Hsinming Fung, AIA has been Principal and Co-Founder of Hodgetts + Fung since 1984, a studio with expertise in the design of unique places for learning, cultural events, and civic functions. H+F’s approach is multifaceted, embracing visitor experience, technology, and iconic presence in a disciplined process, resulting in a bold, uncompromising architecture. The firm’s award-winning projects include the design of the renovated Hollywood Bowl, Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, CalArts’ Wild Beast Pavilion, Jesuit High School Chapel, and Nashville’s new Ascend Amphitheater. Current projects include the renovation of Culver City’s historic Robert Frost Auditorium and a West Hollywood mixed-use development. H+F was awarded the AIA Gold Medal and the AIA CC Firm of the Year Award.
Mark Lee is a principal and founding partner of the Los Angeles-based architecture firm Johnston Marklee. Since its establishment in 1998, Johnston Marklee has been recognized nationally and internationally with over 50 major awards. A book on the work of the firm, entitled HOUSE IS A HOUSE IS A HOUSE IS A HOUSE IS A HOUSE, was published by Birkhauser in 2016. Monographs include: 2G N. 67, El Croquis N. 198, and A+U N. 614.
Mark Jarzombek is Professor of the History and Theory of Architecture at MIT's School of Architecture + Planning. Jarzombek works on a wide range of topics – both historical and theoretical. He is one of the country’s leading advocates for global history and has published several books and articles on that topic, including the ground-breaking textbook entitled A Global History of Architecture (Wiley Press, 2006) with co-author Vikramāditya Prakash and with the noted illustrator Francis D.K. Ching. He is the sole author of Architecture of First Societies: A Global Perspective (Wiley Press, 2013), which is a sensitive synthesis of first society architecture through time and includes custom-made drawings, maps and photographs. The book builds on the latest research in archeological and anthropological knowledge while at the same time challenging some of their received perspectives. Jarzombek also published a book that interrogates the digital/global imaginaries that shape our lives: Digital Stockholm Syndrome in the Post-Ontological Age (University of Minnesota Press, 2016).
Life adapted to our material environment. Until the moment we discovered tools, technology and architecture. Then we acquired the power to adapt our material environment to life. You can look at the evolution of human history as a tale shaped by the materials we have known how to harvest and process. As evidenced in how we name the epochs of human history – the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age – our capacity to manipulate matter is perhaps the greatest force driving the development of our culture. By reclaiming the term materialism from the realm of empty consumerism, we aim to bring it back to the practice of formulating our future through form and matter. We will go on an odyssey through the material world through the works of BIG starting with solid rock and ending with the flow of electrons.
Marlon Blackwell, FAIA together with his partner in life and work, Ati Blackwell, AIA, ASID lead the internationally recognized practice Marlon Blackwell Architects. Their work has received recognition with significant publication and more than 200 design awards including the 2016 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture and the 2025 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize. Working between the universal language of architecture and the particulars of place, they have cultivated a studio recognized for its formal clarity, contextual depth, and architectural integrity.
David Godshall is principal at TERREMOTO, an award-winning California-based landscape architecture studio he started in 2012 with his late business partner Alain Peauroi. TERREMOTO has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Against the Grain: The Organic Modernism of Herb Brownell - Free Self Guided Architectural Trail Map
Each month, Friends of Residential Treasures Los Angeles (FORT: LA) curates a new self-guided trail, inviting Angelenos to explore the city’s rich architectural heritage. These immersive experiences highlight significant homes, hidden gems, and the designers who have shaped Los Angeles' built environment.
Each month, Friends of Residential Treasures Los Angeles (FORT: LA) curates a new self-guided trail, inviting Angelenos to explore the city’s rich architectural heritage. These immersive experiences highlight significant homes, hidden gems, and the designers who have shaped Los Angeles' built environment.
Don’t miss this fast-paced, design-inspired evening with FORT: LA featuring a sneak preview of Rebel Architects, episode 2 —Art and Rebellion in the ‘70s and ‘80s —before its official release! Join rebel architects Frederick Fisher and Thom Mayne in conversation with artist Chuck Arnoldi, moderated by Frances Anderton. More speakers to be announced! Sommelier India Mandelkern pairs perfect wines to match the rebel architect spirit.
Architecture Uncorked - August 9 - Barnsdall Gallery Theater
FORT: LA Presents Architecture Uncorked! Historic Homes, Hot Topics and Worldly Wine Don’t miss this fast-paced, design-inspired evening with FORT: LA featuring a sneak preview of Rebel Architects, episode 2 —Art and Rebellion in the ‘70s and ‘80s —before its official release! Join rebel architects Frederick Fisher and Thom Mayne in conversation with artist Chuck Arnoldi, moderated by Frances Anderton. More speakers to be announced! Sommelier India Mandelkern pairs perfect wines to match the rebel architect spirit.
Each month, Friends of Residential Treasures Los Angeles (FORT: LA) curates a new self-guided trail, inviting Angelenos to explore the city’s rich architectural heritage. These immersive experiences highlight significant homes, hidden gems, and the designers who have shaped Los Angeles' built environment.
The Los Angeles Design Festival (LADF) returns June 26-29, 2025 with a citywide celebration of community, creativity, and inspiring design. This year's theme, "Design Futurism," is a solution-oriented exploration of human potential. When envisioning the future, design is inherently a part of our collective imagination: a tool for reimagining how we connect, create, and challenge existing narratives. This concept expands beyond the exploration of technological spectacle. This year, LADF invites all to explore Design Futurism through various lenses of our collective human experiences.
Each month, Friends of Residential Treasures Los Angeles (FORT: LA) curates a new self-guided trail, inviting Angelenos to explore the city’s rich architectural heritage. These immersive experiences highlight significant homes, hidden gems, and the designers who have shaped Los Angeles' built environment.
Meljac North America celebrates the launch of the "LA Finish Collection"
Please join us for the launch of Meljac North America's exclusive collection of hardware finishes, crafted in Paris and hand-finished in Los Angeles. Enjoy food, cocktails and music to celebrate the "LA Finish Collection".
Don't miss this fast-paced, design-inspired evening with FORT: LA featuring architect Leo Marmol, FAIA, discussing historic houses and their timeless teachings, architectural writer Frances Anderton and a special guest tackling a controversial architecture topic, and sommelier India Mandelkern as she pairs perfect wines with iconic designs.
Each month, Friends of Residential Treasures Los Angeles (FORT: LA) curates a new self-guided trail, inviting Angelenos to explore the city’s rich architectural heritage. These immersive experiences highlight significant homes, hidden gems, and the designers who have shaped Los Angeles' built environment.
