Back to Show
Artbound
The Evolution of Low-Income Housing in L.A.
The phrases "public housing" or "low-income housing" do not generally conjure thoughts of architectural innovation. Instead, one may envision rows of faded pastel cubes surrounded by dead lawns and tall fences, or looming concrete towers gridded with small windows. Both schemes are typically weighted with a grim institutional air, appear to have been built as cheaply as possible, and often address only one problem, shelter, amid many others.
But it doesn't have to be that way, as several recent housing developments in Los Angeles prove. Instead, they pose the question: What if low-income housing was perceived as leading the vanguard of innovative, responsive architecture?
Support Provided By

53:40
This look at Los Angeles’ Olvera Street is part-history lesson and part-immersion in stereotype of the birthplace of Los Angeles.

50:40
For more than 20 years, Doug Aitken has shifted the perception and location of images and narratives. His diverse works demonstrate the nature and structure of our ever-mobile, ever-changing, image-based contemporary condition.

56:30
Frank Lloyd Wright accelerated the search for L.A.'s authentic architecture. This episode explores the provocative theory that his early homes in L.A. were also a means of artistic catharsis for Wright.

2:29:48
“Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch’s Accuser” considers the usage of “female Hysteria” throughout the decades in operatic form.

50:10
Artbound explores the groundbreaking opera "Hopscotch," which unfolded in cars zigzagging throughout Los Angeles, telling a single story of a disappearance across time.

55:40
Architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne partners with Artbound for an episode that looks into the future of Los Angeles.

51:43
USMC Sergeant Christian Ellis was a machine gunner in Iraq, whose platoon was ambushed, leaving him with a broken back and only one of a few survivors.

57:07
Artbound explores the programming of the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, featuring The Underground Museum, Wolvesmouth, and Public Fiction.

58:18
The highly skilled labor of artisans migrating from Mexico and Latin America are the backbone of high-end design and retail in Los Angeles.

55:25
In this new season, Artbound travels back to pre-industrial Los Angeles to explore one of its key and most controversial figures – Charles Lummis.

54:03
"Artbound" celebrates Black History Month with a special episode featuring the work of African American artists.