Posts Tagged ‘Architecture’
The Barn: A. Quincy Jones
The former home and studio of mid-century modern architect A. Quincy Jones, known as “the Barn” was originally designed as a photographer’s studio in 1950. Located at 10300 Santa Monica Blvd, the traditional wood building was remodeled by Jones in 1965 after his home burned down in a hillside fire. The 3,729 square foot space features 35-feet high ceilings with a sky-lit multipurpose atrium surrounded by numerous living and studio spaces.
In 2008, Elaine Kollins Sewell Jones, Hon. AIA/LA, the famed architect’s widow, put the residence on the market, where it sat until November 2009 when it sold for $2M to the Annenberg Foundation, ensuring the Barn’s preservation and restoration.
The barn’s renovation was spearheaded by AIA award-winning architect Frederick Fisher. In an interview with Dwell in July 2010, Fisher explained why it was important to rehabilitate the Barn, even though Jones did not build the original structure. “Quincy Jones was one of the premiere California modernists out of the Case Study era, part of the second generation after Schindler and Neutra,” Fisher says. “The Barn was remodeled by him and so it has a very distinctly A.Q. Jones feel to the interior. It was his place of residence, his workplace and a place where many of the activities revolved around his being dean of the School of Architecture at USC.
“When you’re in that building, you really feel you’re in the environment of two very sensitive, design-oriented people,” he continues. “Elaine Jones, his wife, worked with Herman Miller. She and Quincy were friends of Charles and Ray Eames. So it’s not only a design environment. When you’re in it, you’re very much immersed in the ’60s and ’70s design ethos and in a piece of cultural history as well.”
See more photos of the Barn, including photos from the original MLS listing, after the break.
L.A. Conservancy’s “At Home With History” Tour
The Los Angeles Conservancy presents another in its popular home tour series “At Home with History” on Sunday, November 6th from 10am to 4pm. Visitors will get the opportunity to explore the historic neighborhoods of Los Angeles, known as Historic Preservation Overlay Zones, or HPOZs. They’ll be able to speak with docents as well as residents about their experience living in HPOZs, and see firsthand how owners create personal, livable homes while preserving their historic integrity.
This special, one-time-only tour will feature three relatively new HPOZs, coined “the triplet” by residents because of their close proximity: Country Club Park, Wilshire Park and Windsor Village. The three locations are adjacent to one another, sharing a border along Crenshaw Boulevard near Olympic Boulevard. Developed in the early to mid-twentieth century, each neighborhood has a unique and fascinating history and feature diverse styles of architecture.
“At Home with History” includes docent-led tours of six private homes:
- Mediterranean-style Milbank Mansion (G. Lawrence Stimson, 1913) in Country Club Park
- Restored 1911 Craftsman home in Country Club Park
- A Beaux-Arts/Italianate house, circa 1920, in Wilshire Park
- 1926 Mediterranean/Spanish Colonial Revival home in Wilshire Park
- French Eclectic apartment complex built in 1936 in Windsor Village
- Prairie-style home built in 1915 in Windsor Village
Tickets for this tour are $30 for Los Angeles Conservancy members, $40 for the general public, and $10 for kids 12 and under. You can purchase tickets online here.
(Photos by Larry Underhill)
AIA|LA 2011 Fall Home Tour Heads East
This Sunday, October 23, the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles heads east for its Fall 2011 Home Tour. At each of the four homes on the tour, visitors will have the opportunity to talk to the architects and docents and discover new ideas in design. Carlo Caccavale, AIA|LA associate director says, “We are very excited to go back to the East side–this is, in fact, an area of great modernist landmarks, and we are happy to help discover some terrific contemporary designs reflecting the style and the attitude of the East side neighborhood.”
The tour begins at a standout home in the Hollywood Hills and ends with a hidden wonder in Los Feliz:
- Green Greenberg House, Hollywood Hills – Beth Holden, New Theme, Inc. (There’s a great feature on this home at latimes.com.)
- Green Oak Drive, Los Feliz – Loren Judaken, HVJ Design
- 2651 Nichols Canyon, Hollywood Hills – Steve Kent, Steven Kent Architect
- Purdy Devis Residence, Los Feliz – Rebecca Rudolph & Linda Taalman, Taalman Koch Architecture
The homes will be open on Sunday, October 23 from 11am to 4pm, with the last entry at 3:45pm. Tickets are $65 for AIA members and $75 for non-members. For more information on the AIA|LA Fall Home Tour and to purchase tickets, go here.
