AIA|LA Urban Design Committee – An Evening Seminar on Housing

AIA|LA Urban Design Committee presents…

An Evening Seminar on Housing

The AIA|LA Urban Design Committee is pleased to present An Evening Seminar on Housing, in which a variety of contemporary practices working in Los Angeles will present recent projects at the nexus of Urban Design and Housing.

Frances Anderton, author of Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles (2022), will moderate the evening, in which a succession of 10-minute presentations from Agency Artifact, Koning Eizenberg, LOHA, RELM Studio, SuperLA, and West of West will be followed by a lively Q+A discussion where audience participation is encouraged.

Through this discussion, the committee seeks to probe and understand some principles underlying good housing design in Los Angeles today and discover opportunities for future projects to engage with the larger community through the careful crafting of urban space.

The evening will be hosted at the offices of RELM, who have generously offered to provide drinks and light refreshments.

Moderator:

Frances Anderton – Public Director, AIA Los Angeles & Author, Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles

Presenters:

Christopher Esteban Torres, RLA – Founding Partner, Agency Artifact
Lise Bornstein, AIA – Partner, KFA Architecture
Brian Lane, FAIA, LEED AP – Principal, Koning Eizenberg
Lorcan O’Herlihy FAIA – Founding Principal & Creative Director, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA)
David Christensen – Associate Principal, RELM
Aaron van Schaik – Principal, SUPER LA
Clayton Taylor, AIA, NCARB, IIDA – Partner, West of West

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Parking & Transit:

AIA|LA encourages everyone to walk, bike, or ride transit.

If that’s not possible, no-host parking options include surface lots at 618 S Olive, 635 S Olive, and the Pershing Square parking structure, all of which are minutes away from the office. The Pershing Square Metro stop is about 5 min walk from the office. The security guard in the lobby of the building will assist guests with elevator access to 11th Floor.

BIOS:

Frances Anderton – Public Director, AIA Los Angeles & Author, Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles

Frances Anderton is the author of Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles, published by Angel City Press. She co-produced 40 Years of Building Community, a short film about the nonprofit housing developer Community Corporation of Santa Monica. For many years Anderton hosted KCRW’s DnA: Design and Architecture radio show, and produced the current affairs shows Which Way, LA? And To The Point. She writes a regular newsletter for KCRW and she consults on programming at Helms Bakery District. Honors include the Esther McCoy Award, from the Architectural Guild of USC School of Architecture, for her work educating the public about architecture and urbanism. Her book Common Ground has been shortlisted for a Foreword Reviews NonFiction Book award. 

Christopher Esteban Torres, RLA – Founding Partner, Agency Artifact

Chris is an award winning landscape architect and urban designer creating public spaces that merge extraordinary experiences, everyday culture and resilient systems.

He has over a decade of domestic and international experience creating projects ranging from urban and ecological systems to site specific interventions. Prior to founding Agency Artifact, he was a co-founder at Superjacent and has lead projects at Rios Clementi Hale Studios, Walt Disney Imagineering, Skidmore Owings & Merrill and the public art program at LA METRO. Chris was a Design Principal at the Jerde Partnership and served as a Vice President for the organization with over a 100 designers working around the world.

Beyond his work as a practitioner, he was a visiting researcher of Urban Design at the Queensland University of Technology, lecturer in Landscape Architecture and Urbanism at USC, Vice President of the LA Forum for Architecture and Urban Design and member of Mayor Garcetti’s Great Street’s design advisory committee. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Landscape Architecture Foundation.

He received a BA in Urban Studies from Loyola Marymount University, NY/P program in Urban Design at Columbia University GSAPP and MLA from UC Berkeley where he co-founded the GROUND UP Journal.

Lise Bornstein, AIA – Partner, KFA Architecture

Lise Bornstein, AIA has devoted her career to placemaking: creating spaces and opportunities where people and communities thrive. She has accomplished this in her architectural design practice and in her advocacy for professional growth among her staff and the career advancement for women in architecture. As a partner at KFA Architecture, Lise is responsible for business development, project conceptualization and design, as well as office operations and culture. Internally to the firm, she focuses on the organizational structure, mentorship, and career development of its 75 employees.

In her architectural design role, she is focused on strong design concepts: she has managed projects and campus master plans with complex entitlement packages, multiple funding sources and significant community outreach while working collaboratively with clients, consultants, contractors and in-house teams. Lise is the partner in-charge for a diverse portfolio of affordable and permanent supportive housing, market-rate and mixed-use multifamily housing, and campus developments including the West Los Angeles VA Campus Master Plan, PATH Metro Villas, 24 Campus, Avenue 34, and SP7.

Lise is inspired by the continuing evolution of the LA cityscape through a new era of transformation in communities, and in the ways people live and work. She believes this growth will lead KFA to new and exciting projects with creative partners, while offering new opportunities in urban infill development. She is a former board member of Step Up on Second and the immediate Past President of the Association for Women in Architecture Foundation. She is committed to the advancement of people and the profession.

