Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design

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Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design

Founded in January of 1987, the Forum plays a vital role in Los Angeles by initiating and supporting

09/24/2026

Orhan Ayyüce - In Memoriam

A Note from Roberto Sheinberg on Behalf of the L.A. Forum

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Orhan Ayyüce. Our architecture community has lost an important voice and a force for critical thinking, curiosity, and exploration of our built world and our city.

Orhan was an instigator, thinker, provocateur, writer and friend. He was an educator in the broadest sense – teaching at Cal Poly Pomona, SCI-Arc, Woodbury and his proudest work with students at East Los Angeles Community College. Always an advocate for students and colleagues, always with kindness and wit.

He would challenge us to question assumptions, unsettle comfortable ideas, and open new ways of looking at architecture, urbanism, and the city around us. He had a unique ability to see things differently, finding beauty, depth and history in an industrial landscape and infrastructure – with his love for Vernon, bringing many of us along on his exploration of the Industrial City, challenging us to see what he saw.

I was fortunate to serve as a Board member and President of the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design during Orhan’s tenure on the Board. His mark on the Forum’s programming and publications extended well beyond his years of service. His tenacity, sharp thinking, and wit helped shape conversations and explorations that stay with us long after our Forum days.

As editor of the LA Forum’s Summer 2016 newsletter, The Essence of the City, Orhan invited five “unexpected” people into the discourse about our City, challenging us to move beyond “the premeditated and often templated conversations about Architecture and Urban Design.” It was a characteristic Orhan gesture: question the familiar, look beyond the expected, and make room for voices and ideas that might otherwise remain outside the conversation.

That spirit of curiosity and questioning is part of the legacy Orhan leaves with those who had the privilege of knowing, working and learning with him.
He will be deeply missed.

Roberto Sheinberg
September 22, 2026

09/11/2026

Unfinished City 02: tierra
Saturday, September 19, 2026 5:00-8:00 PM

Craft Contemporary Art Museum / Materials and Applications courtyard Los Angeles is often described as an “unfinished city,” constantly evolving and resisting traditional urban models. From its origins as a Spanish colonial settlement to its emergence as a global metropolis, LA’s development has been shaped by cycles of rapid expansion, reinvention, and cultural blending.

Unfinished City

Today we face a crushing housing crisis. It is incredibly expensive to build in Los Angeles, to the point that for many there is no place to live. Labor costs weigh down project budgets such that material selection for projects with narrow margins is driven more by cost to install than cost to procure. Construction material supply chains set up to address mass housing and construction booms of a century ago drive material selection to a few common denominators.

Join us at the Craft Contemporary on September 19 for a gallery tour of the museum’s Clay Biennial exhibit, tierra on September 19 for a gallery tour by Danila Cervantes, with Joanna Keane Lopez and Jackie Amezquita on their works and practices, followed by a conversation with Joanna, Jackie, Carol Zou and Tracy Fenix, in the courtyard outside.

Clay and Labor

The evening will feature a convening and conversation of artists drawing materials directly from the land.

Speakers

Joanna Keane Lopez - Artist
Jackie Amezquita - Artist (in Residence for tierra)
Tracy Fenix- Curator, MUD KIN project
Carol Zou (moderator) - Cultural worker

Event Details
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2026, 5-8 pm
Location: Craft Contemporary, 5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tickets: Sliding Scale / pay what you can
Event capacity is limited to 45 guests.
Light refreshments will be offered.
Interactive table centerpieces by Leo Alas

Please note: a portion of this event will be held outside and the event is ADA accessible. Street parking is limited. Public transit and rideshare are encouraged.

This event is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts grant for LA Forum’s Unfinished City: 250 Years of Los Angeles and the American Experiment project.

09/07/2026

At Recess 03: Postcarbon Futures Book Launch + Conversation // Link in Bio!

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026, 5:30-7:30 PM.
Book: Building Postcarbon Futures: Land, Justice, and Energy Transitions
Location: Los Angeles, 90031 (location will be sent to ticketholders)
Tickets: $15 (non-members) $5 (members and students) see link in bio
***event capacity is limited to 50 guests***

Speakers: Billy Fleming (Billy Fleming), Alissa Walker (Alissa Walker)
Moderator: Jenny Jones, Terremoto (TERREMOTO LANDSCAPE)

About Building Postcarbon Futures
What would a postcarbon future look like? What would it take to build and maintain a more just, regenerative world? How would it feel to live—and to thrive—in that world?

Around the globe, people are transforming their social, ecological, and economic systems in response to the climate crisis. This book guides readers through 29 of these exemplary works, which span 43 nations and 6 continents. From Cuba to Kiribati, Iceland to the Andes, the prairies of North America to the expanding Gobi Desert, these case studies foreground the tactics and modes of practice being employed, often by marginalized peoples, to create more humane, hospitable places. With dispatches from more than a dozen leading scholars working on the front lines of the climate justice movement, Building Postcarbon Futures: Land, Justice, and Energy Transitions is both a celebration of action underway and a clarion call to the planners, designers, policymakers, and activists who are pushing this planet toward a future of collective flourishing.

This event is ADA accessible.
Street parking is limited. Public transit and rideshare are encouraged.

08/31/2026

L.A. Forum Community Survey // LINK IN BIO

Dear L.A. Forum Community,

As part of our ongoing effort to better serve our community, we’d like to hear from you about what you value most, the issues and ideas that matter to you, and where L.A. Forum can have the greatest impact in the years ahead.

We’ve put together a short survey. Whether you’ve been involved with L.A. Forum for many years, recently discovered us, or haven’t participated in a while, we’d value your perspective.

