Westedge Features Palisades Panel at Design Fair

The panel at the Westedge Design Fair that spoke on rebuilding was (left to right) Allison Holdorff Pohill, Rob Jernigan, May Sung, Sue Kohl Ron Marome Reza Akef and Matt Talley.

More than 9,000 people toured the 10^th annual Westedge Design Fair that was held at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica November 20-22. The fair showcased the best in modern design and premium home furnishings from art to cabinet handles to wood flooring options to exquisite tiles and outdoor options such as barbeques. Normally exhibitors pay handsomely for a space to feature products.

The year the fair had a different mission to support those communities affected by the fires. Charitable partners included Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles and their ReBUILD LA Recovery Fund and Team Palisades, which were provided space at the fair.

There were two days of panel talks and industry forums, under the inaugural theme “Seeing the Forest Through the Trees.”  Panels ranged from “Inspired by Nature: Exterior Spaces Built to Last” to “Kitchen rEvolution: Crafted, Curated Spaces Created for an Evolving Clientele” to “Enduring Modernism: A Retrospective with Marmol Radziner.” https://westedgedesignfair.com/2025-panel-talks/

Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner of Marmol Radziner are designing several homes in Pacific Palisades and the talk was moderated by Mayer Rus of Architectural Digest.

They were followed on Saturday by “Home Again: How the Palisades is Reclaiming Its Future” presented by TeamPalisades and Building Green, sponsored by Fleetwood Windows and Doors. The room was packed for the presentation.

Moderated by Palisadian Allison Holdorff Polhill, it featured local builder Reza Akef (Polaris Homes); Sue Kohl (Pacific Palisades Community Council President); Ron Marome (Fleetwood Windows and Doors); Palisadians Rob Jernigan (Clayco) and May Sung (SUBU Design Architecture); and Matt Talley (Formerly of AECOM).

It was noted that “Since areas of Los Angeles burned to the ground in January, 2025, the world around us has jumped in with opinions on how to rebuild.  We’ve heard from the government, the academics, and the various disaster organizations and professionals around us.”

This was an opportunity for community experts to speak.

Polhill set the tone, “How do we get you back in your home? Everyone has their own story. It’s complicated,” she said. “What we do could have implications for other disasters.”

Kohl spoke for many when she said that after the fire, “My whole life was planned and then it all went out the window.” And as she tried to decide whether to build or not, she said, “It was causing me too much stress” and not knowing if she had money or insurance “I took a leap of faith” and she is rebuilding.

As an expert, Marome suggested that it was important that one understands the building materials that one chooses because, “Building materials matter.”

Jernigan emphasized that “Nothing is more important that getting back into the home” but that the city should also be dealing with infrastructure because historically, once the area became popular the infrastructure couldn’t handle what was being built.

Talley chimed in that January 7 was a wakeup call and that there were single points of failure such as evacuations, aging pipes and infrastructure. He said that DWP has committed to undergrounding, but that all city agencies needed to be on the same page. “That doesn’t mean that every street will be undergrounded, some areas may not,” Talley said and predicted most of the construction will happen in 2027 and 2028.

Akef also pointed out that city agencies were not working together. “Until we get the single line of truth” (about what will or will not be done with the public right of way in the street), “we can’t rebuild.”

Jernigan agreed and said, “What frustrates me it is so difficult to figure out how to hook up the houses (regarding electricity and undergrounding). As a community we need to figure these things out now.”

Kohl added “I wish I had known before I started my house how the electricity hookup was going to work. I wish DWP would produce information for everybody.”

Sung said, “Even before the fire this city was a mess.”

Polhill asked for a final thought from the panelists before they took questions from the audience.

Jernigan said “Persistence. We are better together to divide and conquer. We need to operate with a much louder voice with the City. We’re getting no help. They screwed up, pure and simple.”

Sung warned residents of Los Angeles “What’s happened to us could happen to anyone else.”

Jernigan pointed out that “You have to look at the authority structure. Our Councilwoman (Traci Park) has done everything she could – but she’s only one of 15. We need to reach the other 14 members and let them know how much we’re hurting. Unfortunately, there’s a stigma about the Palisades.”

Many councilmembers see the Palisades as a rich enclave and don’t realize the large number of seniors  that were living on a fixed income, the homes that were passed down from family to family and purchased when Pacific Palisades was considered too far from downtown and not a desirable place to live. Members of the City Council don’t see the number of people living on fixed incomes in the three mobile home parks, which all burned. They didn’t the significant number of people living in rent-controlled apartments who were also burned out with no place to go.

TeamPalisades was given a space at the Westedge Design Fair.

(Editor’s note: The panel was taped and a video compiled by Josh Cooperman will be available at the beginning of January. Cooperman said if the names of those who lost their lives in the January fire is available, he would put them in the show note links.