Yesterday we took a construction tour of Gensler’s new 55-story  Marriott/ Ritz Carlton tower at LA Live, at the south end of downtown LA. A  great tour overall, with plenty of spectacular vistas and an opportunity to see the innards of what will be one of LA’s most iconic buildings (stay tuned for an “In Construction” feature on the project in our next issue). The highlight was checking out the scene from the helicopter pad on top. The lowlight was checking out the sign on the first floor noting “this job site has worked 0007 days without any accidents.” Read More

New Blum + Poe Gallery, Culver City

At a time when most art galleries are struggling, it seems some of the big guys are doing just fine. First our friends at Escher Gunewardena, who designed the Blum + Poe gallery in Culver City, tell us they are opening a much larger Blum + Poe  space down the street (rendering above) this fall. And now we hear from Art News (and thanks to a link from LA Curbed), that Richard Meier is doubling the size of the Gagosian Beverly Hills Gallery to 11,600 square feet. The project is set to open next year. Meier designed the original Gagosian gallery in Los Angeles in 1994-95 by converting an existing storefront.

Stepping Up: Denari's Endeavor Talent Agency

The LA Times reports what we already knew:  LA architect Neil Denari, who already designed the Endeavor Talent Agency headquarters, is now working on the interiors for WME Entertainment in Beverly Hills. WME was recently created in a merger between the Endeavor talent agency and William Morris. Its director is Ari Emanuel (Rahm’s brother, and the inspiration for Jeremy Piven’s character on Entourage).  The agency will occupy a six-story building designed by Gensler (who recently lost the interiors commission for the project) that is under construction on North Beverly Drive. Denari will design 170,000 square feet of interior space, including a 200-seat screening room.

A Greenbelt Alliance case study turning bleakness into civic pride

If you’re going to unveil a grand plan for development, you might as well do it from a place where you can see a big chunk of it. So it was a clever idea to launch the new Grow Smart Bay Area initiative from San Francisco’s Carnelian Room, 52 stories up, with its splendid panoramic views of the waterfront. The proposal, launched earlier this week, was put together by the Greenbelt Alliance, a Bay Area smart-growth advocacy group that just celebrated its 50th anniversary. It anticipates how the Bay Area can accommodate an anticipated 2 million more residents by 2035 without overflowing into the surrounding open space. Read More

Last night we had the pleasure of checking out Last Remaining Seats, the L.A. Conservancy’s series of classic films inside the historic theatres of Los Angeles. Last night featured Cabaret, starring Liza Minelli and Michael York (York gave the introduction to the event) in the unmatchable Los Angeles Theater, a huge baroque palace on Broadway full of crystal chandeliers and impossibly ornate details. Guests were even welcome to visit the crusty old projection room (with its ancient dials and dressing room), the windswept rooftop, the subterranean ballroom, and the luxurious bathrooms. Other classic theaters hosting the event in other weeks include the Orpheum and the Million Dollar, which have been restored in recent years, and host music, theater, and even church services. More pictures of the festivities here: Read More