Westwood LA
Westwood is one of Los Angeles’ great neighborhoods, still not well known and/or understood. As a former resident and a frequent visitor of it, I am bringing a personal perspective, in the belief that an awareness of its qualities may carry a message meaningful to other cities, American and around the world.
The video that follows deals with problems of traffic, density, heritage, identity, cultural mix and environmental quality through images and interviews, at time humorous. It unveils some secrets mostly unknown to its residents, such as a cemetery hidden by high-rise buildings at its very center, where many famous movie stars are buried. It takes the viewer through its history evolving from being a countryside less than a century ago through its development based upon the dream of creating “a second Hollywood” (and the beginning of the 20th Century Fox studios.)
[embedvideo id=”91799734″ website=”vimeo”]
WESTWOOD LA from Rick Meghiddo on Vimeo.
It also presents my own view on some challenges for a sustainable future, including the creation of safe bike routes, growing vegetables on roofs and balconies, a widespread presence of public art and the creation of an aerial train between UCLA’s campus and Westwood’s main boulevard.
Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rick Meghiddo is an architect and a filmmaker. As an architect, he focuses on innovative work that is sustainable, aesthetic, and budget-conscious, looking at each project as an opportunity to rethink solutions to conventional problems. As a filmmaker, he brings his "architect eye" to help non-professionals and professionals better understand the meaning, value, and complexities of architecture and art.
Born, Argentina, he studied architecture at the University of Buenos Aires, at the Technion in Israel, and earned his M. Arch from UCLA and his Dottore in Architettura from the University of Rome. Following over three decades of practice as an architect in Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and Rome, he produced and directed over one hundred documentaries, mostly on architecture and art.
Rick is also a registered journalist with USPA and a published poet. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, and oral French. Selected works in architecture, photography, art, and poetry can be seen in http://meghiddoarchitects.com/ His documentaries can be seen in http://archidocu.com/ and in http://architectureawareness.com/
Born, Argentina, he studied architecture at the University of Buenos Aires, at the Technion in Israel, and earned his M. Arch from UCLA and his Dottore in Architettura from the University of Rome. Following over three decades of practice as an architect in Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, and Rome, he produced and directed over one hundred documentaries, mostly on architecture and art.
Rick is also a registered journalist with USPA and a published poet. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, and oral French. Selected works in architecture, photography, art, and poetry can be seen in http://meghiddoarchitects.com/ His documentaries can be seen in http://archidocu.com/ and in http://architectureawareness.com/
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