OP_M_3_M3_LA_1_12-25-05_su_1_CMYK

CURRENT TIMES SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2005 M3

GRAND INTERVENTION ------Beauty! Can we get dazzling done? Sharks! By Bob Sipchen at the Grand Avenue Committee were charg- ing ahead on a parallel Silence! know what I want for the new track. Representatives park that will soon blossom in of this official consor- the heart of our concrete city: an tium say they welcome orange grove. I knew this the new ideas from the Lear Noise! moment I saw this drawing of a Center’s renegade park I fruit orchard amid the designs, enthusiasts. But they dazzling and inane, taped to the also note that they’ve walls and windows of the Norman Lear already held a dozen or By Manuel Castells Center a couple of weeks back. so official public meet- Of course, what we in Current ings (and have heard want isn’t the least bit important to from plenty of individu- oices. Voices that this offbeat experiment in civic journal- als at other meetings — speak of parks, of cit- ism that we call Grand Intervention. most of which are open ies, of Los Angeles. Nor are the preferences of Marty Kap- to the public). They pri- From architects and lan, who cooked up the project and vately fret that this un- designers, from chil- wrote the essay below. Nor, theoreti- orthodox attempt to V dren, from students, cally, are whatever big ideas may be end-run established av- from activists, from vi- percolating in the mind of developer Eli enues could further en- sionaries, from critics, from people. Lis- Broad. tangle the bureaucratic ten to these Grand Intervention con- Rather, this is an exercise in trying knot that makes achiev- tributors, and their unrepresentative to figure out what you want. That’s ing civic goals so diffi- views; grant them, for a moment, ano- where the tension creeps in. To update: cult. nymity. In 2000, Broad and developer With three govern- “At the heart of downtown L.A., James Thomas formed the Grand Av- ments — state, county hidden between civic buildings, lays a enue Committee. With Broad as co- and city — and a slew of forgotten park. Cut in three parts by chairman, the group set out to spruce private interests all too busy streets, the schizophrenic plan is up a sloping swath of public space that eager to chime in, who now a shadowy garden, a pitiable monu- hop-scotches roughly from Disney Hall can blame the Grand ment and a bleak parking lot. The park on Grand Avenue to City Hall on Spring Avenue Committee for reflects the nature of the neighboring Street, including a disjointed stretch of wanting to focus on its government bodies.” plazas and open spaces at the core of it deadline? And what Yet “the opportunity to develop a that would be turned into a park. . about the boring practi- 16-acre open space in the heart of one of In August 2004, the Los Angeles calities a design team the world’s great metropolises is rare Grand Avenue Authority, headed by spends months study- and precious.” Supervisor Gloria Molina, selected the ing — things like old Of course, a park is a park. Thus, Related Cos. from five bidders recom- sewer systems — that green comes first: “The park should of- mended by the Grand Avenue Commit- visionaries and their fer lots of grassland areas, meadows for tee. Construction on the project — esti- acolytes might over- picnics, flower beds, ponds, and foun- mated total cost is now $1.8 billion — is look. tains.” “More trees, colorful flowers.... supposed to start in December of 2006, “I know of no other Beauty! And Silence! Peace and quiet with the park and the first phase of the public space quite like from the noise of the traffic.” “Endless development opening by Nov. 30, 2009. it,” urban planner Alex- Orchard.” “A Great Lawn and Urban Last July, Kaplan, director of the Nor- ander Garvin of Yale Meadow.” “An organic field.” And water: man Lear Center at the USC Annen- University says of the streams, ponds, fountains, or fountains berg School for Communication, wrote site in question, as that you can walk through. Sculptural a piece for Current in which he la- quoted on the Lear Cen- torches of water that would light up the mented what he saw as the dearth of ter website. “Or with as uncertain downtown night. significant public input into the park- many problems.” There A problem is that the steep slopes making process. He volunteered the are big ones — directly and the high-traffic streets cutting Lear Center as a catch basin for addi- underfoot, two garages through make it an unusual terrain. The tional ideas, and Current offered to house almost 2,000 cars, solution: terraces for the plants, cas- open our pages to some of what Kaplan complicating