September Series: Interview with Helen Leung and Elizabeth Timme
September Series: Interview with Helen Leung and Elizabeth Timme
An interview with Helen Leung and Elizabeth Timme of LA-Más, an urban design non-profit organization known for its multidisciplinary and contextual approach to engagement, public policy, and design. Helen and Elizabeth discuss how they've adapted their practice in response to COVID-19, potential solutions to the affordable housing crisis in LA, and how they work to actively include the voices of community members.
In her role as Co-Executive Director at LA-Más, Helen works on strategies for minimizing displacement pressures stemming from gentrification. In addition to her work at LA-Más, Helen serves on the Los Angeles City Planning Commission and is a member of Genesis LA’s Community Advisory Board.
Co-Executive Director Elizabeth Timme co-founded LA-Más because she saw a need for a design approach to be integrated early on in the process of public projects. She believes designers can help create a unified vision, identify creative alternatives, and work in partnership with communities. She serves on the Zoning Advisory Committee of RE: Code LA, which aims to transform the city's outdated zoning code.
September Series: A PLAT Journal + Tête-à-Tête Collaboration
The September Series arose out of conversations between Tête-à-Tête and PLAT Journal at the start of the summer, and after the end of an unprecedented semester. With students scattered around different cities in the U.S. and beyond, a global pandemic turning the world on its side, and a racial and political reckoning on the horizon, we felt it was imperative to come together digitally with educators and architects and ask them: Where do we go from here? This collaborative series, self-reflective in nature, is composed of conversations about how architects and educators navigate through these complex times, how they work and teach differently—with some personal stories added to the mix.
This episode was produced by Siobhan Finlay, Lindsey Chambers, and Jessica LaBarbera. The series is organized by PLAT journal and Tête-à-Tête.