to explore emerging trends in Los Angeles’ most creative industries. As an opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange, prominent academics and industry leaders present cutting-edge research and engage in meaningful discussions about the future of their fields and the roles they play in the evolution of architecture and the urban environment. 
The symposium will take place on the IDEAS campus near Culver City. Ample street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood.
 
<H6>Image credit: Iwan Baan, © Iwan Baan, 2020</H6>

Symposium: LA-ND. The Future of Land Value in LA

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Symposium: LA-ND. The Future of Land Value in LA

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