April 28 > Obscura Day > Tile House

It's back! Last year, a group of de LaBbers headed to the hills - the Hollywood Hills, that is - to tour octogenrian Geoge Ehling's amazing home for Obscura Day (an international "day of expeditions, back-room tours and hidden treasures in your hometown"). George has poured over four decades of sweat equity in the home, tiling much of it by himself. The house, built in 1927, was bought in 1967 and George has been designing and creating intricate tilework ever since.

Join us once again, as George generously leads a tour through his amazing home, with generous support from furniture showroom Ford & Ching. Learn how George has used found materials ranging from wine and beer bottles to old discarded tiles, cut down to create hand-made tesserae for these mosaics.

The tour is limited to only 35 people, and will likely sell out quickly. We can only take a limited number of vehicles to the site, so when you RSVP through Eventbrite (no Facebook rsvp's will be honored), you'll receive more detailed information about where to meet and what to do.

This year, we're asking participants to carpool to the home, and will be meeting at El Paseo de Cahuenga Park as a group prior to the tour.

Saturday, April 28
12:30pm Meet at El Paseo De Cahuenga Park for carpooling
3300 Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90068


Park across from Oakcrest Market on Cahuenga and Oakshire Road. We'll organize carpools and give directions from here.

Tour begins at 1pm


Buy tickets here. Cost is $5 and space is extremely limited.

Please note, the house has some very steep stairs. Children under 12 not allowed. Thanks for understanding!

And many thanks again to our friends at Ford & Ching!

April 25 > Sunset Triangle Tour > Silver Lake

If you've passed through Silver Lake in the past month, you've no doubt noticed Sunset Triangle, a brand-new polka-dot plaza that's become a lively gathering space for the neighborhood. L.A.'s first street-to-plaza conversion project was created by temporarily closing one block of Griffith Park Boulevard to cars for one year, and adding amenities like moveable chairs, tables, and planters. Sunset Triangle Plaza was created by a group called Streets for People, which is an initiative of the City of Los Angeles City Planning Commission in partnership with the County Department of Public Health. The plaza was modeled after the successful pedestrian plazas in New York City and was designed by Frank Clementi of Rios Clementi Hale Studios. Check out more photos of Sunset Triangle.

On Wednesday, April 25, Clementi will be joined by Streets for People's Margot Ocañas and Anna Peccianti, who will lead a tour of this incredible transformed space, which is being used by people of all ages and physical abilities for everything from coffee-sipping to bike-riding to basketball-playing to bike-tuning. Then we'll walk across the street to Cliff's Edge, which has also seen a transformation of sorts: The addition of celebrity chef Ben Bailly and a revamped cocktail menu.

Wednesday, April 25
5:30pm Meet at Sunset Triangle, corner of Sunset Boulevard and Griffith Park Boulevard
6:00pm Tour and talk with Frank Clementi, Margot Ocañas and Anna Peccianti
7:00pm Drinks at Cliff's Edge, 3626 Sunset Boulevard (right across the street)

Free, but please RSVP so we can get a headcount.

RSVP here.

See who's going on Facebook.


Sunset Triangle Plaza from Streets for People on Vimeo.

March Recap > Echo Park Home Tour

On March 24th, de LaB hosted its first-ever home tour, in the highly walkable, dense neighborhood of Echo Park. Dubbed S, M, L, XL (shout out to Rem Koolhaas - what up, dog?) we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to tour four incredible homes in the neighborhood, all within walking and biking distance of each other.

No shoes allowed. 

The homes were chosen not just for proximity, but also to highlight new design for urban infill, and each of the homes underscored four different models for sustainable yet stylish living.

Photo by Elizabeth Daniels/Curbed LA

The smallest of the homes was designed by John Oddo at Good Idea Studio, and clocked in at just 495 square feet. Despite its jewel-box size, the house manages to maximize space, sun and outdoor living. Our medium-sized home was designed by architect Simon Storey of Anonymous Architects. Simon managed to accomplish a pretty major feat - he packed a nearly 1,000 square foot home onto a 780 square foot lot, thanks to smart design and a vertical orientation. He even was able to include a roof garden and small patio in back.

Photos by Elizabeth Daniels/Curbed LA

Just on the other side of Sunset on Echo Park Blvd was our "large" home, a nearly 1,600 square foot townhouse duplex, known as Dick + Jane by brothers Kevin and Harde Wronske of Heyday Partnership. And last but not least was our "XL" home, the first Sunia Home by real estate developer and designer Jerome Pelayo. The 2,000 square foot home features a plethora of green amenities including solar panels, a greywater harvesting system, a wood pellet stove for heating and bamboo flooring.

