Helms Design District

Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture
2023-07-15 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-07-14 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-07-13 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-07-09 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-07-08 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-07-07 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-07-06 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-07-02 12:00 - 18:00 (America/Los_Angeles) and 5 more dates | Close to the Edge Exhibition, 8707 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture explores the multidimensional influence of hip-hop on our urban fabric.
Curated and designed by Sekou Cooke, and jointly presented by SoCalNOMA, the A+D Museum, and Helms Bakery District, this dynamic exhibition dives into the rich and vibrant world of hip-hop, from its fundamental elements of emceeing, b-boying, and graffiti, to its influence on the world of design and architecture.
The exhibition shows how hip-hop has been translated into the creation of innovative spaces and structures, effectively introducing a new narrative in architecture. The works on display include groundbreaking contributions from students, academics, and practitioners, ranging from experimental visualizations and innovative installations to façade studies and urban development proposals. Also on show: a wall newly graffitied by Los Angeles artist Prime.
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture is more than an exhibition. It’s a journey into a revolutionary design movement, revealing a shared vision for the future of architecture that’s deeply rooted in the core ethos of hip hop: identity, process, and aesthetics.
Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture opens on June 22, with an opening reception on June 24th from 6 pm to 9 pm. It will be accompanied by talks and tours presented by SoCal NOMA, A+D Museum, and Helms Bakery District.
Curator: Sekou Cooke
Exhibition Design: Sekou Cooke
Graffiti Artist: Prime
Artwork above: HHA Signifyin’ project by Nate Williams, 1993.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.
8707 Washington Blvd, Culver City CA 90232
Exhibition Dates: June 22 – September 17
Hours: Thursday – Sunday 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

RSVP HERE

Close to the Edge Exhibition at SpringBox in St.Paul, MN.

Close to the Edge exhibition at Center for Architecture, New York, NY. Photo Erik Bardin.

Close to the Edge Exhibition at SpringBox in St.Paul, MN.

LA Metro, LADOT, Walk ’n Rollers, and BikeLA host a community-based design workshop
2023-07-13 18:00 - 20:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join LA Metro, LADOT, Walk ’n Rollers, and BikeLA for a community- based design workshop and provide input on the proposed MAT Culver City First/Last Mile project list. The project aims to make the 1/2 mile radius around Culver City Metro Station easier to walk and bicycle. Limited availability. Please RSVP to bit.ly/CCExpo1stLastMile.

Westside Urban Forum Breakfast Talk: Reviving Transit Ridership
2023-06-29 07:45 - 09:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Reviving Transit Ridership
Thursday, June 29th, 2023
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City
8:30 am – 9:30 am PST
Doors open at 7:45 for registration, breakfast and networking.
RSVP Required!

Members Register Here

Nonmembers Register Here

Los Angeles County transit agencies are investing billions in new bus and rail infrastructure and services. Two new rail lines have opened on the Westside in the past ten years, with more to come. However, transit ridership is trending in the opposite direction. Ridership on the Los Angeles Metro system is down by approximately one third from pre-pandemic levels. Reasons include everything from work-from-home to increased crime and vagrancy, reduced service hours, and increased vehicle headways. And things could get even worse, as decreased farebox recovery and expiring pandemic emergency funds apply even more pressure to reduce levels of service. If Angelenos avoid the train and bus, opting for personal vehicles and Zoom, what does that mean for Los Angeles? Regionwide goals for reducing pollution and increasing transit-oriented development, walkability, and housing production are all at stake.
At WUF this month, LA Metro officials and transit advocates will survey the challenges facing Metro and other transit service providers. Join us for a panel discussion on ways to maintain transit service, attract riders, and make the most of the crucial infrastructure and civic amenity that the Los Angeles region needs.
Panelists
Steve Fiechter, Sr., Director of Metro Services, People Assisting the Homeless (PATH)
Daniel Rodman, Deputy Director Transportation, Mayor Karen Bass’s Office
Pamela Krebs, Executive Officer, Los Angeles Metro, Communications – Public Relations
Stephen Tu, Sr. Director for Operations, Los Angeles Metro
Moderator
Eli Lipmen, Executive Director, Move LA
Registration Fees
$50 Members
$65 Non-Members
$10 Student Members & Retired Members
$15 Student Non-Members & Retired Non-Members
Pre-registration closes on Wednesday, June 28th, at 4:00 PM. After Wednesday, June 28th, onsite registration will be available at the cost of an additional $10. No refunds or credits will be provided after this day.
Event Time
7:45 am – 9:30 am
7:45 am – Registration & Light Breakfast
8:30 am – Panel Discussion
Location
The Helms Design Center is located at the Helms Bakery campus at 8745 Washington Boulevard in Culver City.
Directions
Avoid the stress of rush hour and skip traffic! The Helms Design Center at 8745 Washington Blvd in Culver City is conveniently located a short, pleasant walk from a number of transit lines, including:

Metro Rail “E” (Expo) Line Culver City Station (1 block west at Washington and National Blvds), and
Culver City Bus “1” and “1C1” lines (at the adjacent Washington Blvd/Helms Avenue street corner).

