Q&A; : What makes L.A. a more pleasing place to be?

Michael Rotondi, an L.A. native, is director of the Southern California Institute of Architecture:

Currently my favorite city space is part of a ritual that began two years ago. We dine on a Friday night at Nicola in Downtown Los Angeles and afterward walk through the financial district up to Bunker Hill and back again. The city center late at night is quiet and still, like the countryside.