March 31 > Designing for Drylands > BWP EcoCampus Tour

While March might mean spring (and rainfall) in many places, in Los Angeles it marks the beginning of a month devoted to drylands design, or design of the urban environment in the face of water scarcity.  As an extension of the A+D Museum and Woodbury University's Arid Lands Institute's planned programming, de LaB is hosting a special tour of the Burbank Water and Power EcoCampus, a real-world example of innovative drylands design by LA-based landscape architecture studio AHBE.

The EcoCampus has been transformed from an industrial relic into a regenerative green space, placing the project on the forefront of sustainable landscape design.  The new campus has three of the 50 LEED Platinum buildings found in California, including its first super-sustainable warehouse.  Beyond the buildings, the campus offers green roofs, and a number of different water reclamation and filtration systems, and new employee green spaces carved out of a reclaimed substation.  The project's sustainable landscape design features have earned it a place as part of the SITES program, a landscape design rating system akin to LEED.  

Learn more about it from this story on KPCC.

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Saturday, March 31

Burbank Water and Power EcoCampus

164 W. Magnolia Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91502

1:00pm: Introduction by Calvin Abe (AHBE) and Hadley Arnold (Arid Lands Institute)

1:30pm: Tour of the EcoCampus with Calvin and John Cassidy (BWP)

The EcoCampus is normally closed to the public so this is a rare chance to peek inside.  Please be sure to RSVP.

RSVP HERE.

UPDATE: This event is SOLD OUT, but we are starting a waitlist via EventBrite. Add your name and we'll let you know if a spot opens up. 

For more Drylands programming, check out:

Drylands Design at the A+D Museum

A+D will serve as the launching pad for the Drylands Design exhibition showcasing a portfolio of visionary infrastructure, urbanism, landscape, and architecture proposals. The Exhibition is part of a larger initiative developed by the Arid Lands Institute, an education and outreach center of Woodbury University, which focuses on water scarcity and design of the built environment.

Drylands Design Conference - March 22-24

The Drylands Design Conference will re-examine the built environment of the arid and semi-arid west as a vast field of opportunities for design innovation at a range of scales, from building systems to infrastructure and landscape spaces.  Presented by the Arid Lands Institute at Woodbury University, the California Architectural Foundation, and UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.

March 24 > S, M, L, XL > Echo Park House Tour

Come join de LaB for our first ever house tour, in the incredibly vibrant neighborhood of Echo Park. This self-directed architecture tour features four fascinating and diverse examples of urban infill designed to maximize the livability and walkability of Echo Park. In a neighborhood better known for bungalows and stucco, all four of these homes feature contemporary design and efficient living. All of the homes on the tour are walking distance from each other, and we encourage you to throw on a pair of flats and take to the streets to see these amazing homes:

Photo: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

SMALL: John Oddo's 495 square foot house designed by Good Idea Studio was featured in the LA Times last year as an example of inspired design in a small space. Don't be fooled by its diminutive size - this house manages to maximize space with thoughtful design.

Photo: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times


MEDIUM: Simon Storey's Eel's Nest is just 960 sq feet. Even more remarkably, it's on a 780 square foot lot. Check out how Storey manages to make a house just 15 feet wide feel remarkably spacious.

Photo: Courtesy of Heyday Partnership

LARGE: Located a few steps from the Echo Park Lake, the side-by-side townhomes dubbed Dick+Jane clock in at about 1,600 square feet each. We'll be visiting one of these duplexes, developed by brothers Kevin and Harde Wronske of Heyday Partnership.

Photo:  ©Laure Joliet/Sunia Homes

X-LARGE: And join us at designer/developer Jerome Pelayo's newly debuted sustainable and modern Sunia Homes. The first model is also in Echo Park - a 2,000 square foot home featuring green amenities such as solar panels, grey and rainwater harvesting systems, a wood pellet stove, and bamboo flooring.

Please join us post-tour starting at 4:00 p.m. at newly opened Red Hill restaurant in Echo Park. Owner Jason Michaud will be offering food and drink specials to tour ticket holders that day. (Of course you're welcome to come just for happy hour even if you don't attend the house tour.)

UPDATE: Red Hill is offering ticket holders a special of Crostoni with Pork Rillette or Tomato Confit  plus a wine or beer pairing for $11. And the full dinner menu will be available at 4pm too!