What’s Happening: All eyes will soon be on Los Angeles as the reigning capital of car culture scrambles to prepare for a “transit-first” 2028 Olympics.

The Download: Now that Paris has turned the page on the 2024 Olympics, eyes are creeping over to Los Angeles, which is preparing to host the Games in 2028. It’s turning out to be a touchy subject—according to a 2023 survey, a mere 57 percent of Angelenos believe the event will be positive for the city, citing fears of gentrification and worsening the homelessness crisis. It doesn’t help that the Olympics have a reputation for guzzling taxpayer funds to build giant stadiums that are summarily abandoned. Much like in Paris, though, L.A. wants to go green and turn a profit. It plans to use existing sports facilities: track at the Coliseum, swimming at SoFi Stadium, basketball at Intuit Dome, and gymnastics at Crypto Arena. Instead of building a multibillion-dollar Olympic Village, athletes will simply post up at UCLA dormitories.

City officials have also positioned the occasion as a hard deadline to realize 28 by ‘28, the dozens of major infrastructure projects—expanding rail transit, revamping LAX, and renovating the convention center—that aim to improve life in the region long after the closing ceremony. Mayor Karen Bass went so far as to say the Games will be “no-car.” That’s a tricky proposition: Metro ridership is at 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels, fears are percolating about the system’s ability to handle more commuters, and several of 28 by ‘28’s projects have been stalled due to budgetary woes. While it’s hard to fault transit-averse Angelenos from dreading snarled traffic during those two weeks, plans are in place to ease congestion that involve borrowing 2,700 buses. They can also look back to 1984, the last time L.A. hosted the Games. More frequent bus schedules and staggered working hours yielded lighter traffic, which the Los Angeles Times dubbed “automotive nirvana.” With the rise of remote work, that may again be within reach.

In Their Own Words: Not everyone is convinced of the plan’s success, especially when it comes to expanding rail transit. “The rail system has been greatly diminishing,” James Moore, founding director of University of Southern California’s transportation and engineering program, told NBC. “If they actually want to get this right, they’re going to need a lot more transit capacity than they have or can ever deliver with these incremental rail projects.”

Surface Says: At least the athletes won’t have to swim in the Los Angeles River.

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Perched among the cedar-shingled architecture of Nantucket, chef-restaurateur Gabriel Frasca’s Straight Wharf Fish toes the line of casual coastal charm and serious culinary—and design—chops. After honing his skills in the kitchens of Michelin-caliber chefs throughout Europe, Frasca started at Straight Wharf in 2003, progressing from chef to chef-restaurateur. Now, with the help of Workshop/APD, he’s reimagined the casual “clam shack” companion to the Nantucket fine dining institution.

The new space’s blond wood interiors offer ambiance in spades, with a blend of Scandinavian and Shaker sleekness of form. Against a backdrop brick, saddle-toned leather, and creamy white accents, guests can indulge in classic New England summer fare. Crowd-pleasers include a brown butter warm lobster roll, the chuck “I’d Definitely Smash That Burger,” and befitting its positioning as a clam shack, steamed clams frites.

These editors don’t often hear of a restaurant being the jumping-off point for a collectible design gallery, but Antiparos bar and restaurant Bardot was exactly that for Thanasis Panourgias and Harry Spyrou. Now, the restaurateurs and their Bardot collaborators—architects Andreas Kostopoulos and James McNally of Manhattan Projects—have unveiled Maison Bardot. Warm and evocative of its island locale, the gallery layers texture, light, and spatial vignettes to create a captivating space in which to collaborate with partner galleries. The first exhibition, staged with Athens-based gallery Antiqua, is a heavy-hitter with pieces by Ettore Sottsass, Afra and Tobia Scarpa, and Gaetano Pesce on view.

Andreea Avram Rusu brings a painterly sensibility and an exploratory spirit to her Brooklyn design practice, which she launched in 2004 after working as an architect but finding herself wanting more sculptural lighting options. To say the Romanian-born talent’s free-flowing fixtures fit the bill is an understatement—she channels her background as an architect, tango dancer, and child of scientists into dramatic luminaires inspired by the outdoors, from marine seascapes and botanical gardens to the magical energy of supernovas.

When: Until Oct. 28

Where: Kunsthalle Praha

What: Lucia Moholy’s photography played a key role in promoting the Bauhaus, but often went uncredited. This show, curated by Meghan Forbes, explores her diverse career, including her struggles to reclaim her negatives after fleeing Nazi Germany and her contributions to early information science, critically examining the dynamics that overshadowed her legacy.

Founded in 2008, AUX Architecture designs the future for people, institutions, and communities. Led by Brian Wickersham, the Los Angeles–based practice brings craft and clarity to designs at every scale, from hearth to urban realm. Collaboration is the soul of the studio—the 40-person team of designers works closely with clients to produce sophisticated environments ranging from single and multi-family residential homes to commercial and cultural buildings.

Surface Says: Since AUX Architecture opened 15 years ago, the firm’s star has risen continuously. It’s a rare treat to see a home-grown studio so deftly rise to the occasion of projects spanning residential, the arts, civic spaces, and beyond.

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