any gran- cades for the water, bridges for pedestri- and his crew turned up. diose earth-sculpting ans. Bridges of all kinds, from the con- What may be most interesting scheme. And smaller tinuous forest path to the “Wind Tunnel about Grand Intervention is how it ones (don’t forget, you Footbridge” made of steel and alumi- cracked open the park-making process multimedia advocates, num powered by the wind. Bridges that for inspection. The way something hap- Dave Burns and Austin Young FallenFruit.org that the judges in near- offer retail outlets, a floating pathway pens, after all, invariably affects what by buildings prefer that rises to different levels. Or happens. And Current’s unruly quasi- Taking root: An orchard was one idea for the new downtown park. quiet courtrooms). “LAp_dancer,” a pedestrian bridge collaboration with Kaplan’s group re- Many of the Lear made as a sculptural piece, a la flects the vastly more complex process proach that would reconnect the region open-air civics classroom that includes Center’s experts recommend calling for Calatrava. required for anything significant to be to its agrarian roots. Hidden from med- a free supply of vitamin C. a formal design competition, and Kap- The park is also conceived as a vi- accomplished in a place such as Los dling adults by orange trees, with irri- The problem is that some of you lan pushes that idea in his essay. brant public space to fulfill “people’s ap- Angeles, where so many authorities, in- gation water burbling along in rows of have already dismissed the orange This additional input could pro- propriation of the public realm.” This in- terests and egos overlap and everyone ankle-high furrows, generations of grove idea as idiotic and are casting duce a work of soaring genius. Or cludes small retail, dining and is cocksure that their vision is the best Southern kids learned not your mental votes for skate parks, Web- months-long delay followed by group- entertainment venues in the park, an for all humankind. just the pain and pleasure of dirt clod surfing pods or those very cool interac- think mediocrity. amphitheater for performances, includ- Take that truly brilliant orange fights, but also how to cooperate in the tive fountains that creativity re- At some point, The Times may ing outdoor free concerts, and art exhi- grove concept. Surely everyone can see construction of mini-civilizations. searcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi envi- want to editorialize on the matter. bitions. In the park, to create a mass that the scent of citrus and yammer of Don’t today’s kids also deserve the free- sions families and strangers dancing For now, why not read the section audience for the arts, 20 mini-audito- mockingbirds would bring solace to the dom to sink bare feet into warm mud as around. and, for further inspiration, take a walk riums and numerous galleries should be harried lawyers and accountants and they mold it into dams, roads, tunnels, Meanwhile, even as the Lear Cen- around the park site? It is yours. built so that local residents and down- jurors and journalists who spill from villages — even parks? “Sim-style” ter was cajoling designers, park ex- town workers could initiate themselves the surrounding buildings. But that’s planning play only goes so far, and our perts, college students and typical citi- Bob Sipchen is the editor of the into the artistic experience. Above the not the only good reason for an ap- city would benefit from creating an zens to pour out these ideas, the folks Current section. park is a new Museum of the City that would be housed in a “bar-like building hovering above Grand Avenue” and be- tween the two government buildings. Art would take over the walls of these buildings by painting murals on them. Public space should be adapted to the needs of the local residents, particu- larly low-income residents. Children should be present in the park, using a playground conceived as an educational When a riot is a good thing tool. A daring proposal locates a middle school on the roof of the Hall of Admin- By Martin Kaplan mercial park programming experience from branding and programming. istration building. As for children, they (Dan Biederman of ’s Bryant On the other hand, some of the draw their own visions: a big swimming Park), downtown Los Angeles experi- most dazzling recent park designs, pool, an even bigger basketball court, a n july, current published An explosion of ideas ence (Brenda Levin, who worked with such as the High Line in New York and waterfall, a pond with ducks, (a rest- my essay inviting people — ama- suggests that our city the late Ira Yellin on the Bradbury Downsview