Slanted Sensitivity

0

When the average person walks through the new L.A. Live complex next to Staples Center, he may notice the large plaza or see the spectacle of flashing video screens.

But when Jay Clark walks through, he sees a big ramp.

Clark is the project architect of L.A. Live, and as such, he notices the things that architects and engineers obsess about. Like the development’s ventilation and drainage systems.

“As important as it is to make the building aesthetically beautiful, all these various functional things have to happen to make a place like that work,” said Clark, vice president in RTKL’s downtown L.A. office.

On a recent tour of the project, Clark pointed out some of the complex issues of the project, including the challenges presented by the property itself.

L.A. Live is built on land that slopes down by about four feet in a southwesterly direction from the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street. That creates drainage issues. Indeed, the property is dotted with drainage vents that are hardly noticeable.

That’s important, he said, because “the entire project is a big ramp, it slopes at 1.5 degrees.”


Sitting In

For one night last week, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP associate Sara Brenner got to leave her business suit at home and don a gown. The New York native attended her first Academy Awards.

Brenner, 33, and a group of 20 Quinn Emanuel attorneys went to the Hollywood gala as seat fillers. Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a longtime Quinn Emanuel client, asks the L.A. firm to provide a group of lawyers who can fill up any unused seats to get a full house.

Of course, the Feb. 22 ceremony at the Kodak Theater was filled with a bevy of movie stars.

So, whom did Brenner run into?

“On my way out, I saw Leslie Mann, Judd Apatow’s wife and the sister in ‘Knocked Up,'” Brenner said. “I had a couple of close calls with some people. I just missed Meryl Streep.”

Although the event provided prime star gazing, the group received some additional perks.

“We got some goodies a poster, a hat and a program,” Brenner said. “And we got to walk down the red carpet afterward.”


Booked Solid

L.A.’s wealthiest came out to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wednesday to celebrate billionaire Lynda Resnick’s new marketing book, “Rubies in the Orchard.” Huffington Post founder and political pundit Arianna Huffington; LACMA Art Chief Executive Michael Govan; and Lynda’s husband, Stewart Resnick, hosted the invitation-only affair. During the evening, all three took turns congratulating Lynda, who wore a ruby red dress, on her first book-writing endeavor. And husband Stewart joked, “Behind every great woman, there is herself.”

The gala brought out media mogul Sumner Redstone, who chatted with movie producer Mike Medavoy, fashion designer Tom Ford, actor Dennis Hopper and music executive Irving Azoff. About 300 guests attended the event, and were served Pomtinis, Lynda’s signature martini made with Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice and Fiji bottled water. Both products – which are part of the Resnicks’ retail and agricultural company, Roll International Corp. – have gained popularity because of Lynda’s innovative marketing campaigns.


Staff reporters Daniel Miller and Alexa Hyland contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].

No posts to display