Protected bike lanes along Washington Blvd. connecting to Culver City’s larger bike lane network also provide a convenient, safe way to get to the Design Center.
For those who choose to drive, parking is available in the adjacent interior parking garage at 8711 Washington Blvd (look for the red banners), or there is parking available throughout the Helms Bakery complex.
Parking Map
Sponsor Provided Tickets
Thanks to the generosity of our annual Sponsors, WUF has a small number of free tickets available to members of the community. If you are not able to join as a member or purchase a ticket for this month’s panel presentation, but would like to join us, please write us at info@westsideurbanforum.com to inquire if we have any remaining sponsor provided tickets.
Image: CartoonLover66 via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

Projecting "Design for the People"
2023-06-25 20:30, 2023-06-24 20:30, 2023-06-23 20:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
PosterTerritory presents 70+ posters by international designers and graphic artists to celebrate design, creativity, inclusiveness, freedom and love, to coincide with this year’s theme.
The exhibition will be projected each evening on the entrance of the Helms Design Center at 8745 Washington Boulevard for street-side viewing.
Poster Territory is a platform for graphic design campaigns, contemporary poster contests and art shows in cities across the US and around the world.
June 22 – June 25 | 8:30 pm – 1:00 am
Helms Design Center Projections
8745 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA

LEARN MORE

California Dreaming
2023-06-25 16:00 - 19:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
What does “California Dream” mean to you?
That’s the question that will be addressed by designers, architects and audience members gathering at the Helms Design Center on Sunday, June 25th, from 4 pm to 7 pm.
The event marks the recent publication of Architectural Design (AD) magazine’s California Dreaming issue, celebrating the latest in California design and architecture. Participating architects and writers – including Aaron Gensler, Alvin Huang, Benjamin Ball, Craig Hodgetts, Denise Bratton, Elena Manferdini, Erin Wright, Heather Flood, Jasmine Benyamin, Jill Stoner, Preliminary Research Office – will join a lively conversation with moderator Frances Anderton about the themes of the issue and the broader cultural impact of West Coast architecture and design. The dialogue will be followed by a public reception, and sales of the special issue.
California Dreaming is the final event for the Los Angeles Design Festival, a citywide celebration of “design for the people.” It is also one of the last issues of Architectural Design (AD), an influential magazine founded in London in 1930 that has advanced cutting edge technologies and ideas in architecture, and will cease publication in 2024.
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
Ambiance: DJ Caviar

RSVP HERE

Susan Maddux Art Exhibition
2023-06-25 12:00 - 18:00, 2023-06-24 12:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Los Angeles artist Susan Maddux uses origami-inspired folding to transform paintings, creating hybrid objects that exist in the space between painting and sculpture.
As a 4th generation hapa-Japanese born and raised in Hawaii with stints on the continent growing up, Maddux has a complex relationship with her heritage. This work explores reconnection with personal history and place through the transformation of material and the ritual of gesture.
Maddux has a degree in painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, and worked professionally as a surface pattern designer for many years. A decade ago, she began creating powerful pieces by gently folding paintings composed of repeating patterns. Forms that bring to mind a kimono or a cape began to appear, bringing together her interests in the figure, spirituality, and textiles.
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Design & Art In California, a curated collection of books by Cisco Home & Burntsienna Research Society
2023-06-25 12:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-24 10:00 - 17:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Cisco Home and Burntsienna Research Society have curated a collection of books centered around Design & Art in California for the Los Angeles Design Festival.
Cisco Home is honored to partner with Burntsienna Research Society, an independent institute of art book reference and design thinking founded by Jason EC Wright. Burntsienna builds reading rooms and programming around art and design books and teach principles on responsible research and design thinking.
Jason and the Cisco Home team look forward to welcoming you to view the Cisco Showroom and talk about design, books, art and beauty.
Cisco Home
8705 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232

Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip Hop Architecture Opening Party
2023-06-24 18:30 - 21:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join us in celebrating the launch of the acclaimed exhibition Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture at Helms Bakery District.
Close to the Edge is a dynamic exploration of hip hop’s impact on design and architecture — along with a fresh new work by the LA artist Prime. Meet the curator and show designer Sekou Cooke, the artist Prime, and the teams at Socal NOMA, A+D Museum and Helms Bakery District who are cohosting the show.
“Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip-Hop Architecture” is part of the Los Angeles Design Festival, whose theme is Design for the People. It will be on view through September 17.
Curator: Sekou Cooke
Exhibition Design: Sekou Cooke
Also on show: a wall newly graffitied by Los Angeles artist Prime.
8707 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Photo above: Close to the Edge exhibition at SpringBox in St.Paul, MN.

