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“Frances Anderton, with her characteristic humor, intelligence, and curiosity, has written a beautiful book on the power of architecture for multi-family housing. Part architectural memoir, part call to arms, this book will get people looking at and thinking about multi-family architecture in a new way.” —Frank Gehry, architect

Join design critic Frances Anderton on Zoom for a free reading from her new book Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles.

Living in Los Angeles has always been equated with the suburban single-family home with a big backyard. But for decades, L.A. has also been the consummate laboratory for exceptional experiments in multifamily housing — dwellings centered on shared open space, from the central courtyard to the rooftop garden. In Common Ground: Multifamily Housing in Los Angeles, Anderton explores that fascinating history— from the bungalow courts and apartment-hotels of the 1910s, through the development of garden apartments, to contemporary mid-rise “urban villages” and co-living spaces.

Common Ground features the work of the Zwebells, R.M. Schindler, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Ralph Vaughn, Koning Eizenberg, Sean Knibb, Michael Maltzan, Brooks + Scarpa, Lorcan O’Herlihy, Shin Shin, and many more. In a time of housing crisis, Frances Anderton makes the case that well-designed, equitable, connected living is tomorrow’s American dream.

Frances Anderton covers Los Angeles design and architecture in print, podcasts, exhibitions, and at public events. For many years Anderton hosted DnA: Design and Architecture, broadcast on KCRW, a public radio station. Her honors include the Esther McCoy Award, bestowed by the USC Architectural Guild at USC School of Architecture, for her work in educating the public about architecture and urbanism. Anderton resides in Santa Monica, California.

Glass House Presents is an ongoing series of talks, performances, and other live events that extend the site’s historic role as a gathering place for artists, architects, and other creative minds. This event is co-hosted by New Canaan Library and supported in part by the New Canaan Community Foundation.