When the January 2025 wildfires damaged his family's Pacific Palisades home and devastated much of the surrounding community, Loyola High School junior Luca Dal Bello received money to replace what he had lost. He chose instead to fly to Japan and commission professional miniature makers to recreate the neighborhood itself.
The result, an exhibition of more than 50 hand-crafted scale models of homes, schools, churches, restaurants and landmarks from the Palisades, opens May 30 at EMECO House in Venice under the name Palisades Collective. The show runs through June 21.
"I didn't really feel the need to replace my toys or clothes," Dal Bello said. "What I felt I had truly lost overnight was the community itself, and that's what I wanted to bring back."
The collection includes the United Methodist Church of Pacific Palisades, the Robert Bridges House, the 1920s Will Rogers Ranch House, the Topanga Ranch Motel, Palisades Elementary School, St. Matthews Elementary School and lost neighborhood gathering spots such as Toppings, Cafe Vida and Moonshadows. The exhibition also features more than 10 personal memory pieces and a large-scale coastal diorama. An additional 20 to 30 Altadena models are in production through summer 2026.
Many of the structures were not chosen for their architectural significance. Dal Bello built the project around what residents themselves submitted through a website and social media account.
"Many of the buildings aren't famous landmarks or architecturally important sites," he said. "They're schools, churches, local restaurants, after-school hangout spots, and places where people gathered and built memories together."
Dal Bello, who is half Japanese, traveled to Japan to commission the work from artists including the architecture model maker Yamato Kougei and miniature food artist Fukumaruko. Photographer Trish Alison also contributed to the exhibition.
"I grew up appreciating Japan's craftsmanship and attention to detail," he said. "Japan has a strong culture of miniature making, from architecture and train models to food replicas and tiny everyday scenes, and they can look incredibly real. I felt that level of craftsmanship could help preserve these memories in a meaningful way."
Dal Bello said he has not yet returned to his own home because rebuilding and remediation remain underway for many families. He described the miniature-making process as a form of closure.
"It's hard seeing the things you treasure most, even ordinary, everyday places, burned and replayed over and over in the news," he said. "But miniatures feel different. They freeze moments in time and space forever. For me, this process has been healing. It gives me a sense of closure knowing these memories are now permanently preserved."
The exhibition pairs the models with oral histories, touchscreen stations, QR-based storytelling and workshops. Visitors can select miniature figures and place themselves inside the models. Through a partnership with StoryCorps, recordings collected at the exhibition will be archived at the Library of Congress.
The venue itself carries a personal connection. EMECO House owner Jaye Buchbinder lives in Dal Bello's neighborhood and also lost her home in the fire. A miniature of her burned atelier is among the works on display.
"I created the name 'Palisades Collective' because the project is really about collective memory," Dal Bello said.
Programming during the run includes an artist talk with Yamato Kougei at the May 30 opening, an architect talk on June 4 featuring UCLA architecture professor Hitoshi Abe, and a closing talk on June 21 with Alison. On June 8, students from Palisades Elementary and St. Matthews will gather at YMCA Simon Meadow to record oral histories, make memory keychains and create 2D self-portraits that will become part of a school miniature destined for the Los Angeles Public Library.
Fashion Girls for Humanity, the fiscal sponsor of the project and the organization led by Dal Bello's mother, Kikka Hanazawa, will present grant checks of $5,000 to $10,000 to every affected elementary and middle school at the opening. A temporary shelter designed by Dal Bello's brother, Kai, in collaboration with ETH Zurich's Chair of Architectural Behaviorology, will also be displayed and donated to a Palisades resident who lost a home.
The Los Angeles Public Library is in discussions to host a traveling presentation later in the year, and the Eames Foundation is scheduled to host a pop-up version of the exhibition in July or August 2026.
Dal Bello said the project has expanded his sense of the community he set out to preserve.
"Before the fire, many of us mostly knew people within our own schools or circles," he said. "Through this project, I've met neighbors, students, artists, volunteers, and families from across the community that I otherwise never would have met."
Admission is free. EMECO House is located at 507 Boccaccio Ave. in Venice.