California-based artist Kelly Akashi has created a glass chimney to recount her personal experience of loss after the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles for the 2026 Whitney Biennial exhibition.

Titled Monument (Altadena), and made from 821 handcast glass bricks, the recreated chimney piece evokes chimneys that remained visible on the charred landscape in the aftermath of the devastating wildfire in Pacific Palisades and Altadena in January 2025, which destroyed tens of thousands of structures.

It was placed on a terrace of the Whitney Museum in New York City's Meatpacking District for the institution's biennial survey.

Akashi, who lost her 1926 home and studio in the fire, has been a part of a local artistic cohort working to recover materials following the January 2025 fires.

The 6,550-pound (2,971-kilogram) piece was fabricated and assembled in her Hudson Valley studio to work in unison with a 538-piece replica of the home's former walkway.

She told Dezeen that each of the bricks installed can be viewed as pieces of a metaphorical puzzle that bring her closer to salvaging hope from the ruins of her lost home.

"The work is not a literal reconstruction, so using clay bricks didn't feel appropriate. Solid glass bricks allowed me to rebuild the chimney through a different material language, where weight and fragility coexist." Akashi said.

"In rebuilding each element, I was thinking about how memory is constructed through care and persistence. The form remains, but is transformed. Light passes through it, and the solidity we associate with a chimney is unsettled."

Akashi's work has long interrogated notions of time and memory, leveraging her knowledge of casting and glass blowing to produce art that comments on social and urban issues.

This time, she has applied her practice to the personal experience of losing her own home, and towards recovery.

In Los Angeles, the rebuilding process has been fraught and varied, an element Akashi emphasised in Monument (Altadena).

"The tension between its recognizable form and unusual materiality felt akin to the act of rebuilding in my neighborhood. While we will rebuild, it can never be the same," she added.

"The act of rebuilding is not simply about material endurance; it is a deliberate labor of care, an engagement with history, and an act of reclamation. Each brick carries the record of labor and material transformation; together, they compose a new body that holds the traces of its past," Akashi said.

Her sculpture at the Whitney Biennial is accompanied by a work called Inheritance (Distressed), a relief replica of her grandmother's Corten steel dolly, a family artefact also lost to the Eaton Fire.

Akashi is also a slated participant in the upcoming 61st Venice Biennale.

Earlier this year, Dezeen covered the delivery of prefabricated homes to the afflicted communities in Los Angeles.

Architect Shigeru Ban recently joined the recovery effort through his contribution of a community centre made from shipping containers after other architects raised concerns over the disjointed nature of the recovery.

The photography is by Timothy Schenck.

The 2026 Whitney Biennial is on view from 8 March to 13 August in New York City. For more exhibitions in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.

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A community centre designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban made of two linked shipping containers is currently under construction in Altadena to serve as a relief space for those affected by the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

Organising non-profit CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) said the Center for Community will serve as "an architectural landmark and functional resilience building center" for the surrounding Altadena neighbourhood, as the community lacks gathering spaces after wildfires burned down nearly 16,000 structures across Los Angeles last year.

The space will offer programming such as mental health services, educational workshops and community events.

Its concept – a timber-framed roof spanning two white shipping containers – was originally conceived in 2011 by architect Shigeru Ban, who has created relief infrastructure after several natural disasters across the world, such as for victims of the Turkey-Syria earthquake and for the 2018 floods in Okayama, Japan.

According to the studio, the concept was deployed in Noto, Japan, after the 2025 earthquake, but has been adapted in each location to cut down on costs and use readily available materials.

The Altadena iteration contains offices, a meeting room and bathrooms in the shipping containers, while the central open space can fit up to 70 people for community events.

"Utilizing Shigeru Ban's prototype humanitarian relief design concept incorporating readily available shipping containers as the primary building structure, the Altadena Community Center is an example of a low-cost sustainable construction solution designed to assist with the rebuilding effort after a major natural disaster," said the studio.

The project broke ground in early January 2026, and is expected to be completed in the summer. It is designed to be a permanent structure in the neighbourhood once complete.

Wildfires broke out in early 2025 across Los Angeles, concentrated in the Altadena and Palisades neighbourhoods. Recently, architects expressed their concern over disjointed rebuilding efforts.

Samara deployed a pre-fab ADU on the site of a burned-down home, while US home builder Cosmic Buildings and ABB Robotics set up a "micro-factory" that builds wall panels to aid in construction.

Shigeru Ban was recently awarded the 2026 AIA Gold Medal.

The images are courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects.

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US studios KoningEizenberg Architecture and NAC Architecture have used concrete and metal to construct a public high school in California, responding to environmental concerns and the school's nontraditional learning style.

Located in Malibu, the school sits on a 5.7-acre (2.3-hectare) site between the Pacific Coast and Santa Monica Mountains. A middle school and a nature preserve are nearby, replacing a nondescript school building from the 1950

The public school serves approximately 525 students, along with teachers and support staff.

Wildfire safety was a top concern, as Malibu was hit hard by the 2018 Woolsey Fire in 2108, which killed three people, destroyed over 1,600 structures and prompted the evacuation of nearly 300,000 people. The entire city is now designated a "very high fire hazard severity zone".

And while the school was not directly affected by the deadly 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires, which tore through coastal Malibu, the project showcases the ongoing concern over wildfires in the region.

With this in mind, KoningEizenberg Architecture and NAC Architecture prioritised resistant materials such as concrete and metal, clearly visible on the facade and structure.

"The design team worked closely with the local fire department to create a building constructed entirely of non-combustible materials: concrete shear walls and floors, steel columns and beams, and metal and cement panel cladding," the team said.

The project also entailed the creation of a new access route for fire trucks, which encircles the building, and the integration of fuel modification zones.

"The school can even serve as a community wildfire shelter."

The architects were also tasked with accommodating a progressive educational approach, called project-based learning, which emphasises interdisciplinary learning and real-world projects that are personally meaningful to students.

This approach was adopted by the school district following more than two dozen meetings with teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders.

In response, the studios conceived a "hillside laboratory, where learning extends far beyond the classroom walls".

The building emerges from the landscape and blurs the boundaries between "indoor and outdoor, academic and social, traditional and innovative", the team said.

Roughly H-shaped in plan, the school consists of two-storey structures wrapped in metal, including weathered copper that echoes the colours found in the surrounding terrain.

Windows bring in natural light and create a sense of openness and visibility.

"Large windows offer glimpses into active learning spaces, making education visible and celebrated," the studio said.

The buildings are topped with overhanging canopies that provide shade and hold photovoltaic panels. The panels help generate power for the school, which claims net-zero-energy usage.

To further reduce energy consumption, the team incorporated a radiant heating-and-cooling system and a high-performance heat-recovery chiller. The school features passive strategies, too, including operable windows, ample daylighting and exterior sun louvres.

In terms of water conservation, the school has a reclaimed water system, permeable paving and drought-resistant vegetation. The project also entailed the restoration of two acres of sensitive habitat, which serves as an outdoor classroom.

"Environmental responsibility permeates every aspect of the project," the team said.

The interior layout departs from the traditional approach of organising spaces by academic departments. Instead, learning areas are organised into "collaborative sets" with a mix of classrooms, studios and labs.

Moreover, faculty workrooms and administrative offices are distributed throughout the school rather than being cordoned off.

"This decompartmentalisation encourages the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking that real-world projects demand," the team said.

"The school's design actively challenges conventional power dynamics and social hierarchies that can make traditional schools feel isolating."

At the heart of the school is a double-height commons area, where students can "dine, collaborate, study privately or display their work".

Overall, the school's design responds to and respects it context, while presenting a model for how "student-centered design can shape the future of public education".

"Malibu High School reimagines what a public high school can be," the team said.

Other projects in Malibu include a fire-resistant concrete home that architect Lorcan O'Herlihy designed to replace a 1980s house that had been destroyed by the Woolsey Fire, and a bohemian-style beachfront cottage that serves as a retreat for interior designer Kelly Wearstler and her family.

The photography is by Paul Vu of Here and Now Agency.

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Samara, the factory-built ADU company co-founded by US chief design officer Joe Gebbia, has installed the first of a series of units in Los Angeles on the site of a home that burned down in the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

Last Thursday, Samara lowered a factory-built home into concrete foundations in Altadena, one of the areas most affected by the wildfires in January 2026 that destroyed more than 16,000 buildings across the city and county.

Samara worked with non-profit Steadfast LA to build the two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit for free to an individual who had lost their home in wildfires. It is just one of the units committed through the charity for the ongoing rebuild effort in the city.

"Our hope is to help families move forward," a representative from Samara told Dezeen. "This home is the first in a series of homes Samara plans to deliver throughout the year."

Most of the company's steel-framed units are put together in a factory in Mexico, shipped to building sites in sections and laid side by side on concrete foundations.

xgThe fibre-cement panels, standing-steam roof, windows and interiors will then be installed and inspected on site.

Though the company was founded to provide backyard units to expand the occupancy of lots, it says its approach is well-suited to the needs of the rebuild.

"Many of the homes lost in Altadena were 1,000 square feet or smaller," claimed the Samara representative.

"Samara's 950-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath homes are designed to function as full residences. While these designs originated as backyard accessory dwelling units (ADUs), they have since evolved to function as full, primary residences for those who need them most."

Samara said that the system allows for streamlined installation after approvals and claimed that only 34 days passed between the approval of the permit for the site and final installation. It took just under two months for the permit to be approved.

Both LA County and the City of Los Angeles have programs that allow for expedited planning approval, with pre-approved designs displayed on websites that homeowners can choose from for faster production.

Samara said that its system cuts down on time as the modular units can be built during the approval process and not afterwards, given their serial, mass-production method.

"Factory-built homes allow much of the construction to happen offsite, which is especially valuable after a disaster," said Samara.

"While permitting and site prep are underway, the home itself can be built in parallel, rather than waiting for all approvals until construction begins."

Samara also said that the houses "meet – and in some cases exceed" the fireproofing code requirements laid out by the city.

Finishing touches and utility connections will take place over the coming weeks on the recently installed unit.

Begun as a sub-company of Airbnb, Samara was spun off into a separate company in 2022 by Gebbia and American businessman Mike McNamara. Gebbia was recently named the US's first chief design officer by president Donald Trump.

Last year, Dezeen spoke with the businessman-designer about the appointment.

The fire rebuild efforts in Los Angeles continue more than a year after the flames were extinguished. Last week, Dezeen talked to local architects on the ground about the rebuilding efforts.