in Toronto, have sprung room, please), an art center, a skate teurs and professionals alike — Building and Grand Central Market), from competitions. There are plenty of park, swings and monkey bars, without to suggest ideas and designs for is eager to engage in as well as starchitect Frank Gehry. ways to run competitions, from invited forgetting a Sizzler and a Denny’s. Tra- the new 16-acre “civic park” In 2004, Related and the Grand Av- to open, from local to international. vis, an 11-year-old who lives on skid row, I that, as part of the Grand Av- every aspect of park enue Committee held open forums to There are ways to write rules that set adds to all this his specific requests: a enue redevelopment project, solicit principles and ideas about the boundaries on budget, engineering and bridge, but this one should come with will be created in the spaces between design. overall development. In 2005, addi- use. There are ways to build the com- sharks. And, in the center of his draw- Los Angeles City Hall and the Music tional outreach meetings enabled citi- mittees that write competition rules ing, a jail. Most proposals omit the Center on Bunker Hill. zens to comment on the preliminary and that choose the winners so that a H-word, except for one that sees the I instigated this outpouring be- master plan. It’s too early to know if wide variety of community stake- park as “a place for the homeless to con- cause I felt the creative process had ter, where I serve as director. those meetings will turn out to have holders are represented. In Orange gregate” (a safe prediction, in fact). been insufficiently open. If you think Why? Who cares what this new been pro forma gestures intended to County, the process for designing the Then, there is the technological es- that the developer of the $1.8-billion park will look like? Who cares who gets manage a public relations challenge, or new Great Park has been a model of cape. The “Park of the Future” blends Grand Avenue redo got the job in 2004 to decide that and to design it? whether there really will be extensive, balancing competition and civic input physical and virtual spaces with hybrid because it won a design competition, The answer goes beyond the substantive and consequential civic en- with real-world practicality and ac- spaces: the electronic soapbox for free think again. And if you believe that the neighbors, workers and visitors who gagement about the park — including countability. There’s no reason Los An- speeches broadcast by audio and video; official plans include a design competi- will see it and use it. The future of this what to do with the additional 10 acres geles can’t do that just as well. the entertainment and cultural center tion before groundbreaking a year from park offers Los Angeles a signal oppor- that would become available if author- The riot of ideas this Grand Inter- with a public theater and sound stage; now, I’ve got a bridge to nowhere I’d like tunity to declare — to itself and to the ities, as many expect, decide to tear vention has already unleashed sug- the solar-powered light sculpture that to sell you. world — what the right balance is be- down the earthquake-damaged Stan- gests to me that our city is eager to en- would be a scientifically accurate monu- There’s a reason there was no de- tween private and public, between com- ley Mosk Courthouse and the county gage in every aspect of park design and ment to global warming; the interactive sign competition in 2004: The winning mercial and civic, between a civic Hall of Administration adjacent to the programming — not just during polite, fly-through map of downtown L.A. in an developer, New York-based Related project that is created from the top park’s present footprint. contained and essentially powerless immersive environment. Cos., like the other firms bidding for the down (that is by politicians and power- But it is unlikely that Related will encounters with the developer, but also Another project creates a place for project, was expressly prohibited from ful developers) and one that grows voluntarily open up the design process in the back rooms and the corner offi- anonymous celebrities by capturing im- presenting design proposals as part of from the bottom up and is inspired and to what most of the dozens of world- ces where decisions get made. ages of people passing by and projecting its pitch. What developers were asked nurtured by a passionate public. class landscape designers, architects, I know, I know: Design isn’t de- them on large screens. Or in the “I to tell billionaire Eli Broad and the If we believe that our city is the em- urban planners and visionaries who