(Image Source: Steven Kent, latimes.com)
Get Out LA: Eames House, Lovell Beach House Tours
The Lovell Beach House in Newport Beach was designed by Rudolph Schindler in 1926 and is considered one of the architect’s most important works. This Sunday, October 16, from 10am to 6pm, the home will be open to the public for guided tours. Tickets are $80 for friends of the MAK Center and $100 for the general public with proceeds benefiting the MAK Center. Attendees can choose their timeslot upon purchase, but note that space is extremely limited and tickets are selling out! After you enjoy the tour, relax on the beach–the MAK Center will have refreshments and activities. Tickets are available on the MAK Center website.
The Eames Foundation is also hosting a fundraiser this weekend, in the living room of the Eames House in Pacific Palisades. The contents of the room is currently on display at LACMA’s California Design, 1930-1965: “Living in a Modern Way”. During this time, the Eames Foundation is working on restoring the 60+ year old home. For the event, the living room will be restage according to vintage photographs taken during Charles and Ray’s earliest years in their home. Members of the Eames family, friends and former Eames staff will be on hand to answer questions. Tickets are $250, and all proceeds benefit the home’s restoration. Tickets are available on the Eames Foundation website or by calling (424) 229-4038.
MAK Center Fall Fundraiser 2011
October 16 from 10am-6pm
Lovell Beach House in Newport Beach
Eames Foundation Time Machine
October 15
The Eames House, 203 Chautauqua Blvd., Pacific Palisades
(Photo credit, top: R.M. Schindler Papers, Architecture and Design Collection, Art, Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara via latimesblogs; bottom: Stephen Canon, archdaily)
California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way”
Pacific Standard Time, the collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California coming together to tell the story of the birth of the LA art scene from 1945 to 1980, opens this weekend. And as part of this massive event, California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way” opens at LACMA.
The exhibition is the first major study of California mid-century modern design. With more than 350 objects–furniture, ceramics, metalwork, fashion and textiles, industrial and graphic design, and even surfboards and a Studebaker Avanti–the exhibition examines California’s role in shaping the material culture of the entire country. For the ambitious installation, LACMA sought out the talents of architects Craig Hodgetts and Ming Fung of Hodgetts + Fung. There’s an interview with them about the show on LACMA’s blog.
Most impressive? An exact recreation of the Eames House living room inside an Eames House-inspired frame! Curbed interviewed California Design’s co-curator Bobbye Tigerman about relocating the room, which had been perfectly preserved since 1988. Both links are definitely worth checking out before you see the show.
California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way”
October 1, 2011–March 25, 2012
LACMA’s Resnick Pavilion
5905 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(Photo Source: giantrobot, Elizabeth Daniels for Curbed)
Preserving Lautner’s Legacy: The Spectrum of Stewardship
As part of the year-long John Lautner Turns 100 series, The John Lautner Foundation and the Los Angeles Conservancy will co-present a panel discussion on Sunday, October 9, from 3pm-5pm at Wilshire Christian Church. Architects and owners of Lautner homes will explore various approaches to stewardship, from restoration to reconstruction and everything in between. The panelists will offer brief visual presentations of five recently renovated Lautner homes and share a range of views on sustaining the architect’s built legacy with the goal of advancing the discussion of preservation of Lautner (and other) structures in Los Angeles.
The panel will be moderated by Los Angeles Conservancy Executive Director Linda Dishman and will include:
- Helena Arahuete, Principal, Lautner Associates, discussing the Harvey Residence (1951)
- Frank Escher, board member, The John Lautner Foundation and Principal, Escher GuneWardena Architecture, discussing the Malin Residence (Chemosphere) (1960)
- Mark Haddawy, owner, Harpel House (1956)
- Michael LaFetra, Conservancy board member and owner/past owner of several Lautner homes, discussing the Rawlins Residence (1980)
- Ron Radziner, FAIA, Design Principal, Marmol Radziner, discussing the Garcia Residence (1962)
A reception will follow the panel discussion. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for members of either presenting organization. Space is limited, reservations are required, and you can purchase tickets through the Los Angeles Conservancy.
