Your week in design events from DnA.
1. LA Conservancy Panel : Should the Parker Center be Preserved?
The site of LAPD Headquarters from 1954 until 2009, the Welton Becket-designed building Parker Center was considered architecturally progressive in its heyday but has a complicated history that includes its association with the militarized LAPD of Chief William Parker (culminating in the Watts Riots of 1965), the partial destruction of Little Tokyo to make way for the building, and its site as a point of conflict during the 1992 Rodney King Riots.
However, the Cultural Heritage Commission has now nominated Parker Center for historical status and the city council now has a couple months to consider it. This Sunday, the Los Angeles Conservancy will host a panel discussion debating the historic and cultural significance of the former police headquarters.
Panelists include: (subject to change): Richard Barron, Chair of the City of Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission; Cheryl Dorsey, retired LAPD police sergeant, community advocate, and author of The Creation of a Manifesto: Black and Blue; Alan Hess, architect, historian, and preservationist; Glynn Martin, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Police Museum; Michael Okamura, President of the Little Tokyo Historical Society.
When: March 22, 2015 at 3:30 PM
Where: LAPD Police Administration Building, Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium; 100 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tickets: Free, but registration required. Register here.
Click here for more information.
2. CicLAvia: The Valley
CicLAvia is heading into the heartland of the Southland’s car culture: for the first time it is hitting the Valley. This Sunday’s CicLAvia event coincides with the launch of their “Walk With Me,” app by Dutch artists, Rob van Rijswijk and Jeroen Strijbos that is an “interactive soundscape composition that brings together the past and present of the San Fernando Valley in one unique iPhone app.”
When: Sunday March 22, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Where: Route begins at North Hollywood Metro Stop
Tickets: Free and open to the public.
Click here for more information.
3. No Agua, No Vida: Human Alteration of the Colorado River
Last week, California got some sobering news in the midst of a swelting heat wave: we are running out of water in one year. That’s according to Jay Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Caltech and a professor of Earth system science at UC Irvine.
There’s perhaps no better time then to explore the human impact on one of California’s water sources, the Colorado River through photographs by John Trotter. This talk is in conjunction with the exhibition Sink or Swim: Designing for a Sea Change, curated by DnA’s Frances Anderton. Make sure you check it out before it closes on May 3, 2015.
When: Thursday March 19, 2015
Where: Skylight Studios 10050 Constellation Boulevard Los Angeles
Tickets: Free; registration required. Register here.
Click here for more information.
4. Nowruz at LACMA
Nowruz, or Iranian New Year, is being celebrated at LACMA this Sunday. In a partnership with The Farhang Foundation, the day will include a series of free and ticketed events including dance and musical performances, Persian-inspired cuisine and more. Make sure you also check out LACMA’s ongoing exhibition Islamic Art Now.
When: Sunday March 22, 2015 11:30 AM-7:00 PM
Where: LACMA (museum-wide); 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles
Tickets: Free and open to the public (some parts of the event are ticketed). | Performances that take place in the Bing Theater require tickets. Bing Theater events: $20
Click here for more information.
5. Dance + Design 2015: The Language of Dance: The Classical Solo/Space Opera
Site-specific dance and music is enjoying a boom in Los Angeles it seems. This weekend you can choose between the American Contemporary Ballet in the very cool offices of the architecture firm Gensler; or Heidi Duckler’s dance troupe in the very cool offices of the architecture firm Morphosis. Or do both!
American Contemporary Ballet’s The Language of Dance: The Classical Solo will feature dances from Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations as well as the company’s Artistic Director, Lincoln Jones, speaking about how universal design principles underlie ballet technique and choreography.
If you didn’t catch last week’s opening performance, Heidi Duckler Dance Theater’s Space Opera, will be performed this Sunday at 2:00 and 5:00PM in the Culver City architecture office of Thom Mayne’s firm Morphosis. Read DnA’s review, here.
The Language of Dance: The Classical Solo
When: Saturday, March 21 at 2:00, 4:00 and 6:00 PM. Sunday, March 22 at 2:00 and 4:00 PM.
Where: Gensler; 500 S. Figueroa St.; Los Angeles
Tickets: $30; Click here for tickets.
Click here for more information.
Heidi Duckler: Space Opera
When: Sunday March 22, 2015 at 2:00 and 5:00 PM
Where: Morphosis; 3440 Wesley Street Culver City
Tickets: $50; Click here for tickets.