mocracy. Planning isn’t a popularity dream L.A. gallery,” an online interac- Grand Avenue Committee he chairs, blem of 21st century urbanity, then the participated in the Grand Intervention contest. Creativity doesn’t come from tive database that allows users to up- and Supervisor Gloria Molina and the way we imagine our new frontyard is a recommend: a real professional compe- consensus. But what’s wrong with a lit- load imagery and to experience it. Los Angeles Grand Avenue Authority statement about what we think city life tition. tle competition? Throughout the diversity of these she chairs, was the makeup of their can and should be. New York’s Central For the developer, the Grand Av- Hey, Eli Broad, do you want good visions, there is a shared feeling: the team, their vision for re-imagining Park, Washington’s Mall and the great enue Committee and the Grand Av- or great? nostalgia for the lost urban world of the Grand Avenue, and the process for car- boulevards and parks in many other enue Authority, the attraction of a Gloria Molina, do you want nice or “true city,” yet the consciousness that rying out their plans. They also had to cities, here and abroad, are not only closed, in-house process is control. A knock-your-socks-off? such a time is gone, at least for L.A. agree to pony up $50 million in advance places to stroll and have fun; they’re design competition could unleash po- And you, Mayor Antonio Villarai- Thus, the jump into a technological fu- payment for land-use fees. That money messages to the world — messages litical forces that a company or an gosa and Councilwoman Jan Perry, do ture, or the withdrawal into a bucolic will pay for building the park, freeing about identity, creativity and ambition. elected official would rather contain. A you want Los Angeles to settle or to natural past, decidedly anti-urban. Be- the city and the county from the need to A sampling of some of the most competition fueled by imaginations soar? I know why a developer might like cause there are no models for our cur- appropriate funds for it. provocative, imaginative, off-the-wall, run wild could dramatically raise ex- order. But if Los Angeles’ civic leaders rent city, most projects call for citizens This odd financing mechanism ex- bold and beautiful elements of the pro- pectations. The ideas about park use are afraid of the kind of creativity that to participate in inventing their city. So, plains how the creation of a Los An- posals we received appear in these and park design that emerge could be comes from messiness, well, maybe it’s how to wish upon a future star from the geles public park got shoehorned into a pages. You can find many more at too controversial or unconventional — been too long since they made mud pies debris of their shattered planet. commercial development, and why I www.grandintervention.org. “too L.A.” in a sandbox. decided, uninvited, to cast a wider net. None of this is to say that the offi- Participants might propose Manuel Castells, professor This wasn’t an official competition. No cial developer isn’t taking a very profes- spending too much money on design, Martin Kaplan is associate dean of emeritus of city planning at UC one was paid to do the work. There’s no sional approach to the park. and not enough on engineering; they the USC Annenberg School for Berkeley, holds the Wallis Annenberg winner. Yet, more than 300 people sent The company has in its corner con- might offer beautiful opportunities to Communication and director of the chair of communication technology stuff to the USC Annenberg School for sultants with park design experience bask in nature, but slight some beauti- Norman Lear Center, which studies and society at the USC Annenberg Communication’s Norman Lear Cen- (Philadelphia-based Laurie Olin), com- ful opportunities to bring in revenue the effect of entertainment on society. School for Communication.

Some Grand Interventionists

Cover art credits, clockwise from top left: Jennifer Birkeland, Corey Fox, Lauren McCullough, Daniel Miller and Samantha Moran; Michael Jantzen; David Mabs, Angie Jun, Michele Licea and Sonia Noriega; P. Vaughan Davies; Hera Hamalian, Katie Kreiser, Erin Patterson and John Wiersma; Paulina Bouyer-Magana, Adam Harwell and Crystal Wang,; Bunker Hill quote from Tim Quinn; David Fletcher, Jae Uck Ahn, Christopher Alexander, Mia Lehrer and Alexander Robinson. Page 6 art credits, clockwise from top right: Christopher Janney; Studio IMC; Ron Pekar and Sandy McDaniel; Robert Apodaca, Dave Chong, Jeremy Fletcher, Mike Jacobs, Jeremy Limsenben, Jimmy Miyoshi and Aaron Neubert; Travis Hogan; Jason Evers, Daniel Lopez, Anthony Sponzilli and Andy Wilcox.