Elsewhere in the city, US home builder Cosmic Buildings has set up a robotic factory for on-site building initiatives.

The photography is courtesy of Samara.

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Hasty rebuilding efforts following the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires are risking a repeat of the disaster, architects on the ground have warned. Dezeen US editor Ben Dreith reports.

Devastating fires shocked the US as they raged across Los Angeles and its surrounding areas for several days last January.

More than 16,000 structures – many timber-framed houses – were destroyed in the blazes, mainly in the Palisades and Altadena areas of LA.

With the hot, dry and windy conditions that drove the fires becoming more common, future similar events are highly possible – but a year on, people involved in the recovery told Dezeen that the opportunity to make neighbourhoods more fire-resilient is being missed.

Owners of destroyed homes "not able to upgrade"

Responsibility for rebuilding is falling on individual homeowners who are usually reliant on their insurance providers to pay for the work, architect Zoltan Pali said.

But insurance company policies often require that replacement buildings match what was there before – even if they were vulnerable to fire.

"You're not able to upgrade because they are saying 'we are only required to give you back what was there'," said Pali.

Almost everyone Dezeen spoke with recognised insurance difficulties as the primary barrier to rebuilding.

Beyond the existing fire codes, which are extensive, the city has only issued recommendations for material choices, with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety instructed under an executive order to provide "recommendations to promote fire-resistant construction materials".

This effectively means that selecting more fire-resistant materials is "voluntary", Pali added, and only an option for those able to afford it.

According to local architect Barbara Bestor, who is working on multiple projects in the area, skyrocketing material and construction costs, as well as the dominance of wood-oriented construction firms, are making it harder to rebuild more resilient homes.

"You have to build with whoever can build it for you, for what you can afford," she told Dezeen.

"And that's often not even an architect. That can be a construction company where you choose one of three designs. I don't know what's governing those choices and those projects."

After extensive detoxification efforts, the city and county have begun expediting permitting, with 1,236 building permits issued in LA County and 1,494 in the city of Los Angeles.

Large developers such as Thomas James Home, which completed the first rebuild late last year, have led the building effort, utilising executive orders to circumnavigate regulations. For instance, Executive Order One created waivers to bypass the strict California Environmental Quality Act.

Nevertheless, only a handful of replacement homes have been completed so far, according to reporting by ABC News.

"They're absolutely guaranteeing the next catastrophe"

To further speed up the process, LA County has made platforms where people can view and utilise pre-approved floor plans that have already been checked for zoning, and is even experimenting with AI to approve pending plan applications.

But ultimately, even with tax relief and charity support, the building efforts are being carried out individually or by developers, leaving architects uncertain as to what a reconstructed Los Angeles looks like.

"No one really knows what the landscape will look like when it's filled out again in a few more years," said Bestor.

Ken Calligar, who owns RSG-3D, a company that manufactures a concrete-based, fire-resilient building panel system, argues the current focus on building quickly is all but inviting another disaster.

"They're absolutely guaranteeing the next catastrophe," he told Dezeen.

"We have one of the greatest resiliency deficits of any industrialised country in the world, and it's been built this way by developers and contractors trying to make a quick buck for decades, and now we're paying the price."

On the other hand, several rebuilding initiatives have caught the attention of the architecture community, harkening back to California's experimental modernism.

Last year, two case study house initiatives were launched to create forward-thinking single-family homes, with one of the projects, Case Study: Adapt, beginning construction soon.

Elsewhere, Small Lots, Big Impacts is a pilot programme facilitated by UCLA CityLAB that seeks to address both resiliency and the housing crisis on city-owned land, partnering with developers to build designs gathered through a competition.

Within these projects, there is a focus on rethinking the material composition of the city, which is largely wooden.

There are examples of architects choosing to reject timber as a structural material. Pali is currently rebuilding a home in the Pacific Palisades using all brick for the structure, an unusual move for southern California.

Calligar said that his firm is working on more than 130 projects in the area, an exponential increase from late 2024.

The US Green Building Council, California, has released a study with recommendations on building that is both resilient and climate-friendly. It is also helping to organise a marketplace that would create a central place to buy resilient materials.

Other rebuild projects are experimenting with modular homebuilding techniques, as well as on-site robotic factories, or a more low-tech approach with adobe.

Bestor, who is working on Case Study: Adapt, said she is encouraging small design choices that can improve resilience.

Instead of full-scale structural changes, Bestor said that small "low-cost resiliency" moves are the most important that people looking to rebuild for resilience can make.

These design decisions include foregoing eaves, clipping rafters, and increasing setbacks in properties.

She also advocates for eliminating roof vents by using spray insulation, which she said can be key to avoiding catastrophic flashovers.

"The houses explode from the inside, that's the issue," she explained. "The embers get in, and then the house explodes."

Bestor is currently in construction on seven houses in the Palisades and two in Altadena. One house in the Palisades is wood-framed with plywood siding but incorporates fibreglass-faced gypsum board and will be clad with stucco, with a flat roof.

While the architecture community and organisations have sought to move the conversation forward with their recommendations and initiatives, some are asking if this individual approach to the rebuild is enough.

According to local architect Greg Kochanowski, innovative moves on "isolated buildings" may not be sufficient to address the problems facing Greater Los Angeles.

"Unfortunately, we have seen mostly isolated building proposals rather than systemic and holistic strategic thinking up to this point," he said.

"A resilient house that is disconnected from infrastructure planning, code pathways, and insurance recognition risks remaining symbolic rather than systemic."

The question of setbacks and defensible space – areas of landscaping that slow fire – has remained top-of-mind for people thinking at the block level, but little has been seen in the way of neighbourhood-wide or city planning, according to Kochanowski.

There are no current plans to introduce so-called "managed retreat" strategies or to consolidate land for defensible parks while densifying these historically suburban areas.

And no significant steps have been taken to retrofit existing communities in surrounding areas to protect them in the event of future wildfires.

Meanwhile, an executive order banning the division of single-family land parcels into multiple units through Accessory Dwelling Units in parts of the Palisades has cast doubt on whether adding density in the rebuilding process is likely, raising concerns that the spread of development into fire-prone areas will continue.

However, Kochanowski said that some recent initiatives, such as LA County's developing Community Wildfire Protection Ordinance, which seeks to amend the way that subdivisions are set up in high-risk areas, do bode well for future disasters.

"A tilt away from McMansions"

The architects we spoke with expressed hope in smaller levels of organisation. Several mentioned the potential for homeowner association-level organisation, with neighbours banding together to create shared landscaping elements, or community land trusts that would pool land to reconstitute neighbourhoods using preexisting property.

It is not yet clear whether the forward-thinking of architects will significantly impact the rebuilding process up against the need for immediate shelter – many people are running out of insurer-paid temporary housing credit – and developers and corporations, which continue to buy up land.

"There's a lot of idealism, but it does come up against the economics of construction loans," said Bestor.

As a possible upside, both Pali and Bestor noted a trend toward building smaller.

"The best big-picture thing right now is a tilt away from McMansions," said Bestor. "For actual people rebuilding their house, what do they really need?"

The top photo, taken in Pacific Palisades in summer 2025, is by Iwan Baan.

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US home builder Cosmic Buildings and technology company ABB Robotics have collaborated on a temporary robotic construction system housed in a tent to produce modular housing to aid in the recovery of the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.

Cosmic Buildings (Cosmic) created one of its Micro-Factories, consisting of a tent in a vacant Los Angeles plot in Pacific Palisades. It is outfitted with one large robotic arm produced by technology company ABB Robotics (ABB).

The robot, which sits at the centre of the tent, pieces together two-inch x six-inch lumber boards to create a frame, and then nails plywood pieces to the structure to create a standardised wall panel for home-building.

The panels are then used to create a variety of custom modular single-family house designs by Cosmic.

Two people are needed to feed the materials to the robot and to offload the finished panel. Cosmic CEO Sasha Jokic said the system produces a panel in about 20 minutes, and that the whole full frame of the house can be completed in 10 days, decreasing construction time by 70 per cent overall.

"The mobile robotic factory brings certainty and precision, which is the most important thing," Jokic told Dezeen.

"Every panel we build [with the] robot – it's precise. That means when we break the ground and start building the foundation, we start building the panels. You can start building the rest of the parts of the building at the same time."

Additional elements, such as exterior cladding, flooring, and roofing, are constructed off-site and then added to the structure.

The team emphasised that solutions like these are necessary to rebuild after the devastating Los Angeles wildfires that destroyed tens of thousands of home earlier this year.

"After the wildfires burned thousands of acres, destroying homes, infrastructure, and natural habitats, this pioneering initiative will deploy the microfactory in Pacific Palisades, California, to build modular structures onsite, offering a glimpse into the future of affordable housing construction," said ABB.

Cosmic is working with private homeowners on the project, who can approach the company for services.

Jokic says they are currently working with 45 families.

Currently, most orders are for 2,000 to 4,000 square-foot (185 to 370 square metre) units

Jokic believes the system could also be deployed to aid in the housing crisis across the country.

"We need to end the housing crisis by allowing more people to have access to healthy and sustainable homes," said Jokic.

"We strongly believe that this is a missing piece for scaling industrialised construction across the nation to slow the housing crisis."

Cosmic plans to produce houses in the surrounding Pacific Palisades and Eaton neighbourhoods with multiple temporary sites before establishing a permanent factory.

According to the company, the current microfactory took approximately 30 days to set-up and they plan to use the site for the next two to three months.

Cosmic Buildings launched in 2022 in San Francisco with a solar-powered accessory dwelling unit. The company recently created an update to the design that features a sawtooth roof.

The photography is courtesy of ABB Robotics

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Photographer Iwan Baan has captured the extent of damage and the ongoing reconstruction efforts in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood nearly six months after wildfires destroyed much of the area.

The photographs show entire blocks in the area without houses and in various states of redevelopment after the Pacific Palisades fire in January, one of several fires that destroyed more than 15,000 structures and killed at least 30 people.

Taken from the air, Baan's photographs showcase the extent of damage and the progress towards cleanup and decontamination taken in the months since the wildfires.

Architect and UCLA adjunct professor Jeffrey Inaba, who collaborated with Baan and others in assessing the geography and fire patterns in the area, told Dezeen that the photographs show "unevenness", both in the fire pattern and in the pattern of redevelopment.

"It's pretty shocking to see [the photographs]," he said, "I didn't realize the extent of the damage to the Palisades."