Post-tour, we gathered for drinks at new neighborhood fave, Red Hill. Thanks to Jason Michaud and the crew there for their hospitality and generosity. We couldn't have had a more gracious host when the hungry hordes descended.

And thanks to all of our docents - we could not have done it without you! You're all awesome (and according to Curbed LA, the best-looking docents in town, to boot)!

For more great photos of the homes, check out Curbed LA's tour here, here and here.

August 28 > What's Fermenting at The Brewery? > Lincoln Heights

Sure, you've probably been to the Brewery Artwalk once or twice and roamed the massive complex's artist studios in what was originally the Edison Electric Steam Power Plant turned Pabst Brewery. But how well do you know any of the artists or designers?

(Photo by flickr user j.r.mchale)

Join us on Sunday, August 28th at 1pm for a tour of four diverse studios with the artists living and working in the art colony. We'll start at Carl Smith and Melynda Eccles' architecture firm, Telemachus Studio, for snacks and beverages and to hear about their latest projects. Then we'll head over to jewelry designer Claudia Endler's studio, visit the massive sculptures of artist James Hill, and gawk at the incredible wearable art of multimedia artist Kasey McMahon (one of LA Weekly's Best of LA People).


What: What's Fermenting At the Brewery?
When: Sunday, August 28 
1-3ish pm
Where: The Brewery Arts Complex: Meet at Telemachus Studio
672 South Avenue 21 | Unit 2
Los Angeles CA 90031
Cost: Free

RSVP here via Eventbrite.

March Recap > CaliFERnication

We had a (very) full house for our Inglewood visit with (fer) studio. Principals Doug Pierson and Christopher Mercier, both alums of Frank Gehry's practice, greeted 65 visitors to their studio tucked into a semi-hidden complex between La Brea and Crenshaw Blvds.

After drinks and refreshments, Doug and Chris presented their vision for a proposed masterplan for downtown Inglewood to a packed room. Centered on Market Street, and utilizing an empty 3-acre plot of land (that is currently in dispute between the city and a former owner who defaulted on a loan), (fer) devised a transit-oriented plan around a proposed Expo line stop. The plan aims to provide a cultural and commercial mix that draws on the existing infrastructure of the pedestrian-friendly street.

The masterplan also includes innovative eco-conscious elements, including solar wind systems, a self-contained water reservoir, planted towers, and vertical gardens. The architects are taking on an unusual role, as activist and advocate for the city. What began as an internal project bloomed into a larger plan, with the masterplan now submitted to Cascadia’s Living City Competition. Yet the firm has a long road ahead, as it pushes the vision to Inglewood's city council.

For more on the firm's vision for Inglewood, check out the Architect's Newspaper's excellent article here.

Thanks For A Great Year!

Thanks to everyone who made it out to our very wet Go For The Gold event and especially to James Rojas for leading our transit and culinary explorations along the Gold Line Extension.

And a special thanks to everyone who has made it out this year to any of our events - we appreciate your support and encouragement as we plan more events for 2010. Have an idea for an event? Let us know.

And what else did we do this year?
In November we joined our friends at Ball-Nogues Studio in Downtown LA during Art Walk for a screening of the High-Energy Double Channel videos by Cal Artians.

In October, we were "on hiatus" but missed you too much!

In September teamed up with our friends at Curbed LA and Greenmeme for Park[ing] Day LA! de LaBbers and neighbors stopped by as we transformed a parking space located in front of LOCAL restaurant into a sustainably designed pocket-park.

In August, we braved the heat to tour Vista Hermosa Park with landscape architect Mia Lehrer and explored the park's walking trails, streams, meadows, oak savannahs, picnic grounds, and a nature-themed playground. Our friends from Coolhaus stopped by with specially-themed Mia-inspired ice cream sandwiches.

In July, we headed east - way east, to explore LA's thriving Tiki culture. Joining forces with Popsicles for Everyone, whose most recent project, Tikitown, USA looks at the rise and fall of Tiki culture in Los Angeles, we embarked on a three-stop Tiki Trek.

In June, we took to the streets for our first (but hopefully not last) annual Design-n-Dim Sum bike ride. Adam and Josef of Flying Pigeon guided a large group of cyclists through Lincoln Heights to Chinatown, stopping along the way to visit Fung and Blatt in their studio, and Fifth Floor Gallery and LOC, ending at Ocean Seafood for dim sum.

