You See LA: Fall 2019
5 things to see and do in Los Angeles handpicked by Georgina Huljich
Georgina Huljich is an adjunct assistant professor in the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design and an alumni of the M.Arch.I program, having graduated with distinction in 2003. She has been a Visiting Professor at Yale, UPenn; UC Berkeley, TIT in Tokyo and Di Tella University in Buenos Aires. Georgina has been a member of the Board for CAP UCLA since 2015 and has served on National Juries for the Rome Prize and AIA Awards. She is the recipient of many awards, the most notable being the prestigious US Artists Fellowship in 2013; an endowment that recognizes America’s most accomplished and innovative artists. Georgina is Director of P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S, together with Marcelo Spina. P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S has gained international recognition as one of the most intriguing and progressive firms working in architecture today, with completed projects in the U.S., South America and Asia. Their work has been exhibited worldwide, most notably at the Venice Biennale in Italy, The Chicago Biennial, the Art Institute of Chicago, The San Francisco MOMA, The Vienna MAK Museum, where it is also part of the permanent collections. Huljich has previously worked for the Guggenheim Museum, the architectural firm Dean/Wolf architects in New York, and as a project designer at Morphosis in Los Angeles. She was the 2005–06 Maybeck Fellow at UC Berkeley.
You know its glamorous history and can celebrate what the theater has become in recent years: a prominent venue for the programming of Kristy Edmunds’s Center for the Arts of Performance at UCLA [no bias here…]. Highlighted this fall is Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time Live! on Dec. 6; Architecturally, Its Spanish-Gothic ornate, in addition to intricate walls, murals and eccentric chandeliers, represent an era of perpetual optimism that is much desired nowadays.
Theme Building / LAX Observation Deck
Image via goldenstate.is
As the daughter of a glider pilot, I am perpetually fascinated with aviation and the mere act of flying. My next pick should therefore come as no surprise: the Theme Building [LAX Observation Deck], designed by LA powerhouse architects of their era Pereira & Luckman Architects, Paul Williams and Welton Becket, is an iconic symbol of the Space Age and a tour de force from which to experience Los Angeles. Unapologetically, its idiosyncratic presence offers a perfect dichotomy to the advanced technological developments of aviation and the airport itself. The building is strange and unusual, as is the perception of the city from its observation deck.
Open Saturdays and Sundays year round
Sunset Boulevard
Back dropped by Billy Wilder’s 1950 ‘Sunset Boulevard,’ the disparate narratives [and non-descriptive history] of Los Angeles is explained while cruising from the ocean to Echo Park. I know, I know—it sounds a cliché. Well, let’s welcome this one! And if you can experience this ride with a convertible 1965 Ford Thunderbird, you are undeniably a true Angelino.
Open anytime on sunny days.
The Bar at Bel Air Hotel
This might have been missed by Thom Andersen’s 2004 movie, Los Angeles Plays Itself. Perhaps it was intentionally left out. But imagine an oasis in the middle of Los Angeles meeting the nostalgia of Hollywood’s Golden Age, coupled with the best truffle potatoes ever and Japanese gardens and swans surrounding and you might just have the world’s best venue for a faculty meeting [I mean it!!]. Give it a try.
Sunday–Thursday, 7 a.m.–12 a.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m.–2 a.m.
Thom Yorke @ The Greek Theater
If Thom Yorke were an architect, well, he would be a pretty competent one, especially if his architecture were on display at the Greek Theater. Think about his music as an idealized version of what a building could be: a utopian object in a decayed context, or beauty amidst bleakness. But above all, to quote Yorke: “Sometimes I don't even recognize myself in some of the music I've made, which is always what I'm looking for, I guess.” The shows are sold out, but tickets can still be found for reasonable prices on many after-market sites. And if you don’t make it this show, The Greek is still worth a visit sometime as one of LA’s iconic venues in the heart of Griffith Park.
Oct. 29 and 30
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