"There's an unevenness in terms of the areas that burned," he continued. "There's an unevenness then in terms of the toxicity of the area and therefore, an unevenness in the rate of recovery."

Inaba pointed to the unpredictability of the path of the fire. He said that instead of burning in a linear path, the fire spread due to high winds spreading embers that were then sucked up into houses, often through intake vents and eaves.

This means that the fire spread unevenly, and Inaba said while fireproofing played a role in what burnt and what didn't, the path of the fire was largely "arbitrary".

"When you have super high wind conditions, fires are going to behave in ways that are different from what is typically anticipated," said Inaba, adding that people cannot assume topography itself will be the deciding factor in terms of damage.

The severity and randomness of the fire seemed to leave some homes unscathed, even in the middle of almost complete destruction.

However, Inaba expressed the need for remediation in some of these areas.

"While there might be a sense of good luck when a house doesn't burn, the big challenge is how the neighbourhood is remediated in order for a person to resume living there," he said.

Since the fire, the Army Corps of Engineers has cleared much of the debris away. However, the photographs show some sections still covered with rubble from the fires.

Inaba attributed this to the differences in insurance claims between different property owners.

"Those that were still working with their insurers on the payout decided not to demolish because they wanted to make sure that it was clear what was there so that they could settle," he said.

In some places, the photos show some of the homes already in a process of rebuilding, likely having received expedited permits from the city granted under emergency measures.

These houses are often built in the same way with the same materials because of insurance reimbursements being commensurate with the preexisting structure.

However, Inaba hopes that the severity of the fires will serve as a "wake-up call" for neighbourhoods to work together to further fireproof homes and include firebreaking features such as protective walls and improved intake systems.

While not necessarily a method for burn prevention, Inaba also noted the importance of greenery, as trees often do not burn as easily as houses, and they can provide filtration for remediation after a fire.

Many trees remain standing and much of the greenery on the surrounding hills has regrown.

In rebuilding, neighbourhoods could rethink the layouts of their locales, implementing parks and other potential buffers that would double as amenities.

Inaba wondered if "organization of landscape could be something that defines the urban patterns of development" in the future, drawing on the strong tradition of indoor-outdoor living in the city. Though, Inaba noted a "lack of appetite" to use private land in the "large-scale replanning of the area".

Overall, the future of the neighbourhoods in areas that abut high-risk wilderness zones will come down to community organising to ensure both more landscape elements and better fireproofing.

"A neighbourhood either protects together or burns together," said Inaba. "And the more homes that are fire protected, the better," he said.

"Now, residents are informed, they're motivated, and there are a lot of groups that are self-organising in areas that interface with the wilderness."

Since the fires, the architecture and design community has been putting forth advice and recommendations for residents who lost their homes.

Multiple initiatives have followed the tragedy, including one to emulate the 20th-century Case Study house plan, with local architects working with developers to build forward-looking homes for affected locals.

The photography is by Iwan Baan. 

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The Eames House in Los Angeles has reopened following "a meticulous process of restoration" due to smoke damage from the city's extensive wildfires earlier this year, coinciding with the announcement of a foundation to preserve the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames.

Located in Los Angeles's Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, the Eames House, or Case Study House No. 8, once served as the primary residence for mid-century modern designers Charles and Ray Eames and has since become a cultural landmark.

It was under threat of burning down in last year's Palisades Fire, narrowly evading the fire that destroyed more than 7,000 structures, including iconic homes by modernist architects Richard Neutra and Ray Kappe.

The July reopening encompasses the restoration and cleaning of the primary residence, as well as the opening of a smaller, secondary building on-site that contained the Eames creative studio.

Previously used as an on-site office, this is the "first time ever" the studio will be open to the public, where it will serve as a more flexible space for exhibitions, workshops and panel discussions.

"After five months of closure, the Eames House reopens to visitors," said the team. "Though the home was spared from the wildfires earlier this year, it sustained considerable smoke damage and has since undergone a meticulous process of restoration and cleaning."

"For the first time ever, the studio will be open to the public."

The reopening also coincides with the Eames family launching the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation, an initiative dedicated to preserving the designers' legacy.

Adrienne Luce will serve as the Foundation's Executive director, while the Eames' five grandchildren are set to serve on its board.

"As grandchildren, it has been our honor to ensure that Charles and Ray continue to make a global impact," said chairman Eames Demetrios.

"Their work extended far beyond their most recognizable contributions in furniture and architecture – it was philosophy, photography, art, exhibition design, toys, lighting design, and architecture. This next chapter is about succession planning and looking ahead to future generations."

In 2019, an extensive restoration plan was announced and launched for the property, which included re-examining the preservation practices that were then in place.

Elsewhere, the Eames' granddaughter Llisa Demetrios serves as the chief curator of the recently opened Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity outside of San Francisco. Its headquarters contains an archive and exhibitions of Eames designs, while its branding was completed by design agency Manual.

The photography is by Chris Mottalini.

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After disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires one of the best ways for architects to help is by designing prototypes, write Dana Cuff, Emmanuel Proussaloglou and Ryan Conroy.

Octavia Butler's 1993 apocalypse novel, Parable of the Sower, is set 20 miles outside Los Angeles, where homelessness, environmental collapse, fires and poverty-induced violence have reached unlivable extremes.

Eerily, the book's first fires are set at the start of 2025, when it has re-emerged as a bestseller in Southern California following the deadly fires that swept across Los Angeles in January. Today's readers need hardly use their imagination if they ever drive through the devastation in Altadena, Pacific Palisades, or along Pacific Coast Highway.

Parable serves us architects searching for ways to recover in the wake of January 2025's fires

It is a cautionary tale about potential horrors on the horizon, as well as how individuals might survive to shape the future through the strength of community. The characters become refugees, reliant on survival skills, land and seeds to plant for harvest in the face of inescapable change.

Butler's Parable serves us architects searching for ways to recover in the wake of January 2025's fires.

Cynics say that the 800 architects at AIA Los Angeles' post-fire town hall were motivated by the prospect of all that new work after recent slowdowns in business. We see something different taking shape: architects, particularly from the burn areas, becoming civic leaders with an earnest desire to contribute in some way.

After Rodney King, we swept the streets of South LA and after Katrina, we designed and built houses for Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. But such help, if heartfelt, follows quickly on the heels of disaster and then withers as the spotlight moves elsewhere, without much thought or support for the people who will carry the work after the clean up over the following decades.

Los Angeles, at present, is buzzing with so many worthy efforts that redundancy, disarray and the potential for exploitation loom. Groups have formed to protect domestic workers who lost their places of employment and residents whose homes were uninsured. Burn-area survivors organize to defend against developers in Altadena and welcome them into Pacific Palisades, but no one is getting their neighborhood back.

At the civic level, the spectrum of leaders is mobilized – from the mayor to county supervisors and city councilmembers, universities to foundations, tech companies to church leaders. At some point, each turns to architects for help, since houses, churches, libraries, schools and businesses must be rebuilt.

With such an overwhelming recovery path ahead, architects as well as civic leaders tend to resort to big thinking

Our response thus far? Free services, standard plans, pro bono advice, material science information about fire hardening, and myriad essays, interviews, and op-eds about how the city should rebuild.

With such an overwhelming recovery path ahead, architects as well as civic leaders tend to resort to big thinking about masterplans, infrastructural solutions, and legislation. Intelligent post-disaster reports recommend widening streets to improve fire access, undergrounding electrical power or mandating new code requirements for fire-resilient building materials.

Inevitably, long-term, large-scale planning efforts meet outrage from those who seek speedy rebuilding for private property owners, and the entire process stalls.

What if the right solution at the start of recovery is neither comprehensive plans nor like-for-like rebuilding, but the germination of individual prototypes? Rather than talking about imposing our ideas, what if – like the characters in Butler's novel – we planted seeds?

In post-disaster cities like Los Angeles, we need arrays of new model homes and we need them now. The sooner we can plant them, the faster they will grow.

Inadvertently, the first seed was a survivor of the Palisades Fire. The photo of a single standing house went viral – a phoenix, a miracle, a model.

The Palisades seed models a more survivable future

It was a discovery out of the ashes that architect Greg Chasen's design, built (mostly) to passive house standards, was a resilient structure, tightly sealed, without ornament or interior corners to trap embers, without eaves on its sloped metal roof, double-paned glazing, no nearby flammable vegetation, a low, concrete perimeter wall rather than a wooden picket fence.

The straightforward form was admired by neighbors who lost their homes, and crystallized proposed regulations that could drive rebuilding. Real-life demonstrations that people can see – and kick the tires of, as it were, spur opt-in pathways toward building back better, instead of the resistance met by abstract regulations.

Showing the way forward, the Palisades seed models a more survivable future. Chasen's home inadvertently became a full-scale model home – one powerful, tried-and-true means to forecast the future.

In Los Angeles, the opportunity to build new demonstrations is currently being offered by mayor Karen Bass in partnership with cityLAB-UCLA, our design research center, on city-owned land. Over 900 teams of students, architects and designers of all stripes registered for the Small Lots, Big Impacts competition to design resilient, compact starter-home schemes for sites smaller than a quarter-acre.

Winners, announced at the end of May, will be exhibited widely and linked to builder-developers aiming to construct those homes on about a dozen city-owned lots, breaking ground in summer 2026. This is warp-speed for those familiar with the excruciatingly slow building process; disaster rebuilding is even slower, especially when whole communities have been eviscerated.

In a separate effort with community partners, we are also working to plant on Los Angeles County sites a range of factory-built homes – modular, panelized, volumetric – to showcase greater efficiencies and speedier timelines for those impacted by the Eaton Fire.

We architects should be taking every opportunity to build full-scale, multi-faceted, publicly accessible demonstration houses

Given the pressing need and the slow pace of our industry, we architects should be taking every opportunity that arises to build full-scale, multi-faceted, publicly accessible demonstration houses, to overcome resistance to much-needed change.

Architects are stepping forward without waiting for a client to ask. We can create opportunities out of everyday work: the addition to your local school, the rector's residence, a mock-up on the community college campus, a prefab granny flat visible on a corner lot.

This open-source strategy is not the way we usually work. Creating models for the future means partnering with communities, assembling constituencies, gathering resources, harnessing media attention, and opening your practices so that others can follow.

In an interview, Butler says she wrote Parable about "a possible future… [by looking] at where we are now, what we are doing now, and to consider where some of our current behaviors and unattended problems might take us".

Her existential threats – global warming, water shortages, firestorms, houselessness, bankrupt governments – loom now, in the real 2025. Butler, as prescience would have it, went to school in Altadena.

