Los Angeles: 2009

The Interior Design Program embarked upon its annual Research Studio—this time heading directly to the southlands of Los Angeles.

The course—Guerilla Interiors: Designing the New Los Angeles Beauty School for the Disenfranchised and Tragically Hip—was led by Chip Minnick and Katherine Lambert (Interior Design adjunct professor and chair) and was accompanied by architect Matthew Mills and interior designer Cynthia Kent Mills.

The jam-packed three-day-one-night expedition included a one-on-one presentation by architectural and design studio Ball-Nogues. This was followed by in-depth viewings of CalTrans Building (Morphosis Studios); the Comme des Garçon Guerilla Store; The Disney Concert Hall (Gehry Partners); the L.A. High School #9 (Coop Himmelb(l)au); LA Eyeworks (NMDA-Inc.); Trina Turk Retail (the House of KWID); as well as the alleys and interstitial spaces of downtown Los Angeles and Chinatown.

As a nod to the midcentury architectural and design legacy of Los Angeles, the class was granted an on-site tour by the lively photographer Julius Shulman, the 97-year-old icon of Los Angeles Modernism. He graciously opened his case study house/studio (designed by Ralph Soriano) to welcome CCA's Interior Design study group.

This annual exploratory research course has been honored by direct funding from RMW architecture & interiors and Architectural Foundation of San Francisco, whose mentorship and support has proved invaluable to CCA students.