AD PRO - Nick Mafi on Capturing LA’s Loss

77 Stories Shared

As we watched the worst fires in Los Angeles history spread across the city, the editors at AD came together to discuss the horrors being witnessed. Families fleeing their homes; entire neighborhoods safe at sunrise only to be reduced to ash by nightfall; to say nothing of those lives lost. The span of the North American continent was no match to the togetherness we felt, here in New York City, with our West Coast neighbors. We began to discuss the Los Angeles of yesterday, and the day before—how could we crystallize that city; ensuring, in our own imperfect way, that generations could always know what was once there; what was once theirs?

We decided to interview 77 Los Angelenos, asking them to pay tribute to a structure that was lost in the fires. Among those interviewed, a handful of designers based in the impacted region spoke about the heartbreak of watching clients lose a project that had finally been realized, and the pain of saying goodbye to their own personal homes and shops. What we learned from the interviewees’ answers is that the built environment is a universal experience; the many ways in which it emotionally affects individuals and communities, and how those emotions provide a sense of joy, identity, and place. We hope you’ll join us in reading their stories and memorializing what was lost.

—Nick Mafi, Senior Digital Features Editor, AD

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