In the face of forces beyond our individual control, we are wise to start working together in unconventional ways, collectively undertaking local, transformative actions that lay a path for others. It's not the only solution, it's not an easy solution, but it is one solution that can be planted and grown in your neighborhood garden – or city-owned lot.

Dana Cuff is the founding director of cityLAB and a professor of architecture and urban design at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Emmanuel Proussaloglou is a co-director of cityLAB, leading on its Reimagining Housing research area. Ryan Conroy is associate director of architecture at cityLAB and an architect at Kevin Daly Architects.

The photo is by Greg Chasen.

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Case Study: Adapt has selected 10 architecture studios to take part in an initiative to design homes for people affected by the devastating January wildfires based on the mid-century Case Study home building initiative.

The initiative brings together studios working in the region and will pair them with clients who lost a house in the fires to create new structures that, according to the organization, will "reimagine the future of residential design".

It has set loose parameters wherein the residences must be under 3,000 square feet, be built in the areas primarily affected by the recent fires – Pacific Palisades and Altadena – and have construction begin "as soon as feasible" once the matching and design processes are complete.

The brief also suggests that the designs blend "climate resiliency, affordability and style to define a new era of California living – what we call New Century Modern".

The initiative is based on the mid-century Case Study Program that called on influential modern architects such as Richard Neutra, Charles Eames and Pierre Koenig to create experimental housing in the midst of a housing crisis following world war two.

Between 1945 and 1966, 36 homes were designed and 25 were built, many geared towards new programmes for single-family residences that were affordable and could keep up with the demand during the post-war boom.

The programme achieved these goals with varying degrees of success, and several of the structures survice today as icons of mid-century modernism.

Case Study: Adapt stems from co-founder Dustin Bramell's own experience of losing his home during the fires. Bramell told Dezeen that the day after the fires destroyed his home, he called friend and entrepreneur Leo Seigal to begin talks on founding the organization.

"I called Leo that same morning, and I said, 'Hey, I have this crazy idea we should bring back the Case Study Program'," said Bramell.

How do we measure value?

Bramell said that one of the primary motivators was trying to bring a new sense of value to residential architecture in the region, where he says to much emphasis has been placed on "maximizing square footage".

"I think that one of the things that we need to reconsider is, what is value, and how do we measure it," he said.

The co-founders will allow creative freedom to the architects, who will face both the exigencies of an increasingly unstable climate as well as building restrictions, costs and the financial complexities of remediation and insurance for property owners in the wake of the fire.

Some architects taking part in the programme have noted the opportunity presented by building in the tradition of the original case study houses.

"We all know how important the original case study program was to the city of Los Angeles and most architects," Woods + Dangaran co-founder Brett Woods told Dezeen.

"This revamp is, from our perspective, a way of extending that gift to the city of LA and exploring what modern architecture is and still is and will be in the future."

Woods also highlighted the need for appropriate scales, echoing Bramell, and emphasised the need for defensible space, landscaped areas around homes that reduce the spread of wildfire, in the construction of the new houses.

"The integration of architecture and landscape is going to be the delicate dance moving forward." Woods added.

Medium density 

Others, such as Bestor Architecture founder Barbara Bestor, emphasized the need to take into account income disparities between the different communities affected, as well as the continued need for density in the housing crisis-struck area.

She mentioned the use of accessible materials such as scissor tresses and stucco to rebuild and the need to lean on state-wide legislation that has been developed to allow for accessible dwelling units.

"Medium density is a comfort area for me," Bestor told Dezeen.

"Because it keeps that character of LA – but you could double the population."

Montalba Architects founder David Montalba said that the initiative presents opportunities for collaboration between architects that are usually in competition to change some of the commonplace construction practices, though he cautioned against assumptions of radical change.

"There are a lot of problems that need to be solved, not just creative problems, but policy problems," Montalba told Dezeen. "I think we won't understand the impact of all this for a while, and hopefully, we find new opportunities to do things a little differently."

"I think sometimes from hardship comes great things," Montalba told Dezeen, referencing the crises that precipitated the previous Case Study Program.

Montalba also mentioned the potential to use his studio's "global laboratory" to apply lessons in material and form from international locations to inform new building practices at home.

All of the participants Dezeen spoke to referenced the need for experimentation. Today, many of these experiments take place at the luxury level, with clients that have the money to afford forward-thinking architectural practices.

Bestor mentioned the possibility of creating open-source formats for the designs produced and also suggested using "micro-finance" to try and apply some of the designs to rebuilding efforts for the middle classes.

Architecture studios involved include  Assembledge+, Bestor Architecture, EYRC Architects, Geoffrey von Oeyen Design, Johnston Marklee, Marmol Radziner, Montalba Architects, Standard Architecture Design, Walker Workshop and Woods + Dangaran.

Case Study: Adapt is seeking non-profit status.

Photography by Roger Davies unless otherwise stated. 

The Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025 destroyed tens of thousands of structures in the city, including houses by modernist architect Richard Neutra.

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Furniture designer Ben Willett has shown wooden furniture designed for his own house, which was lost in the catastrophic January wildfires, at a group show in LA.

Willett originally designed the pieces for his home in Altadena, which was completely destroyed by the wildfires that tore through the community destroying thousands of structures.

He showed iterations of the pieces at the house-turned-showroom of Future Perfect in Hollywood alongside pieces by design outfit LGS Studios and artist Dan John Anderson for a show called For LA with Love.

Willett showed The Radi Table and Chair, a sculptural dining room set featuring a table with an hourglass base and chairs that, when pushed in, blend in with the table.

"Most of my works were lost in the fires so I only had these few pieces that were living in my showroom to choose from," Willett told Dezeen.

"So, in a way, the fires sort of forced my hand with what I chose to present. Luckily the ones that survived are all staples that I deeply love; core to my collection."

The designer, who recently outfitted the talks space at the Design Miami design fair, also showed a wooden chair with a deep seat and slats on its side and a similarly conceived stool.

These pieces were all designed specifically for his home but have been reproduced for commercial purposes.

Willett said that the Future Perfect show presented an opportunity for the design community to come together after the losses.

"It's funny how it sometimes takes a tragedy to feel connected to your city community," he said. "I feel more connected to the creative community in LA than ever before."

Also featured in the showcase was a fully designed room by interior designer Nicole Hollis.

The dark dining room featured a moody stone table alongside works by design studios such as Chris Wolston, Blue Green Works, Nilufar and Balmaceda.

The LGS Studios collection features a variety of ceramics.

Called Mesozoic, the pieces feature deeply textured surfaces informed by paleobotany as well as fringe created with natural materials,

The Future Perfect has residences in Los Angeles and New York where it curates periodic collectible design showcases.

In 2023, it showcased work by late Italian designer Gaetano Pesce in Los Angeles and presented a solo show by American designer Chris Wolston in New York.

The photography is by Elizabeth Carababas.

For LA with Love was on show from 18 February to 21 March. For more exhibitions, fairs and talks in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide. 

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State laws in California are worsening the housing crisis and will make recovering from the Los Angeles wildfires more difficult, writes Andrew Thompson.

Over a generation, California's state and local governments have failed to adequately respond to circumstances that evolved into the state's housing crisis of today. Consequently, it's hard to imagine an effective recovery from the Los Angeles fires of 2025. Addressing both these crises begins with the ability to build.

For over 20 years as a Los Angeles architect, I have witnessed firsthand how we are hamstrung by flawed policy, siloed bureaucracies, opportunistic litigation and the status quo.

The destruction left by these fires is greater than anyone has experienced here in recent memory

The destruction left by these fires is greater than anyone has experienced here in recent memory. The Palisades and Eaton fires alone destroyed over 18,000 structures. Comparatively, the Woolsey fire in Malibu destroyed over 1,600. The Lahaina fire in Maui destroyed over 2,200. Significant rains in Southern California threaten mudslides and more loss after the fires.

The staggering scale of it all, combined with a justified search for answers, has mixed with the jet-fuel of social media and created its own conflagration of blame and political positioning.

Meanwhile, those of us in the design and construction industry watch what we've built turned to ash. We struggle to reconcile the scale of what will need to be rebuilt with what it took to get it built in the first place, and the heartbreaking void of lost homes and whole communities.

After the fires, local agencies are facing an avalanche of permit applications and political pressure to rebuild.

The way California regulates land use and building is intense compared to other states. There are good reasons for that. California's dynamic geology and topography, sensitive ecologies, stunning beauty, rich history and varied economy all necessitate intense consideration of what, where and how we build.

The largest regulatory tools are a mix of local planning codes and various state laws, including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA requires that local agencies confirm the building projects they approve will result in no significant negative environmental impacts. Projects must demonstrate this publicly with detailed reports and community hearings.

These laws work in opposition to the replenishment of our existing building stock

These 1970s-era legislations were well-intended reactions to the state's massive development over the 20th century. The post-war economic boom had taken enough toll on California's quality of life that there became political pressure to do something about it. Interestingly, CEQA was authorized by governor Ronald Reagan – back when Republicans offered even nominal support for environmental legislation.

The most powerful aspect of CEQA is the public review process it mandates. This review is also a reason for this well-intentioned law's perversion.

Building projects must produce reports, called Environmental Impact Reports, that are highly technical, and the volume of information presented is rarely understood by members of the public. Add in a menagerie of local neighborhood councils and professional anti-development groups, and you have a public approval process resembling a food fight often ending in litigation.

The result has been 40 years of troubled transit projects, paralyzed planning and building departments, inadequate housing, and a thriving industry of land-use attorneys, public relations advisors and permit-expediting consultants. The monetary costs of this process are directly reflected in the astronomical cost of housing in the state.

These laws also work in opposition to the replenishment of our existing building stock. CEQA incentivizes property owners to retain existing structures over replacing them. In 1970 California, this fit with the goals of preserving California as it was.

However, most of these buildings were built before modern building code fire-prevention standards, effectively preserving tinderboxes in vulnerable areas. The effects of a warming planet have highlighted the vulnerabilities of these aging buildings.

California faces very serious crises unfolding at various speeds

Then there is the question of whether we should build in these areas in the first place. This is an interesting discussion, but one that tends to ignore economic realities. Go read sociologist Mike Davis's 1995 essay The Case for Letting Malibu Burn. The title says it all. You'll find Davis' point – that perhaps Malibu shouldn't exist – demonstrably proven for years, but no one cares.

