Related has unveiled preliminary plans for L.A.'s crucial Grand Avenue project. Urban design journalist Morris Newman is underwhelmed.
"While views may vary on the quality of the development, few Angelenos question the importance of the Grand Avenue project, proposed by The Related Companies of New York. With 3 million square feet planned in multiple residential towers, a high-rise office building and assorted retail buildings, Grand Avenue is a critical connecting point in a large and fragmented downtown area.
...Beyond architecture, Grand Avenue as proposed and its surrounding blocks seem almost swamped by the intensity of the development as determined by public officials.
...This is a high-rise scheme, first and foremost, where the activity on the ground appears to be a secondary consideration. Instead of a project that began with the consideration of open space, the spaces and public uses look like mitigations of the high-rise scheme."
Thanks to Peter Slatin
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