In May, we learned the ancient art of origami with Studio 1060, including our friends Bo and Hisako at Bunch Design, Catherine Garrison Architect, Debi Van Zyl and Design Garage Inc. Not only did they provide us with a great space in Boyle Heights, and a fantastic Butter Bar, but they also kindly taught everyone how to construct paper modules for our three-dimensional origami wall, now gracing Studio 1060.

In April we hosted a Garden Party. On top of the Flat Building rooftop, architect Alexis Rochas schooled us on the challenges of urban agriculture as we toured SYNTHe. Afterwards we filed downstairs into the swanktastic Blue Velvet and sipped Champagne and lemon-spiked Hefeweizens while a brunch with produce snipped from that very rooftop was brought out in three beautifully-plated courses.

In March we combined two of our favorite things - cocktails and preservation at Cole's. Restaurant group 213's designer Ricki Kline gave us a tour of the restored space, including their speakeasy The Varnish, in the back room.

In February we headed to Lincoln Heights for a tour of the Daly Lofts, architect and writer Joseph Giovannini’s first major LA project. Formerly a telephone trucking garage, this 23,000 square-foot structure now houses a series of trippy, sculptural modern live-work lofts.

Last Jan we took a break to recover from City Listening, a gathering of several local design and architecture writers to read stories about LA in the performance space at the former office of GOOD magazine.

What does 2010 have in store? Stay tuned here and on Facebook as we announce our next events.

Happy holidays to all!

October Hiatus

Yes, we know it's very Hollywood to say we're going on hiatus, and then never return, but in this case we mean it. Work, travel and other obligations mean October has gotten away from us, but we'll be back with another great event in November.

In the meantime, enjoy our pics from September's Park[ing] Day on Facebook (psst, have you joined our group yet?) and check out some of these other great events going on in the next few weeks:

• If you haven't got a ticket to this week's sold out Rock-n-Platinum Party at the Cherokee Lofts, perhaps you'd like a tour?
• See it before it closes Nov 1 - the Richard Neutra Sketches and Drawing exhibit at the LA Library downtown. It's free!
• Check out LACMA's cross section of twentieth-century design at "From the Spoon to the City: Design by Architects from LACMA's Collection."
• The MAK Center is mounting an exhibit on little-known Austrian sociologist, Otto Neurath (1888-1945). Opening Nov 3rd.
• The Sixties are hot again. As part of the LA Conservancy's "Sixties Turn Fifties" initiative, they're putting on a one-time only self-driving tour of some of the cities best architecture from the 1960's.
  
• The Great LA Walk is back! Join Franklin Ave and friends for their annual urban hike. This year, they're meeting at the Shrine for a walk down Washington and Adams - all the way to Venice.
  

And we're always looking for great ideas for future events. Got one? Hit us up at hello [at] designeastoflabrea [dot] org.

April de LaB > Garden Party

UPDATE: We are now SOLD OUT, but add yourself to the wait list here. Who knows, you might get lucky.

Join us for our first ever daytime de LaB! On Saturday, April 4, we're throwing a Garden Party as part of the fabulous LA Art Weekend. We'll start with a tour of SYNTHe, a unique urban agriculture structure located on the roof of The Flat building, hosted by architect and SCI-Arc professor Alexis Rochas. Then we'll head back downstairs for a prix-fixe lunch at the ground-floor Blue Velvet, where we'll enjoy a three-course meal prepared with organic produce raised on the rooftop!

12 noon: Meet at Blue Velvet
12:15pm: Head upstairs to tour SYNTHe rooftop garden with Alexis Rochas (ladies, heels are not recommended)
1pm: Back at Blue Velvet, menu below ($20 per person, drinks additional)

Blue Velvet/The Flat
750 Garland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Space is limited!
RSVP required, first come, first served: email us at
hello@designeastoflabrea.org

Menu:
First Course (choice of)
Scottish Salmon
White bean ragout, kale, smoked tomato, grapefruit

Fresh Pistachio Falafel
Eggplant, figs, tomato, black olive oil

Second Course (choice of)
Braised Beef Short Ribs
Brown butter beet béarnaise, pickled root vegetables, fondant potatoes, lavender beef jus

House Made Tagliatelle
Market fresh vegetables

Third Course
Vanilla Crème Fraiche Panna Cotta
blackberry espuma and confit, passionfruit sorbet,thyme scented wafer