
Los Angeles: The Latest Architecture and News
Second Home Hollywood Office / Selgascano
Los Angeles Launches New ADU Program To Combat Housing Shortage
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It’s a rather unfortunate platitude that good design and government programs don’t mix. More than unfortunate, it’s also untrue, as a new initiative from the City of Los Angeles demonstrates.
The newly launched Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Standard Plan Program offers homeowners 20 eye-catching, pre-approved designs for the increasingly popular typology, which many see as a viable alternative to costlier mid-rise apartment buildings. Administered by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) in United States and featuring designs from firms including SO – IL and LA-Más, the program is a bid to fast-track permits for these humble, backyard homes—better known as ADUs—as well as making them “more accessible, more affordable, and more beautiful,” said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti in a press statement.
Maritime Design: Rare Coastal Libraries Around the World

As architecture has evolved to include advanced building envelopes, innovative structural systems, and hybrid programs, new boundaries have been drawn. Sustainable practices and passive strategies have led architects to re-imagine building skins and the relationship between interior and exterior. While different typologies are designed with varied levels of permeability, libraries demand rigorous attention to performative facades and protected programs. This holds especially true when libraries are placed within radically changing landscapes.
WE3 at Water's Edge / SPF: architects
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Architects: Studio Pali Fekete architects
- Area: 407000 ft²
- Year: 2020
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Manufacturers: Arcadia Custom, Morin | Kingspan
West Coast Modernism: LA's New Class of Single Family Homes

Los Angeles is a city of dreams. Known across the United States and the world, L.A. embodies both freedom and experimentation, defined as much by its freeways as its diversity. It is also a city of houses. Single family homes cover almost half of Los Angeles, and as the city continues to evolve, architects have explored new ideas on modernity and daily life through the single family typology.
Garden House / ANX / Aaron Neubert Architects

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Architects: ANX / Aaron Neubert Architects
- Area: 4000 ft²
- Year: 2019
Lazy Eye Studio / Wick Architecture & Design + LAND Design Studio

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Architects: LAND Design Studio, Wick Architecture & Design
- Area: 1325 ft²
- Year: 2020
Christopher Hawthorne on Low-Rise: Housing Ideas for Los Angeles

This article was originally published on Common Edge.
Low-Rise: Housing Ideas for Los Angeles is the latest initiative spearheaded by Christopher Hawthorne, the Chief Design Officer for the City of Los Angeles. Since leaving his post as architecture critic of the Los Angeles Times in March 2018, Hawthorne has carved out a unique and surprisingly wide ranging role at City Hall. Recently I reached out to him to talk about his two-plus years in government, the latest “ideas” challenge (as he describes Low-Rise), and other issues facing Los Angeles.
City of Los Angeles Launches $100,000 Low-Rise Housing Competition

The City of Los Angeles has launched a $100,000 housing design challenge for low-rise developments. The competition asks architects and landscape architects to imagine "appealing and sustainable" models of low-rise, multi-unit housing. Organized by the Mayor’s Office and Chief Design Officer Christopher Hawthorne, the initiative aims to create new paths to home-ownership and housing affordability in Los Angeles.
Eagle Rock House / Part Office

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Architects: Part Office
- Area: 2185 ft²
- Year: 2019
Mar Vista House / Part Office

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Architects: Part Office
- Area: 1516 ft²
- Year: 2019
Big and Tiny Silverlake Playground / Zooco Estudio

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Architects: Zooco Estudio
- Area: 5026 ft²
- Year: 2019
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Manufacturers: AutoDesk, Ferm Living, Muuto, Normann Copenhagen, Adobe Systems Incorporated, +3
MLK1101 Supportive Housing / Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects

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Architects: Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
- Area: 34000 ft²
- Year: 2019
House in Los Angeles 1 Art Studio and Residential Compound / The LADG
Confetti Courtyard / Clark Thenhaus / Endemic Architecture
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Architects: Clark Thenhaus / Endemic Architecture
- Area: 3600 ft²
- Year: 2019
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Manufacturers: Dunn Edwards