When Schindler built the Mackey Apartments in 1939, he may well have imagined it as a place where artists, architects and students would come from around the world to live, work, get inspired and invite culturati to see their projects. But he probably didn't envision the apparition of a bright, shuttle-size open box, flooded with light, where the public would come to see the residents' experiments. Although the artists' occupancies of the backyard's five-bay garage and the paved courtyard that separates it from the main edifice as studios were a charming adventure, its rickety nature and quirky inconveniences were just the tiniest bit out of sync with the often tech-obsessed work of younger generations. The main building where the residents live and work remains a masterfully restored landmark of architecture in its own original right, but the gorgeously improbable modern gallery space over the garage in back speaks volumes as to adaptive reuse, out-of-the-box thinking, architecture-based artistry and commitment to aesthetic progress that the MAK Center program represents in Los Angeles. Check the website for regular tours and exhibitions. 1137 S. Cochran Ave., Mid-City. (323) 651-1510, makcenter.org/MAK_Residency_Program.php?section=2.

—Shana Nys Dambrot