RSVP HERE

Curator Interview: Sekou Cooke
2023-06-24 17:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join us for a conversation with Sekou Cooke, curator of Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip Hop Architecture, and Nu Goteh of Deem Journal.
Sekou Cook is an architect, urban designer, researcher, and curator. Born in Jamaica and based in Charlotte, North Carolina, he is the Director of the Master of Urban Design program at UNC Charlotte, the 2021/2022 Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University, and a founding member of the Black Reconstruction Collective.
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

RSVP HERE

Close to the Edge Exhibition at SpringBox in St.Paul, MN.

Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip Hop Architecture Curator Led Walk-Through
2023-06-24 15:00 - 16:30 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join the A+D Museum and curator Sekou Cooke for a walkthrough and insightful discussion of Close to the Edge: The Birth of Hip Hop Architecture.
Gain unique insights into the exhibit as Sekou shares behind-the-scenes details and the innovative minds that bridge the world of hip hop and the built environment. From vibrant energy to evolving urban landscapes, explore how the ethos of hip hop has influenced architectural form and design.
8707 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
Photo: Close to the Edge exhibition at Center for Architecture, New York, NY. Photo Erik Bardin.

RSVP HERE

Foresight, Futuring, and Prospective Design
2023-06-24 15:00 - 16:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Nu Goteh of Deem Journal in conversation with Radha Mistry about foresight as practice and industry.
Radha Mistry is Arup’s Americas Foresight Leader and an Associate Principal in the Los Angeles office. Radha’s background spans architecture, narrative environments, and strategic foresight and she has been a leading voice in the development of foresight both in professional practice and academia, building foresight fluency across organizations like Autodesk, where she served as Foresight leader, and working with executive leadership to drive key foresight-led initiatives. Radha serves on the Foresight Advisory Council for the Middle East Institute and teaches as part-time faculty on the MFA Transdisciplinary Design program at The New School (Parsons) and the DesignMBA program at the California College of the Arts.
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232

Illusionistic Design: Art Informed by the Visual and Emotional Effects of Color
2023-06-23 16:00 - 17:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Curated by Saatchi Art
We will discuss the ways in which artists use principles of color theory to inform their art practice and ultimately how that affects the design space in which the artwork is placed. We will explore how color is able to evoke profound sensations, stir emotions, and communicate ideas and how artists harness the power of color to create visually captivating and emotionally resonant works.
Speakers: Kelsey Overstreet / Jayes Caitlin / Seda Saar
Helms Design Center
8745 Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232
June 23, 2023 | 4 pm – 5 pm

Open Studio with Room & Board and artist Marcos Lutyens
2023-06-23 14:00 - 18:00 | Room&Board, 3231 Helms Avenue, Culver City, CA, 90034
Free
Join Room & Board and local artist Marcos Lutyens, to view and explore one of a kind Olfactory Haptic therapeutic sculptures.
Olfactory Haptic sculptures aim to provide therapeutic benefits to neurodivergent people, enhancing their engagement with the environment and aiding in recovery. By activating multiple senses, these sculptures have the potential to evoke emotions, trigger healing responses, and contribute to overall mental well-being, with prospects for further development and application in treating various mental health challenges. The smells within the sculptures will include evocative aromas such as bubble gum, freshly cut grass, the fresh breeze of the ocean and more.
These fascinating Olfactory Haptic therapeutic sculptures will be on display and can be experienced during Open Studios at Room & Board.
Room & Board
3231 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034
June 23, 2023 | 2 pm – 6 pm

Helms Bakery District Open Studio Tours
2023-06-23 14:00 - 18:00 | Helms Design Center, 8745 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA, 90232
Free
Join the Helms Bakery District Showrooms for open studio tours.
Experience the latest interior and exterior collections from the Helms Bakery District showrooms and retailers. View the latest introductions and seek one-on-one guidance from the Helms design experts. The following showrooms and retailers will participate in Open Studios from 2:00-6:00 pm on Friday, June 23rd.
Arcana | Books on the Arts
Cisco Home | Furniture Showroom
H.D. Buttercup | Coco Republic | Furniture & Homewares
KOHLER Signature Store | Bathroom Fixtures & Home Accessories
Rejuvenation | Hardware, Lighting and Furniture
Room & Board | Home Furnishing, Retail
The Rug Warehouse | Fine Rugs and Carpets
The Shade Store | Window Treatment
The Splash Lab | Commercial Sinks, Fixtures, and Accessories Showroom
