Michael Maltzan, Is Good Architecture a Luxury?

After launching his architecture career in Los Angeles over 20 years ago, Michael Maltzan quickly distinguished himself with socially conscious buildings that depart from the hulking luxury structures of celebrity architects. His housing projects for the homeless – including the Rainbow Apartments on San Pedro, the recently completed New Carver Apartments on 17th and Hope, and the forthcoming Star Apartments at Sixth and Maple – provide protection, beauty, and services for a community more accustomed to unadorned and blocky shelter. His Inner-City Arts campus, designed inventively and built cost-effectively, provides children a place to learn in the heart of Skid Row. And he transformed the Hammer Museum’s courtyard into a more inviting and open space with the Billy Wilder Theater and café. Maltzan visited Zócalo to talk with KCRW’s Frances Anderton about his work, whether good design can be affordable, and how architecture shapes our lives. This event is made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.