The Palisades
—by Luca Hanazawa Dal Bello, Founder

Growing up in New York, I never truly understood what it meant to belong to a community. Life moved fast—people brushed past each other on the streets, strangers came and went, and familiar faces were rare. It was a city full of motion, but somehow, it felt isolating.

That all changed when I was five.

My family moved to the Palisades. I didn’t know it yet, but I had arrived somewhere that would shape who I am. My first week was a blur of new faces at Pali Rec, lunch at the old Panda Express, and unfamiliar streets that slowly began to feel like home.

Over time, those new faces returned. They became friends. They became family. And without even realizing it, I became part of something bigger—something rooted in shared memory, laughter, and growth.

The Palisades gave me what New York never could: a sense of belonging.

But it was my Japanese heritage that taught me how to observe, preserve, and create. I spent part of my childhood in Tokyo, where tradition lives in detail and care is a form of artistry. Through ATAM, a makerspace once located at 881 Alma Real Drive, I discovered 3D printing and design—and realized that storytelling and building could be one and the same.

We are a family of makers. In sixth grade, my brother and I tried to break a Guinness World Record by building the largest pair of shoes—right in our front yard. It was messy, ambitious, and a little ridiculous… but it was ours. That spirit—of dreaming big with our hands—has never left us.

Japan also taught us something else: how to endure. Natural disasters are part of daily life there. My brother designed a prototype for a temporary shelter to support people displaced by fire, earthquake, or economic hardship. I make and teach how to make men’s clothing online—because skill-sharing is another form of resilience.

Rebuilding Memory began as a way for me to process what was lost in the Palisades fire. But it’s become much more—a tribute to the places and people that shaped me: Palisades, Altadena, and Japan.

Because home isn’t just where we live.
It’s what we build—together.