Kanye's 'Star Wars' Solution for Affordable Housing: Concrete Domes in Calabasas

UPDATE from Housing Wire:

5 days ago - Kanye West's venture into affordable housing may be coming to an abrupt end thanks to his angry Calabasas neighbors . . .

Here's what Kanye West's idea of affordable housing looks like, and why it may never be realized

Neighbors want rapper's Star Wars-inspired domes demolished

August 13, 2019

Jessica Guerin

. . . Last month, a recent Forbes profile of the rapper-turned-designer revealed that West is working on designing prefabricated, low-income housing with a Star War’s aesthetic, shopping the idea to investors as a potential housing solution for the homeless. . .

After at least two calls to the City of Los Angeles regarding late-night construction noise, an inspector dispatched to the property for a second time determined that the structures did not appear temporary in nature and would therefore require permits before more building could commence.
West’s team has 45 days to secure the proper permits, or authorities will demand the prototypes be taken down.
(Photos courtesy of L.A. County Public Works)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's take a look from two different directions - but first a thank-you from an early morning news-feed from Axios 3 hours ago that stated TMZ "broke the news" 4 days ago:
Kanye West's plan to solve the affordable housing problem
by Shane Savitsky

"Kanye West has become the latest mogul to embark on a world-saving venture, building 50-foot-high wooden domes in California for a secret housing project that the rapper "believes will break the barriers that separate classes," according to a TMZ report.

Why it matters: The uber-rich are increasingly using their wealth — Kanye is worth $240 million, per Forbes — to personally design projects that they believe will fundamentally alter the way humans will live in the future . . .

The state of play: While Kanye might be viewed as something of a dilettante — often jumping between music, fashion and design — he's had his eye on the architecture space for over a year.

And he told fellow rapper Charlamagne Tha God last year that he wants "to be one of the biggest real-estate developers of all time" while the two toured the Calabasas property on which the domes would ultimately be built.

"We're standing on my first property. I’m going to be one of the biggest real-estate developers of all time, what Howard Hughes was to aircrafts and what Henry Ford was to cars — just the relationships I have with architects, my understanding of space and sacred proportions, Just this new vibe, this new energy. We're gonna develop cities."

The other side: Experts doubt that Kanye's project could ever actually scale to make a dent in Los Angeles' housing problem. "You would need to build 100,000 of these every year for the next 10 years to scratch the housing backlog," Tyler Drew, president of Anubis Properties Inc., told Realtor.com.

• He also cited the city's zoning laws and its activist, "not-in-my-backyard" population as roadblocks to ever seriously expand Kanye's affordable housing concept.
• Such zoning restrictions, which disproportionately impact low-income residents and people of color, limit cities from getting denser and are often the primary drivers of exploding housing costs in booming cities, as Axios' Erica Pandey reported. "

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1 from Dish Nation in an upload to YouTube

published on Aug 1, 2019 that seems NIMBY

Kanye West aims to end homelessness with... domes?
Yeezy plans to build a housing community on 300 acres of land he purchased. Tune in to find out why the hosts think the people of Calabasas won't be too happy about this . . .
LINK > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP4jClEQJZw
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Now one from Forbes, contributed by Lauren Alvarez | Hollywood & Entertainment

3,332 views July 31, 2019, 10:44pm

A Look At Kanye West's Dome Housing Community In Calabasas

Kanye West hasn't been quiet about his efforts to build affordable housing that will ultimately help bridge the gap between social classes. But now, there's proof of it. West is up to a new project currently under development, implementing new dome-like structures in Calabasas, California.

He is ultimately making these structures in attempt to eliminate divisions between different levels of income classes, but not much has been said as to how individuals can qualify for the buildings. The domes are located on land he bought in the area, and they stand tall at approximately 50 feet high.
In a recent profile with Forbes, the Chicago rapper revealed he had plans of building a Star Wars-inspired accommodation to help with low-income housing on 300 acres of California land. The initial plan was announced on Twitter by Yeezy himself last year in May. He stated on the platform:

We’re starting a Yeezy architecture arm called Yeezy home. We’re looking for architects and industrial designers who want to make the world better."

Yeezy Home is working on affordable housing, which is being called the Social Housing Project, according to Hypebeast.
While the dome-like structures are still in early development, it's sure to change the game in the current housing market today, specifically and especially in Los Angeles, a city where the homeless population is at a soaring high and a continuing topic of discussion.
Will there ever be a viable solution? It's unsure, but Kanye is trying his best...
For a first look at the housing initiative, head here for full demonstration photos."
Here's the bio for Lauren Alvarez: writer, music critic, and digital producer born and raised in Los Angeles. My extensive work in music, entertainment, and pop culture has appeared in Billboard an...
LINK > https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenalvarez/2019/07/31 
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