Governor Gavin Newsom and LA mayor Karen Bass have exempted fire recovery and rebuilding efforts from CEQA and other onerous state and local regulations. These important steps should be commended. However, it also exposes the ridiculousness of the red tape being temporarily cut. This all prompts the question of why we haven't reformed these rules to allow for better responses to the slow-moving crises as well as sudden ones.

California faces very serious crises unfolding at various speeds. We need to adapt. When you have to break the rules to make forward progress, you probably need to reform the rules.

Andrew Thompson is an architect and an associate at Marmol Radziner in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Harvard University's Graduate School of Design and previously worked in the office of Frank Gehry.

The photo is courtesy of the United States Army.

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California architects Finn Bradley and Robert Jernigan have proposed a memorial in the fire-devastated Pacific Palisades neighbourhood in Los Angeles that maintains a century-old facade and opens up a block for community use.

The proposal seeks to maintain what's left of the brick-and-stucco facade of the 1924 Business Block Building in the heart of the neighbourhood, which lost nearly 7,000 structures in one of the major fires that caused devastation in Los Angeles in early January 2025.

Bradley, who grew up in the neighbourhood and now works in New York, came up with the scheme after seeing that part of the facade of the iconic building remained standing after the fires.

"All these lost structures had embodied memories stored within their walls of my community," Bradley told Dezeen.

"When I saw the entire perimeter facade left standing on the town icon, I had to make sure it was saved, not only saved but rebirthed into a new life."

In a bid to gain more local buy-in to the initiative, Bradley has teamed up with local architect Robert Jernigan.

The scheme includes the stabilization of the Business Block Building's remains after the interior and roofs had completely given way.

If the proposal moves forward, the facade will maintain its shape and form and become a gateway for a park on the site that will include a covered area, a lawn, an amphitheatre and a sculpture garden.

Other structures built within the scheme will be constructed using – when necessary – concrete panels developed by materials company RSG-3D, with whom Bradley's studio GKV Architects has partnered for a general initiative to fire-proof reconstruction in the area using RSG-3D's Structural Concrete Insulated Panels.

"The Palisades want to make sure this project happens so we have people high up now working to make this become a reality for the community," said Bradely, who noted that he attended the nearby Corpus Christi school and Palisades Charter High School, both of which were lost in the fires.

"The proposal has become a sort of 'beacon of light' for an exciting future for the Palisades during these devastating times."

Bradley said the designs were inspired in part by adaptive reuse projects in New York that have retained historic brick facades, such as the Domino Sugar Refinery restoration in Brooklyn.

"Adaptive reuse projects create a beautiful blend of context, history, and modernity. The Palisades Business Block Building becoming a memorial park is a very poetic and beautiful solution for the new vernacular of the post-fire Palisades," said Bradley.

The fires that devasted multiple neighbourhoods across Greater Los Angeles caused the destruction of tens of thousands of homes and businesses, including iconic works of architecture such as Richard Neutra's Hees and Kesler houses.

Since the fire, local architects and designers have banded together to support the community and the state and local governments have lifted some laws to facilitate the rebuilding efforts.

The fires have also sparked debates amongst building professionals who said the fires were a sign that Los Angeles needs to "rethink" how areas near fire-prone areas are developed in the future.

The post Local architects propose preserving historic facade for Palisades fire memorial in LA appeared first on Dezeen.

Two more houses by modernist architect Richard Neutra and a house by local architect Eric Owen Moss have been confirmed destroyed due to the deadly wildfires sweeping through Greater Los Angeles.

Neutra's Hees and Kesler houses have been destroyed by the Pacific Palisades Fire, the worst of the ongoing series of wildfires that have devastated communities in Los Angeles over the last two weeks.

Both single-family homes were built by Neutra in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood in the 1950s and are considered paradigmatic examples of West Coast mid-century architecture.

Also confirmed lost in the blaze was LA architect Eric Owen Moss's 708 House, a 1980s extension of a 1940s case study house.

An early project for Moss, who has since created large-scale structures in the city, 708 House was constructed for the architect's family at the time and is an example of deconstructivist architecture.

The Corpus Christi Church by local firm AC Martin in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood was also destroyed by the fire.

Between the Pacific Palisades Fire and the other major fire, the Eaton Fire – which mostly affected the town of Altadena in northeastern LA – nearly 15,000 structures have been destroyed, and at least 27 people have died.

Tens of thousands of people are still under evacuation orders as the extent of the damage becomes clear. As of Tuesday morning, the two major fires in the region were both more than 50 per cent contained.

Last week, Dezeen rounded up several other significant projects lost to the fire, including the Benedict and Nancy Freedman House by Neutra and the Robert Bridges House in Pacific Palisades.

In Altadena, Harwell H Harris's 1930s Pauline Lowe Residence and Gregory Ain's Park Planned Homes were destroyed by the fire.

Altadena also lost multiple iconic early 20th-century Craftsmen and Spanish Revival-style homes, including Scripps Hall by C W Buchanan.

Local preservationist group the Los Angeles Conservancy has been tracking and confirming the destruction through its website.

Several high-profile projects, such as the Eames House and adjacent Eames-designed case study houses, the Getty Villa, Charles Moore's Burns House and Craig Ellwood's Hunt House have all been declared safe as of Tuesday.

 

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Eric Owen Moss' 708 House was also lost to the fire

Since the fires began, architecture professionals have been responding to the disaster.

Architect Cameron Sinclair, who lost his home in the fire, wrote an article for Dezeen detailing the next steps for people who now face the long road of rebuilding their homes.

Locals have also banded together to share contacts and resources for displaced people and people looking to repair or rebuild their homes, with many offering pro-bono services.

The fires have also prompted a "rethink" of how development has been carried out in the fire-prone areas surrounding Los Angeles.

The post More Richard Neutra houses confirmed lost as toll of LA fires becomes clear appeared first on Dezeen.

Humanitarian architect and post-disaster reconstruction expert Cameron Sinclair, who lost his house in the ongoing wildfires in LA, shares practical advice for people in a similar position.

The week before last, I was in London for meetings with our Ukraine rebuilding team but paying close attention to wildfire alerts coming from Southern California. Within hours, friends and neighbors' homes were up in flames and the Palisades were ablaze.

The next day, our land was engulfed and everything on it is now ashes. By the weekend, my social media was a stream of friends posting what was left of their homes. It has been heartbreaking to watch from afar.

It's crucial to address the aftermath with integrity, transparency and vigilance against opportunistic practices

The devastation in Los Angeles serves as a stark reminder of the challenges all climate-vulnerable communities face. It's crucial to address the aftermath with integrity, transparency and vigilance against opportunistic practices and government inefficiency.

In advocating for ethical rebuilding practices, it's essential to guard against disaster capitalism. Corruption, self-serving interests and profiteering must not overshadow the genuine efforts to restore and uplift affected communities.

The number one question I've received is: so what do we do now?

This week, it falls on the incoming Trump administration and governor Newsom to put politics aside and work for the greater good. It is my hope that the same division that sits inside the architecture and construction industry can put aside grievances to come together for those in need.

After 30 years of working in post-disaster reconstruction, the number one question I've received is "so what do we do now?". Below is an attempt to answer that question in three stages. Special thanks to additional input from friends and former rebuilding colleagues:

Immediate response

• Don't wait for help: buy sturdy shovels, masks (to protect from dropped retardant), boots and gloves.
• Figure out your loss: write a personal property list, writing down anything and everything you remember in notes. Organize by each room.
• Save receipts: beyond the big things, insurance companies may cover incidental loss too – phone chargers, etc.
• Create an important documents list: if any were lost, prioritize getting replacements (IDs, insurance cards, passports, wills, safe deposit keys).
• Kindness of strangers: when you buy things, tell the store owner your situation. Humans are inherently kind and will help where they can.
• Kindness of friends: let your friends help you. This one is hard as we all have pride, but this is going to be an overwhelming process.
• Stop the charging: call all of your utilities and either freeze or cancel service. They will continue to bill you regardless!
• Get storage: chances are you'll end up with a bunch of things before transitional housing or permanent housing is available.
• Register for emergency housing: Airbnb.org, American Express and Hilton are working with 211LA to provide shelter for displaced families.

Short-term challenges

• Register with all the agencies (FEMA and state) and large aid organizations.
• Call homeowners' insurance to trigger Loss of Use. This will also get the ball rolling for the insurance claim on your home and rebuilding process.
• Contact your mortgage holder to look into forbearance while you deal with insurance and rebuilding plans.
• Search for a long-term rental. Insurance companies can make payments directly using your Loss of Use money. Plan on renting for two years, not months. Don't settle for the cheapest or easiest as insurance companies should cover "like property". Make sure that the insurance company doesn't try to reduce your settlement by subtracting the rent.
• Get a PO box and use the address on the many, many, many forms you will fill out.
• Figure out permits for debris removal, erosion control, temporary power, trailer on site (yes, you need all of them!).
• Find your tribe: this is going to be a stressful, gut-wrenching, anxiety-inducing experience. You'll need others who are also going through the same process.
• Beware of fake contractors, insurance scam artists and agency representatives.

