L.A. Modern

At LACMA, an exhibit about Modern California design opened last weekend.  With 300 objects, Living in a Modern Way "is the first major study of California mid-century design".  The living room furnishings of Charles and Ray Eames have been removed from the Eames House in Pacific Palisades, and reconstituted in the museum galleries.  Across the street at the A+D Museum, a further exhibition.....which you can hear about in this KCRW interview here further explores the influence of this extraordinary Californian couple (Ray and Charles Eames) and the "movement" that they inspired and encouraged.

CalTrans (California Department of Transportation) building, Thom Mayne, Morphosis Architecture, Santa Monica

L.A. has always it seems, been at the forefront of Modernism in the United States, particularly, in residential architecture - see my previous post here.

L.A. Police Building, Paul Dana and Jose Palacios, Architects

In the course of our recent boom

downtown institutional architecture

has taken a giant leap forward, in a departure from the Deco styles that mainly characterize

L.A.'s Downtown.  It has provided wonderful opportunities for architects, artists and contractors.  Occasionally too, these "grands projets" have involved massive cost overruns and financial mismanagement.  The bill for which will be footed by the taxpayer.  And, as in the case

of two controversial highschools, teachers will pay, since the city can now no longer afford to employ many of them.

Ain't that the way?