Episode 07

Frances Anderton covers Los Angeles design and architecture in print, broadcast media and public events. She is the author of the book “Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles,” published in 2022 by Angel City Press. Also in 2022, she co-produced 40 Years of Building Community, a short film about the influential affordable housing developer Community Corp of Santa Monica; and she co-organized Art for Earth’s Sake, a series at MOCA about the art world and its environmental footprint. For many years Anderton hosted KCRW’s DnA: Design and Architecture radio show, and produced Warren Olney’s current affairs shows Which Way, LA? And To The Point. 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.

Show notes and Frances’ five places:

This interview was recorded on December 29, 2022

  1. The Sixth street replacement viaduct

  2. Santa Monica Pier

  3. Gabrielino-Tongva Springs Foundation

  4. Schindler House

  5. Outdoor dining in Los Angeles

Also mentioned in this episode:

April Greiman

Deborah Sussman

To The Point hosted by Warren Olney on KCRW

Which Way L.A. hosted by Warren Olney on KCRW

Michael Sorkin, the architecture critic who was originally assigned to the project that brought Frances to L.A., and who died of the coronavirus in 2020.

From the L.A. Times: 6th Street bridge: A civic wonder that reflects L.A.'s promise and its simmering problems

From the L.A. Times: More than a bridge: Michael Maltzan’s 6th Street Viaduct addresses mistakes of L.A.'s past

From the New York Times: Los Angeles Enjoys Its New Bridge a Little Too Much

Patti Smith at the Santa Monica Pier (one of many appearances).

“‘Rewilding’ the land brings back birds, bees, butterflies” by Frances Anderton on KCRW.com

An L.A. Times piece on the surge in outdoor dining brought on by the pandemic: The year of the party tent: What the age of COVID taught us about architecture in 2021

Related links:

Read: Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles, Frances’ redefinition of "home" in the Southland.

Watch: 40 Years of Building Community, a short film Frances co-produced about Community Corp of Santa Monica.

Listen: Audio tour of buildings in Common Ground, with KCRW's Steve Chiotakis; Q + A with KPCC's Larry Mantle about Common Ground and why he loved apartment living in L.A..

Credits:

This podcast is produced by a small team of volunteers at the LA Forum. To keep us going and growing, we’d greatly appreciate your support! Please subscribe, rate and review wherever you listen, and share with friends and colleagues. Or, make a donation at www.fiveplaces.la. Thank you for listening.

All images of “Common Ground: Multi-family Housing in Los Angeles © Angel City Press 2022

Opening video © Emmanuelle Bourlier 2023

Logo design: still room (www.still-room.com)

Animated logo: Bee Murphy (@supadoopabee on Instagram)

Music: Guido Parisi, www.pond5.com

Produced by: Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design

Production team: Emmanuelle Bourlier, Anali Gharakhani, Quynh Nguyen

Host: Emmanuelle Bourlier

This podcast was recorded on Chumash, Tongva and Micqanaqa’n land.

© 2023 Los Angeles Forum AUD, and FIVE PLACES

www.laforum.org