Long-term challenges (mostly relevant for built-environment professionals)

• Support a locally developed coalition for long-term reconstruction. Los Angeles will need more than a handful of well-meaning architects; the affected cities (and unincorporated areas) need a highly coordinated coalition of building professionals that can dedicate their time and expertise to a myriad of projects. Associations, institutions and academia need to work together to ensure that there is equitable and highly distributed support for all affected communities. Japan did this very well, allowing groups like Home for All to be independent and work alongside national efforts. Fortunately, I have heard of at least three local groups forming. Hopefully a galvanizing force and strong philanthropy can bring these teams together.
• Create community-based anchors: In affected regions, organizations should partner with building professionals to set up rebuilding resource centers that will supply architecture and engineering services to community groups, NGOs, and social entrepreneurs on the ground.
• Provide building expertise: provide teams of architectural and construction professionals to develop and build community facilities, including schools and medical centers. These teams should be local and regional, with some international support. The full-time staff must also have a unique knowledge of disaster mitigation and long-term sustainable development.
• Build a construction workforce: train and educate incoming volunteers and community members in building safely, emphasizing the need for sustainable materials and construction techniques. It's not about just building homes, but jobs.
• Develop a resilient housing manual and distribute lessons learned: develop and distribute a simple and concise rebuilding manual. If we only share "best practices" we never really adapt and learn. We should also include sections on "what not to do" and materials to avoid.
• Build schools: in long-term rebuilding, we work with coalition partners to design, develop, and implement community and civic structures. Beyond the basic human right to give children access to education, if they don't have a place to go, parents can't work, and there is no economic stability. Schools are the focal point in community recovery.
• Safe, secure, and sustainable housing: it is our job to build homes that are not only safe but incorporate the needs, desires and dreams of the families that will live in them. Additionally, we are not just building a roof over someone's head, we are building equity. Through the reconstruction process, we can support better building codes by building tangible examples of what the future will look like.
• There is no single solution to responding to crises or prescribed answer to a community need. By designing and building highly adaptable solutions that are relevant to the context and involve the community as a partner, we can build a strong resilient future.
• The fires in LA give a unique opportunity. Given the broad range in wealth, unlike other disasters, there is a chance to invest in innovative immediate, transitional and long-term sustainable housing. Natural building, passive housing, shotcrete domes, monolithic cast prefab, concrete panel domes, 3D-printed housing and earth-bermed housing are all ideas worth exploring when coupled with a design review board process.
• Support social entrepreneurs and job creation: in many of our previous post-disaster programs we worked with women's empowerment groups and artisans to help rebuild their facilities, speeding up job creation and the ability to distribute micro-loans. LA is the same. There are a myriad of small home businesses, artisans and artists that fall through the cracks.
• Share everything: if your focus is social change not financial gain, it is only truly innovative if it is shared. By connecting with other NGOs and open sourcing construction documents, we can influence many building programs in the region. We can leave a legacy of innovative, locally appropriate solutions to protect from future disasters.
• Be alert for disaster capitalism: It will take a decade to rebuild LA and there will be a litany of insurance scams, contractor scams, speculative real estate vultures and self-serving institutions. For professionals in the design and building sphere, I urge a very cautious approach regarding support for the national office of the American Institute of Architects. Direct contributions to local chapters and grassroots initiatives are a more impactful and transparent assistance to those in need. Working closely with the community and supporting local efforts can make a significant difference in the rebuilding process.

Cameron Sinclair is an adjunct professor teaching about post-disaster reconstruction at the University of Buffalo and founder of the Worldchanging Institute, an Arizona-based research organisation focused on architectural and design solutions to humanitarian crises. He also advises family foundations and NGOs on responding to disasters.

The photo is by Cameron Sinclair.

The post Practical advice for victims of the LA wildfires appeared first on Dezeen.

This week on Dezeen, we reported that homes designed by Richard Neutra and Ray Kappe were among more than 12,000 structures lost in the Los Angeles wildfires.

In the wake of the deadly fires, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to allow  "residents to rapidly rebuild", while architects and critics called for a development "rethink", to ensure that the rebuilding is done in a way that limits further damage.

We continued counting down the most significant architecture of the 21st century in our 21st-Century Architecture: 25 Years 25 Buildings series.

Among this week's highlights were Ryue Nishizawa's Moriyama House (above), Snøhetta's Oslo Opera House and Elemental's Quinta Monroy housing.

In the UK, the demolition of the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize-winner was approved by Salford City Council.

The University of Salford's Centenary Building, which was completed in 1995 by Hodder+Partners and won the Stirling Prize in 1996, will now be razed despite an objection from the Twentieth Century Society.

Continuing our coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, we rounded up all of the cute robots that took over this year's event.

Other news from the event included the launch of an AI-powered self-watering smart planter and Honda's latest electric prototypes.

Also in the US, Walmart unveiled its latest rebrand, which included a logo that was largely unchanged from its 2008 version.

Designed for the brand's "next chapter", the new branding is slightly bolder and brighter with the logo's elements moving closer together.

Popular projects on Dezeen this week include a Chilean home surrounded by forest, the conversion of a group of 15th-century farm buildings into housing and a restaurant topped with a "clod of earth lifted from the ground".

Our latest lookbooks focused on calming home interiors with earthy finishes and listening bars that are easy on the eyes and ears.

This week on Dezeen

This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week's top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don't miss anything. 

The post This week we reported on the Los Angeles fire losses appeared first on Dezeen.

Los Angeles building professionals have developed lists including architects, contractors, and engineers interested in providing their services towards rebuilding and relocation efforts in the wake of the wildfires.

Design public relations firm Nelson Daly, architect Rachel Shillander and interior designer Adam Hunter are among those in the Los Angeles design community organising resources to aid in evacuation and rebuilding efforts.

Over 12,000 structures in the city have been collectively lost to the Eaton, Palisades, Hurst and Auto fire, with high-velocity Santa winds threatening to spread the flames further.

In response, Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass recently issued the Return and Rebuild executive order, which reportedly will push past bureaucratic red tape to expedite rebuilding efforts.

Simultaneously, a number of building professionals are organising aid efforts where they can, with some focused on providing resources for homeowners looking to navigate building a home for the first time when safe.

"It's a process that unfolds day by day as we understand how policymakers will revise permitting and codes to help people get back into their homes," Los Angeles architect Populous Joanna Grant told Dezeen.

"Many of these people would not likely engage with an architect in their lifetimes, as they may be in generational housing, wholly unfamiliar with the design process. We want to make this process as easy and streamlined for them as possible and provide oversight so that they can feel at ease that their needs in such a time of need are taken care of."

Providing services for those displaced by fires

Together with Meara Daly of the public relations firm Nelson Daly, Grant is compiling a developing master list of volunteer architects, designers, consultants and others interested in offering services.

The list of professionals, which Grant and Daly are also vetting for credentials, will be available on a website called Design for LA.

Among the signatories are members of local and national architecture studios such as LOHA, GLUCK+, NBBJ and HOK.

"We want to develop a website, produce pamphlets, and conduct community workshops to help the members of the community understand what the process of rebuilding will be like," said Grant.

The pair's effort will also include an ADU resource guide.

Other architects are following suit, such as Ròhme Architects, which offers free services including consultations, site visits and fire resilience strategies for home builders.

Rachel Shillander of LA LLand is compiling resources, one of which is a Rebuild LA Architecture Slack channel with over 200 people collaborating to "pool resources" to "help rebuild our community and support each other in the process", according to Shillander.

Other efforts within the community include providing resources for those displaced by the fires, including the non-profit LA Can Do recently launched by interior designer Adam Hunter.

The non-profit collects donated "furniture, homewares, and linens" for those affected.

"It's about helping people rebuild their lives and restore hope for the future," said Hunter.

Close to 90,000 people in the city are under evacuation orders according to NBC Los Angeles, while the New York Times reports many evacuees are shoring up in hotels, shelters, relatives' houses, or cars.

Frustrated with irresponsible development practices, LA designers and critics have called for rethinking the typical cycles of rebuilding after disaster, while several landmarks have been lost to the fires in addition to thousands of homes.

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The deadly wildfires are prompting architects and critics to call for changes to how development is carried out in Los Angeles.

Frustrated with irresponsible development practices in the face of fire threats, dozens of architects and critics have speculated on ways that architecture and urban planning can be utilised to rebuild in a way that limits future damage.

"The cataclysmic events of recent days should trigger a rethink"

As the wildfires continue to burn in multiple areas of Greater Los Angeles, displacing people and destroying thousands of buildings, there are questions as to whether the typical cycles of return and rebuild should happen as they have in the past.

Massive fires have happened in the area as recently as 2018 when the Woolsey Fire tore through parts of Malibu.

"Rather than simply rebuild, as these fire-ravaged areas have done time and again, the cataclysmic events of recent days should trigger a rethink as to how the city could grow back," wrote critic Oliver Wainwright in the Guardian.

Building in steep areas that border chaparral – natural zones with small trees and shrubs that rely on fire for rejuvenation – creates ideal fire conditions exacerbated by climate change and severe drought.

Some have suggested that the building culture in general needs to change. Speaking to New York Magazine, professor of environment history Char Miller questioned if the county and city should allow the same sort of rebuilding at all.

"Where we build produces the conditions for where fires erupt," said Miller "There's nothing that could have stopped this fire."

"We consume our environment"

Others agree, and many in Los Angeles accept the risks of fire as a part of life there, while conscious that the building practices have not integrated properly with the environment, which naturally burns.

"Los Angeles is a city of pleasure and peril, we've always known this," Zeina Koreitem, founding partner of local architecture studio Milliøns, told Dezeen. "We consume our environment instead of living with it."

Others, such as local councilwoman Traci Park noted the "chronic underinvestment in critical infrastructure". This led to bottlenecks in places where people were trying to flee, exacerbated by poorly connected neighbourhoods often designed to emphasise privacy or safety from crime.

These infrastructural bottlenecks were exacerbated by problems with water resources in the area.

LA has some of the "toughest" wildfire regulations

Despite the shortcomings, Los Angeles does have some of the "toughest" wildfire regulations for buildings in the county, according to NPR.

These include parking regulations on high-risk days, fines for not clearing flammable foliage away from structures and the banning of certain materials such as wooden roofs for new builds. NPR also noted that many of these building regulations don't apply to older homes.

Architects and critics have begun suggesting ways in which rebuilding can happen, as, given the housing crisis in California and the thousands displaced from their homes, it seems unlikely that the land would be converted into green space.

"We were already working closely with AIA and the City of Los Angeles to figure out better procedures for permitting to assist with the immediate and constantly growing need for housing in our city," Harper Halprin and Aaron Leshtz of LA-based AAHA Studio told Dezeen.

"Overnight, that need has skyrocketed," he continued. "Now we are not only talking about affordable housing and building up rental options for multi-family development but are also going to need to accommodate the influx of thousands of single-family residences that have been lost."

"Stop building on the land"

The severity of the fires and the likelihood that they will repeat should make local legislators and communities hesitant to build in the same places, according to Miller.

"I would suggest that the county, city, and state consider the possibility of creating a policy that would buy land from willing sellers so that they can get some assets out – then stop building on the land," said Miller.

"If you think the policy of green-lighting development is a bad idea because of this fire, then flip the policy."

Architectural solutions to these problems such as material changes, creating "defensible spaces" and increasing fireproofing have been increasing in usage and requirement. Some believe that locals need to rethink how development goes forward altogether, focusing more on acknowledging fire-prone areas and building densely.

In an opinion written last year in Dezeen, architect Greg Kochanowsk suggested rethinking urban development as opposed to simply retreating from nature or changing building tactics.

"Architecture cannot solve this problem," he wrote. "In fact, all the individual design professions are incapable of addressing the magnitude of the sheer complexity of the climate crisis alone."

"There are no substitutes for a broader conceptualization of innovative planning, typologies, and disciplinary strategies".