Brian Lane, FAIA, LEED AP – Principal, Koning Eizenberg

Brian Lane, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal uses his keen eye for detail and focus on what it is to be a good neighbor to raise the bar on expectations for community architecture. Brian fuses practical knowledge of design and constructibility to anchor experimentation across a range of budgets. He draws upon planning knowledge and strong visualization skills to assist cities and agencies across the LA region in the evaluation of guidelines and regulations, particularly in relation to housing. He is frequently called upon to share his expertise in community forums and public programs, and is a member of the Hollywood Sign Board of Trustees.

Lorcan O’Herlihy FAIA – Founding Principal & Creative Director, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA)

Lorcan O’Herlihy is an internationally renowned architect and urban designer with offices in Los Angeles, California and Detroit, Michigan. After a career working with esteemed firms including Kevin Roche, I. M. Pei and Steven Holl, O’Herlihy founded Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects [LOHA] in 1994 where he is the Founding Principal and Creative Director. He has built a robust portfolio of work rooted in embracing architecture’s role as a catalyst for change. Enacting a powerful alliance of inventive designs with vigorous social ideals, O’Herlihy’s work prospers whether it is supportive affordable housing in South Los Angeles, working with grassroots neighborhood advocates in Detroit, or designing cultural institutions like Chapman University Dance School. In addition to building over 100 projects across three continents Lorcan has been published in over 20 countries and recognized with 150-plus national and international awards, including the 2021 AIALA Gold Medal, Architect’s Newspaper Best of Practice North America Firm Award, the AIALA Firm of the Year Award, the AIA California Distinguished Practice Award, and was ranked the #1 Design Firm in the US by Architect Magazine in 2018.

David Christensen – Associate Principal, RELM

With a distinguished resume realizing decorated urban parks across the country —Tongva Park, Navy Pier, and Fresh Kills— David plays a seminal role leading RELM’s urban campus portfolio. Be they state buildings, creative office, or educational, David applies his training in planning and architecture to realize dynamic landscapes that welcome the larger community in addition to a site’s dedicated user group. David is facile interfacing with complex stakeholder groups while amplifying creative vision, adeptly crafting landscape detailing to render enduring, beloved spaces. At RELM, he has led the studio’s first DGS project, the New Natural Resources Headquarters in Sacramento; 800 North Brand in Glendale, re-envisioning a William Pereira corporate office tower landscape; Aggie Square at UC Davis, and two education projects, one college, one K-12. For all, David’s attention to detail and relentless drive to execute flawlessly has earned him recognition by owners and peers alike. Prior to joining RELM, he worked for James Corner Field Operations and SWA.

Aaron van Schaik – Principal, SUPER LA

Aaron van Schaik is the founding Principal of SuperLA®, a Los Angeles based design + build firm focussed on delivering housing that makes the occupant, and the community, feel good. After spending over a decade working on a range of development projects in Melbourne, Australia, New York City and Los Angeles, Aaron launched SuperLA® to rethink how we approach designing and building spaces. By introducing efficiencies across all stages of a project, from acquisition, through design, construction and management, SuperLA® is able to reallocate cost savings toward features that prioritize both the occupant, the community. and the environment. Aaron believes that SuperLA®’s unique development approach is one of many required solutions to provide more housing.

Clayton Taylor, AIA, NCARB, IIDA – Partner, West of West

Clayton Taylor is an architect and founding partner of West of West. He is a design leader known for skillfully balancing architectural ingenuity and sustainability to create innovative buildings at all scales. His drive to develop exceptional design is rooted in a commitment to weaving together program, context, history, and culture to craft signature architecture.

Clayton leads diverse client and consultant teams to deliver design excellence while solving complex site and program challenges. His expertise is evident in projects such as Eastbound in Austin, Texas and Terminal 1, Block 1 & 2 along the Vancouver waterfront. Clayton currently leads several of the studio’s housing projects including Echo Park Co-Living, a new model for residential development that uniquely integrates intimate private zones and shared community spaces on urban infill sites.

Clayton holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Prior to founding West of West, he worked in high-profile design studios including Coop Himmelblau, Morphosis Architects and RIOS. Clayton is an NCARB certified architect and licensed architect in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Georgia, and Texas. He is also a long-standing member of the AIA and IIDA. Clayton’s dedication to design education includes his current role as professor and guest critic at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture & Environment where he is leading a studio course on infill multifamily housing and new concepts of living and working in the Portland area.

AIA Los Angeles Urban Design Committee:

Jonathan Rieke, AIA – Project Leader, West of West & Chair, AIA|LA Urban Design Committee

Jonathan is a Project Leader at West of West, with experience ranging from residential interiors to large-scale ground-up development projects. He is a registered architect in California, Michigan, and Ohio and has previously worked as a designer for several award-winning firms including The Los Angeles Design Group, Bjarke Ingels Group, and Morphosis Architects. Jonathan has held academic positions at the University of Southern California, The Ohio State University, and Kent State University where he was the Schidlowski Emerging Faculty Fellow. Jonathan received his Master of Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where he was awarded the James Templeton Kelley Prize for best graduate thesis, and his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University.