Thank you for being part of the conversation!

08/25/2026

l.a. Eyeworks Campus Tour & Talk with Escher GuneWardena Architecture // LINK IN BIO!
Thursday, September 3, 2026 6:00-8:00 pm

Join the L.A. Forum at 6 pm on Thursday, September 3rd for an exclusive tour of the new l.a.Eyeworks retail campus in Fairfax, led by architects Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena, principals of Escher GuneWardena Architecture, together with Brent Zerger of l.a.Eyeworks.

Occupying a prominent corner site, the campus consists of two distinct buildings linked by a pergola-covered walkway. The primary building houses the flagship showroom, where immersive spatial design, custom display elements, and an in-house optical finishing laboratory are integrated into a highly crafted retail environment. Throughout the campus, walls, ceilings, and exterior surfaces are unified by a striking platinum-silver finish, creating a richly textured, otherworldly architectural experience.

The second building, known as “The Lens,” functions as a flexible gallery and event space featuring a rotating collection of design objects, vintage pieces from the l.a. Eyeworks archives, and collaborations with artists, designers, and makers.

The program will include a tour of both buildings followed by a conversation exploring the design process, the collaboration between architect and client, and the role of architecture in shaping an independent retail identity. The discussion will also place the project within l.a.Eyeworks’ longstanding commitment to innovative architecture, continuing a legacy that has included collaborations with designers and architects such as Josh Schweitzer and Neil Denari.

This is a rare opportunity to experience one of Los Angeles’ most distinctive new retail environments while hearing directly from the architects and client about the ideas, ambitions, and creative partnership behind the project.

Venue: L.A. Eyeworks, 900 N. Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90046

This event is ADA accessible. Parking is street parking only. Public transit and rideshare are encouraged.

Image Credit: Paul Vu

FREE EVENT

07/29/2026

Last night, we gathered at Lauren Halsey’s sister dreamer for Unfinished City: a conversation on context, materiality, and collaboration. Huge thanks to Current Interests for curating and moderating such a rich panel, and to our speakers Emanuel Admassu | አማኑኤል አድማሱ (Emanuel Admasu), Zion Estrada (Zion Estrada), and Katy Barkan (Katy Barkan) for sharing their thoughts and ideas. Thank you to Madre Mezcal for keeping us refreshed, West of West for your generous support, and the National Endowment for the Arts for making this program possible. Grateful to everyone who came out to look, listen, and think together about building a city with care!

07/17/2026

Unfinished City: A Conversation on Context, Materiality, and Collaboration at sister dreamer
Sunday, July 26, 2026 5:30-8:00pm

sister dreamer
1810 W. 76th St, Los Angeles, CA 90047
Corner of Western Ave & 76th St, South Central Los AngelesArtist and visionary Lauren

Halsey’s newly opened sculpture park, sister dreamer, is an architectural ode and gift to South Los Angeles. As a monumental sculpture park and major public art installation, the site merges ancient Egyptian temple design with Afro-funk futurism. The result is a tribute to the neighborhood’s community and Halsey’s upbringing and family history in the area.

Entering the park at the corner of Western and 76th, the public is invited into a world of care and tender regard for the artist’s community. The park offers a space for gathering and reflection, standing as a beautiful and powerful reminder of how Los Angeles is constructed daily by those who inhabit it.

To bring the project to reality, Halsey Studio worked with a team of collaborators, including Project Architect Current Interests (Mira Henry & Matthew Au).

In celebration of the space, L.A. Forum invites Current Interests to host a conversation with an emerging generation of design practitioners. Participants will reflect on the work they’re excited about, with a specific focus on how their practice attends to context, explores materiality, and centers collaboration.

Participants:
Emanuel Admasu, AD-Wo
Zion Estrada, Black Discourse
Sean Canty, Studio Sean Canty
Katy Barkan, Now Here
Mira Henry, Current Interests
Matthew Au, Current Interests

This event is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts grant for LA Forum’s Unfinished City: 250 Years of Los Angeles and the American Experiment project.

Additional thanks to our beverage sponsor, Madre Mezcal.

Additional details:

Street parking is available. Please be courteous to our neighbors and remember this is a residential neighborhood. Rideshare is encouraged.

This event is ADA accessible.

This is an age 21+ event. No one under 21 will be allowed entry.

Please note, this is a work of art. Gallery rules apply — please do not touch the work. Thank you.

06/17/2026

For June’s Metro Meetup take the Metro A Line to the Highland Park station & meet up at The Arroyo Club! As always, don’t miss this opportunity to connect with urbanists, transit enthusiasts and get to know your Metro system and the Highland Park neighborhood!

Meet us in Highland Park:
The Arroyo Club
5631 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles

This meetup is monthly - check our webpage.

This is an open forum - everyone is welcome, byob (buy your own beverage). Arrive anytime after 6pm - Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design will have a table sign.

06/11/2026

This Saturday, copies of Love L.A. will be available at Spring Arts Tower as part of L.A.’s first vertical community market. Come to Suite #933 (the Yay Bridges studio) between 10 AM and 6 PM to purchase postcards and explore the market. We hope you’ll stop by and say hello.

05/29/2026

The L.A. Forum for Architecture and Urban Design has created a series of “tourist” postcards that look beyond the city’s familiar landmarks. At a moment when Los Angeles will be globally visible (the World Cup starts in June!), this project proposes a counter-image, grounded in a more nuanced way of seeing the city through everyday experience.

Love L.A. will be available in your local library soon.

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Los Angeles, CA

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http://www.laforum.org/, http://www.laforum.org/about, http://www.laforum.org/membership, https://twitter.com/LosAngeles

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