This would go beyond single buildings, instead thinking about soft infrastructures that work with the possibility of the need for resilience and recovery, while also increasing density to shelter inhabitation.

Utilizing Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Many have put forward calls for redevelopment in line with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) – or land management tactics derived from the pre-colonial system.

Local studio Metabolic has created a petition calling for "restoration practices that align with natural systems, ensuring sustainable land and water governance for future generations".

Among the petition's demands are calls for the training of locals in ecosystem restoration, the retention of rainwater, and creating a government liaison to to integrate "TEK, scientific research, and community input" into policy.

Others have added to this, specifying building techniques and ecological interventions that could be implemented immediately.

"Mixing ancient wisdom with contemporary technology, we are leaning on the climate cycles in Topanga, and taking advantage of the house's thermal massing to imagine a different routine that does not rely on HVAC or static spaces," said Koreitem, referencing a recent project in the area.

"We are interested in a built-in seasonality and nomadism. Most invasive and non-native landscapes that have been introduced to LA are part of the problem. And we can start with the iconic LA palm tree."

The photography is by Kelvin Cheng.

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Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has issued an executive order that expedites or negates permit requirements, expands ADU usage and provides for the cataloguing of damage to historical buildings as unprecedented wildfires continue to destroy lives and property.

Named Return and Rebuild, the executive order seeks to clear away bureaucratic red tape in order to aid residents who have lost homes or businesses in the wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures and caused the deaths of at least 24 people.

The order was issued to provide a "streamlined path for the rebuilding of the City of Los Angeles' fire-devastated communities".

It deals mostly with the expedition or waiving of permit requirements for rebuilding for those affected by the Palisades, Hurst, Kenneth, Archer, and Sunset Fires, fires that took place fully or partially within the city limits

The order covers three main categories: clean up, rebuilding, and government assistance programs. It adds details to a state-wide executive order issued by governor Gavin Newsom on Sunday, which "suspended" aspects of California permitting such as the California Coastal Act and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for affected residents.

Cleaning and rebuilding

For cleaning up efforts, the Return and Rebuild order establishes a "debris manager" role within the city government office and a Watershed Hazards Task Force to protect infrastructure against flash floods and mudslides.

The rebuilding section of the executive order is extensive and provides details on the waiving of environmental reviews first announced by Newsom.

It also expedites all necessary reviews, including a 30-day limit on any building permit reviews for structures affected by the fires.

It substantially decreases limitations of demolition, and waives permit requests for the demolition of affected structures, as long as someone "notifies" the  Department of Building and Safety and properly disposes of waste.

The order also states that a status report of all historic properties within the affected zones will be released within 10 days of "safe access" to the areas.

Tiny homes and temporary occupancy

The order also allows for the unpermitted use of "recreational vehicles, tiny homes, modular structures and mobile homes" on affected properties for three years, or as long as building permits are in effect.

It also proposes an "interdepartmental task force" to allow for multi-family projects to obtain Temporary Certificates of Occupancy (TCOs) that would allow occupation of buildings before they are complete in order to "create more available units in the market".

The latter is specifically important for many evacuees as reports of spiking rents in the area are being released, despite emergency bans on price gouging in Newsom's executive order.

Though the order points to a return home for some, the fires in the city and county are still active, with strong winds and continued droughts worsening conditions in some places with an "unprecedented" extreme fire alert being declared in some areas.

In light of the foreseen need to rebuild, a number of organisations and working groups have formed to provide engineering, architecture and legal resources to the community, and are calling for volunteers.

The AIA is currently offering a course on how to apply for FEMA relief, while the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority has released a long list of resources that support those affected by the fire.

Past executive directives released from Bass' office have revolved around temporary structures relating to the housing and homelessness crisis in the city.

The photography is by Kelvin Cheng

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Houses by Richard Neutra and Ray Kappe are among more than 12,000 structures lost in the ongoing fires in Los Angeles. Here, we roundup five of the most significant to have been destroyed.

The Palisades and Eaton fires are the two largest of the several fires that have caused at least 24 deaths and the destruction of more than 12,000 buildings in Los Angeles since they began early last week.

The fires, exacerbated by strong winds and drought conditions, have destroyed whole neighbourhoods, and hundreds of thousands of people have had to evacuate. Power outages and contaminated drinking water have affected thousands more.

As of today, increases in wind speeds threaten to expand the ongoing fires.

Groups such as the Los Angeles Conservancy and Save Iconic Architecture are tracking the status of buildings deemed iconic or noteworthy in the midst of the "unfathomable" damage in the city.

Many iconic structures that were under threat have now been marked safe including: Eames House and adjacent Eames Case Study Houses, Getty Villa, Craig Ellwood's Hunt House in Malibu, Buff, Straub & Hensman's Bass House and The Alfred Newman-Martha Montgomery House by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Meanwhile, officials have been compiling data on a house-by-house destruction report. Many of the destroyed modernist homes are located in Malibu and the Palisades, while the Eaton fire destroyed many historical Spanish Revival and Craftsmen-style homes in the town of Altadena.

Below are some of the most significant houses lost in the ongoing Palisades and Eaton fires:

The Benedict and Nancy Freedman House by Richard Neutra, Pacific Palisades

Renowned modernist architect Neutra designed this small house in 1949 for two screenwriters.

Built primarily with wood, the original structure had a single low volume with massive glass windows and clerestories. It was slowly expanded to become a two-level house over the years, remodelled by local studio Nonzero\architecture (studio bau:ton).

 

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Robert Bridges House by Robert Bridges, Pacific Palisades

Architect Robert Bridges designed this home to cantilever off a cliffside in the neighbourhood, supported by massive concrete pillars.

It was built in the 1980s in the brutalist style but clad in California redwood.

Keeler House by Ray Kappe, Pacific Palisades 

SCI-Arc founder Kappe built this home for a jazz musician in 1991, using his own house nearby as a reference.

The modern structure featured mostly wood construction and multiple tiers with terraces that cantilevered out towards the street. It was one of many Kappe designs to be destroyed, including the Culbert House in Malibu.

Andrew McNally House by Frederick L Roehrig, Altadena

Built for the president of technology company Rand McNally, this Queen Anne-style mansion in Altadena was one of the first significant works in the area and had become indicative of its late 19th-century architecture.

New York-born architect Frederick Louis Roehrig designed the house, constructing it out of mostly wood with massive rotundas on one side.

Scripps Hall by C W Buchanan, Altadena

Also known as the Pasadena Waldorf School, this Craftsman-style structure was designated on the National Historic Register.

The three-storey structure was made from wood and brick and featured the extruded rafters typical of the style when it was completed in 1904.

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The wildfires raging in Los Angeles are highlighting the underrated significance of the city's unique urbanism and 20th-century architecture, writes Daniel Elsea.

This is a love letter to LA. In life, as in history, it takes a tragedy to appreciate something's value. This is a lesson that as an Angeleno transplant in London, I've been reflecting on these last few days.

As of the latest count, 10,000 structures in my hometown have been destroyed. Each one special, whether a home, a shop, or school. Like LA at large, they hover under the radar of architectural history. These are day-to-day buildings like Altadena's Theosophical Society or the cottages of Janes Village, destroyed by fire.

LA boasts the world's most important legacy of 20th-century architecture. There is the Japanese influence of the Austrian Rudolph Schindler in the 1920s house that bears his name in West Hollywood. There are the 1940s-50s Case Study Houses that dot many endangered neighbourhoods. In 1949, the designer couple Charles and Ray Eames completed the most emblematic of them in the Palisades on the northwest edge of Santa Monica.

It takes a tragedy to appreciate something's value

Now a museum, the Eames House is one of the world's priceless architectural treasures. Its visible structure and lofty living room inspired a generation of architects. It was evacuated last week; rare objects removed for safekeeping. Thankfully, it has so far been spared the devastation that has befallen many of its Palisades neighbours.

A particular delight is Pasadena's Bungalow Heaven, a stone's throw away from Altadena. Here, there are hundreds of craftsman homes, many over 100 years old. Small by today's Zillow-charged standards, they are nevertheless highly desirable. Pasadena is also home to The Gamble House, designed by architect brothers Greene and Greene for the family of Proctor & Gamble fame. The mansion was a refuge for the Midwestern magnates escaping the unseemly industrialisation back east.

In Malibu, there is the Getty Villa; it thankfully has been spared too. Opened in the early 1970s, it was a re-creation of an ancient Roman villa unearthed in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. As a late 20th century boy, my father would often take me there. It's where an Angeleno might first encounter Europe. It remains a shrine of wonder in my mind.

Living in Europe today, I am sometimes told my hometown doesn't have history. That it is rootless. Where is the heritage? Our Malibu villa might be a reproduction, but it houses one of the finest collections of Europe's most ancient and prized possessions.

Safety is what gave birth to Los Angeles. The 20th-century world may have been on fire, but you could find refuge in LA. So, little nirvanas took root among other peoples' oases. You could safeguard your treasures here between the sea and the mountains.

They came by the thousands, the millions. Armenians, Burmese, New Englanders, Jews, Iranians, Mexicans, Salvadorians, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Koreans, Filipinos, African-Americans and midwesterners. It didn't take us long before we were all Angelenos.

I am sometimes told my hometown doesn't have history

We pioneered the bungalow. We invented the drive thru. We crafted the strip mall. We built chateaux alongside temples. We sexed up main street. Yes, we embraced the automobile because we could. Our architecture is etched with this legacy.

In London, my now adopted home, the legacy of fire looms large. The Great Fire of 1666 burned down most of the Square Mile, the commercial core. In the aftermath of the destruction, the starchitect of the day, Christopher Wren, dreamed up a grand plan to rebuild. He imagined grand axes and wide boulevards. It was an ordered and orthogonal vision that would have erased the messy layout of medieval London. Fortunately, the plan was never realised.

The irregular streets, the tiny lanes, the totally incomprehensible grid (or absence of grid) stayed intact. Today, it remains not a city of grand gestures like Paris. Nor a city of straight avenues like New York. London stayed bent, quirky, tight. Post-fire, the intrinsic DNA remained. New buildings took the place where ones had burned. Instead of being timber framed, they were a bit taller, built of brick and stone.

The Great Fire of 1666 wouldn't be London's only major moment of destruction. Nearly 300 years later, it faced the Blitz. German bombardment destroyed so much of the same Square Mile. Again, the oddly shaped plots were left, like little leftovers, polygons of land so misshapen in the eyes of those used to the North American grid. The opposite of broad streets and big lots.

