FORM Event Draws Crowd Craving Info on Infrastructure

The Downtown Los Angeles offices of Perkins + Will hosted Form's most recent event on April 7: Infrastructure: The intersection of design, engineering and imagination. Form contributor Jack Skelley- Senior Partner at Paolucci Communication Arts-hosted the panel discussion, with four high-level practitioners: Leigh Christy, Senior Associate at Perkins + Will , the international design firm whose specialties includes urban design, planning strategies, preservation and reuse, discussed the proposed plan for revitalizing the Los Angeles River at the Piggyback Yards near Downtown Los Angeles.

Michael Bohn, Principal at Studio One Eleven at Perkowitz + Ruth Architects - an integrated practice of architecture, landscape and urban design - spoke about his firm's work with the City of Long Beach to create "road diets" and other innovative streetscaping. Among the successes of these efforts, Bohn reported, has been a dramatically increased business, thanks to enhanced pedestrian vitality and economic activity.  Cliff Garten, the internationally recognized sculptor and founder of Cliff Garten Studio in Venice, California, spoke about his project, "Corridor of Light," in Arlington Virginia - illuminated sculptures that combine public art with masterplanning. And Deborah Weintraub, who is Deputy City Engineer, Chief Architect for the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering, at the City of Los Angeles, discussed the crucial importance of bringing architects early on into the discussion of large-scale

infrastructure projects. 

Co-sponsors of the event were Izze beverage company and Pama, pomegranate liqueur.