Preserving Lautner’s Legacy: The Spectrum of Stewardship
Sunday, October 9, 3pm-5pm
Wilshire Christian Church Fellowship Hall
634 South Normandie Ave. (at Wilshire Blvd.)
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(Photo Source: The Getty)
Structures & Style: Fashion Blueprints In West Hollywood
LA fashion gets a bad rap. It’s pointed to for flip flops at business meetings and dudes in bedazzled Ed Hardy. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find that the anti-fashion stereotype is only partly true. There’s certainly a fair share of Christian Audigier and teacup Pomeranians rolling around in designer purses, but there’s also incredible fashion and gorgeous architecture around every corner. It is the intersection of fashion and architecture that West Hollywood’s Structures & Style: Fashion Blueprints is exploring and celebrating this Saturday, August 27th.
Beginning at 11am, there will be a guided walking and shuttle tour. Participants will explore the latest architecture, design, and fashion concepts at some of the top boutiques in West Hollywood, including 3.1 Phillip Lim, H.L.N.R., Alberta Ferretti, Roseark and Church Boutique. The event will close with a reception catered by Craig’s at the new West Hollywood Library. You’ll drink and dine while viewing the murals created by Shepard Fairey, Retna and Kenny Scharf. Most importantly, all proceeds go to the WEHO Community Housing Corporation, which raises money to build affordable housing for low-income families.
Tickets for the Structures & Style: Fashion Blueprints are $185, but for Take Sunset readers, there’s a special insider rate of $110! Go here to purchase your discount tickets directly through PayPal. And for more information, a detailed schedule and map, go here.
Structures & Style: Fashion Blueprints
The New West Hollywood Library
625 N. San Vicente Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
August 27, 2011 from 11am – 3pm
Saving Richard Neutra’s Kronish House
9439 Sunset Boulevard
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
6 BR, 5.5 BA
$13,995,000
Update 8/3/2011: It was determined last night that the preservation community would work to find a buyer for the house over the “60 day cooling period,” which starts today. After that, the owners can apply for a Demolition Permit and get it, and then tear the house down 10 days later. Hopefully, blogs like your own will help find a preservation minded buyer!
Regina O’Brien
Chair, Modern Committee, Los Angeles Conservancy
The Kronish House was built in 1955 by legendary architect Richard Neutra. It is one of only three Neutra designs built in Beverly Hills and is the only home that remains intact–one was demolished, the other completely altered.
The residence was sold in a foreclosure auction in January for $5.8 million and put back on the market in April. A new buyer is now trying to demolish the home. The City of Beverly Hills has no protection for its historic structures, so there is no way to stop the demolition other than finding a preservation-minded buyer or through action by the City Council.
The Los Angeles Conservancy is working to save the Kronish House. For more information on the Conservancy’s position and what you can do to help, go here. Tonight, August 2, is the Beverly Hills City Council Meeting, so please attend, if possible! The meeting starts at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 455 N. Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills. The Kronish House is the fifth item on the agenda. (You can find the agenda here.) Parking is available in the garage across the street.
You can also use Twitter to let Beverly Hills mayor Barry Brucker know you want the Kronish House saved – @BarryBrucker.
More info and photos of 9439 Sunset Blvd.
(Images courtesy of Dion Neutra. Information courtesy of LA Conservancy)
Wallace Beery House By William Kesling
947 North Martel Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
3 BR, 2 BA
$1,075,000
Designed by architect William Kesling in 1936 for Academy Award winning movie star Wallace Beery, this residence is considered a jewel of Streamline Moderne architecture, with striking horizontal lines, round edges, flat roof, and wing-like Pergola gates.
A tiled fountain leads visitors to the hidden front door, opening to a dramatic living/dining room with ten-foot ceilings. Kesling’s steel frame windows provide the home with abundant light and frame views of the expansive, beautifully landscaped backyard.
Rex Lotery Restoration In Beverly Hills
1113 North Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
5 BR, 4 BA
$10,295,000
Designed by Rex Lotery in 1960, this gorgeous architectural home has been thoughtfully restored by Michael LaFetra. LaFetra is known for preserving architecturally significant homes in Los Angeles, like Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #21, as well as homes by Schindler, Kappe, Lautner, Abell, Quincy Jones, and more.
This mid-century Lotery home was on the market for the first time ever last June, and was purchased and restored by LaFetra. This mid-century Lotery home is tucked away up a long private driveway on a private 1.5 acre estate in Beverly Hills. The architectural masterpiece consists of 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, a breakfast area, dining room, den, bonus room, maid’s quarters, and gym–all updated with the finest modern amenities and in amazing grand scale.
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