People like to think London is ancient, yet 50 per cent of these buildings were built since the second world war. The twin disasters of the 17th-century fire and the 20th-century world war has produced a 21st century city of skyscrapers cohabiting with medieval churches.

If a blind man from 14th century London who lived and breathed these streets were dropped into today's milieu, he would still know his way around. Because the fabric remains. The streets are the same. The scale and sense of place lives on. London has stayed London.

Many LA neighbourhoods are more compact and characterful than a typical American suburb

The global stereotype of LA is that of a sprawling non-city. Yet many LA neighbourhoods are more compact and characterful than a typical American suburb. Many houses in Bungalow Heaven are around 1,000 square foot. The average size of a new home in the US at large is approaching 2,500 square foot.

The exurbia of the Sun Belt cities is crass by any comparison. So, we have in Los Angeles a series of precious moments of a city which had discovered the automobile but had not yet been overcome by it.

Built in the 1930s, the four-lane Pasadena Freeway is the world's oldest highway. Today, it feels fragile in comparison to the brutal eight-lane tarmacs which dominate so much of the American landscape. In this early and mid-20th century LA, there is a pre-industrial spirit, albeit one borne in a wholly industrial world full of the possibility of mass prosperity.

Designers like the Eameses and Schindler saw in LA a landscape of bounty, but they didn't overdo it. This is an LA to eulogize. In Spanish, our city's mother tongue, the longform name of LA is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles". A town built for a queen and her angels. 'Tis the ring of a gentle paradise. The heart aches for it.

What of the process of rebuilding? The temptation will be to go full Wren and try something new, or to simply retreat away. To do either would be to betray the character of that Los Angeles, to forget the moment when its architecture has so far shined brightest. The craftsmanship, the polyglot design language, these are the things that make a rich architectural vernacular.

Let LA re-imagine these forms for a contemporary generation. And hopefully through this tragedy better appreciate what remains, and do more to protect it. May the world also now see Los Angeles for what it has long been – a precious cultural landscape.

Daniel Elsea is an urbanist and design journalist, and a partner at Allies and Morrison architecture studio in London.

The photo is by Jessica Christian via Unsplash.

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Projects by architects Ray Kappe and Martin Fenlon are among nearly 10,000 structures destroyed as deadly fires burn large swathes of Los Angeles in an "unprecedented, city-changing moment".

Fires that started Tuesday in Los Angeles continued to burn through the past two days, causing the evacuation of as many as 180,000 people and the deaths of at least ten people across multiple fires.

Exacerbated by dry conditions and high winds, the fires have devastated the city, especially the northwestern neighbourhood of Pacific Palisades.

Thousands of structures in the neighbourhood have been completely destroyed, including Keeler House by American architect and SCI-Arc founder Kappe.

Architectural preservation group the Los Angeles Conservancy said that it has been compiling data and fact-checking reports of destruction as the fire continues to move across the area.

"Not something we could have planned for"

"It's a challenge, to say the least," Los Angeles Conservancy president Adrian Fine told Dezeen last night.

"We're not able to get out into the field, in part because that's not what needs to happen right now in terms of the still active fires."

"So at this point, it's being able to confirm with multiple sources, reliable sources, documentation," added Fine, who indicated a list of historic and noteworthy buildings, which includes religious structures, restaurants, homes and more, that the Los Angeles Conservancy posted on its website.

"This was not something that we could have planned for."

Images circulating on X (formerly Twitter) show whole blocks in the Pacific Palisades completely destroyed.

New drone shot from Pacific Palisades shows entire blocks of homes literally burned to the ground. The Palisades Fire alone could become the "costliest" fire in U.S. history.

Courtesy of @KitKarzen pic.twitter.com/L5z7mvdLTt

— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) January 8, 2025

According to news channel ABC, the Pacific Palisades fire is the most destructive fire in Los Angeles history, with LA fire chief Brent Pascua calling scenes there "apocalyptic".

Local architecture studio AAHA Studio said that several of its clients had completely lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades.

"Scale of the damage is unfathomable"

"The community is very tight knit, and we are fortunate to call many of our clients and collaborators friends," AAHA Studio partners Harper Halprin and Aaron Leshtz told Dezeen.

"Sadly, a number of our clients have suffered total losses, and our hearts break for them and for the entire community. The scale of the damage is unfathomable and still not entirely known. Our hearts are with everyone as they navigate the days and weeks ahead."

As of last night, the Eames House (Case Study House No. 8) home of the Eames Foundation, and Case Study House No. 18, were confirmed to be intact according to the foundation. The famous Getty Villa and Museum was also undamaged.

In the city's northeast, the Eaton Fire grew quickly and has caused extensive damage in the hill communities and in the towns of Altadena and Pasadena, including the destruction of Andrew McNally House and Pasadena Jewish Temple & Center.

Local architect Martin Fenlon said he was informed of the destruction of his Turner House in Altadena.

Local designer and founder of the Save Iconic Architecture Project (SIA) Jaime Rummerfield said the damage in the fires was "rattling", noting that stores and schools of family and colleagues had burnt.

"My son's elementary school burned down," Rummerfield told Dezeen. "It's all just a bit rattling."

"Altadena has so much history, and they're all gorgeous houses that people have loved for years," she said, adding that her husband had driven through Altadena out of concern for evacuees, observing the damage.

"He just drove through the neighbourhoods, and they were just levelled," she said. "He said it looked like Lahaina. It was devastated. There was just nothing, block after block after block."

"A city-changing moment"

Yesterday a fire also began in the Hollywood Hills, putting much of the adjacent neighbourhoods at risk, but was contained.

While fires in Los Angeles are not uncommon, usually they occur during the summer and into the fall. But a particularly dry winter has exacerbated conditions.

"This fire is unprecedented in Los Angeles," conservation group Docomomo US board president Katie Horak told Dezeen.

"Of course, fires are a cyclical part of our lives here, but typically they can be managed or steered away from causing widespread destruction to urban areas and residential neighborhoods," she continued.

"I've lived in Los Angeles my whole life, including in areas prone to evacuations and fires, and this is unlike anything I have ever seen. This is a city-changing moment for us."

"It's too soon to think about what's next"

For now, most people are concerned with the ongoing evacuation orders in the area and making sure people are safe.

"We are focused on being here now, supporting those who need help in any way we can," Rebecca Rudolph of local architecture studio Design, Bitches told Dezeen.

"It's too soon to think about what's next other than that LA is resilient and filled with incredible creative, hard-working communities that we are lucky to be a part of."

Fine told Dezeen that the architectural community could be "very helpful and instrumental" in helping people rebuild when the time comes.

"Many owners won't even know where to start, even for those that have had minimal damage, but certainly many others have had total losses," he said.

Currently, the fires are still being battled by thousands of firefighters across the region, with the federal government pledging to cover 100 per cent of the initial response costs for the fire.

As of Thursday night, both the Palisades and Eaton fires were less than 10 per cent contained.

CNN has shared a list of California hotels, with some offering special rates for evacuees and LA County continues to broadcast alerts through its emergency notification system.

CBS has outlined a number of places where people can offer support or donations to relief efforts.

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Wildfires in Los Angeles and surrounding areas have destroyed thousands of structures including residential and commercial real estate and caused two known deaths since its start on Tuesday.

Driven by high-velocity winds, the fire has spread to cover more than 11,000 acres, causing massive destruction and forcing more than 50,000 people to evacuate, as well as covering much of the LA metropolitan area in smoke and ash, as of Wednesday afternoon.

According to the LA Times, thousands of structures have already burned down in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood, an affluent area tucked between the hills and the Pacific Ocean.

Modernist icon the Eames House (Case Study House No. 8) and Case Study House No. 18 sit in the south of the fire's incident zone and as of this morning, staff had evacuated and taken several articles of furniture. While currently "at risk" the site has so far been unharmed by the fire, according to the foundation.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and the Eames Foundation has taken every precaution to protect the site," said Eames Foundation executive director Lucia Dewey Atwood at 1:00 pm local time today.

"Yesterday, the foundation's team worked quickly to remove a small number of objects from the house before they had to evacuate the building."

As of today, the local firefighting efforts have been constrained by grounding orders for firefighting aircraft due to high winds and dwindling water resources. On Wednesday morning, LA fire chief Brent Pascua called the scenes at the fire "apocalyptic".

Reportedly, officials have had to use bulldozers to clear cars abandoned by fleeing people for emergency vehicles to pass.

"Total destruction" in Malibu

Hundreds of homes, restaurants and other structures have been consumed by the fire, including the Palisades Library and Palisades Charter High School, according to the New York Times.

The Pacific Palisades fire has spread as far north as Malibu and burning buildings were recorded along the Pacific Coast Highway as of this afternoon.

NBC news correspondent Liz Kreutz posted on X Wednesday afternoon that there was "total destruction" in Malibu along the Pacific Coast Highway.

Tens of thousands of structures remain at risk, including the home of US vice president Kamala Harris as well as several notable works of architecture including Getty Villa, which closed to non-essential personnel on Tuesday after fire spread to the property. Current reports claimed the 1950s home of tycoon John Paul Getty, which also has a museum, "narrowly" avoided the fire.

The Julius Ralph Davidson-designed Thomas Mann House is also under threat, as is Ray Kappe's Keeler House, near the worst of the fire in Pacific Palisades.

Late this morning, major fires in Eaton and Hurst also began. The fire in Eaton grew almost fourfold to cover more than 10,000 acres in a matter of hours, driven by the high winds, spreading into nearby Altadena and threatening Pasadena. Other, smaller fires were also reported late Wednesday afternoon.

The Pasadena Jewish Temple was reportedly destroyed in the blaze.

Other structures at risk by the Eaton Fire include the early-20th-century Arts and Craft-style Gamble House.

Throughout the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, hundreds of schools and businesses were closed. Local design studio Ravenhill Studio noted some of its staff was "under evacuation orders", and big-ticket events such as an NHL game and the awards broadcast Critics Choice Awards were cancelled.

Blame has been levied at the local government and mayor, citing their slashing of the fire budget by $17.6 million last year.

Some pointed to the changing climate and out-of-date building practices as primary drivers of the disaster.

"American homes were built for an environment that no longer exists. This – like all of the disasters this century, from Florida to Hawaii – must be a call to action," said CBS news correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti on X.

Fires in January are not unprecedented, but the fire season usually lasts between the summer months and October, but this year the city has been experiencing a drought, allowing for the unseasonable intensity of the fire.

Photo by Ariam23 via Wikipedia Commons

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