Posts Tagged ‘Gregory Ain’
Avenel Cooperative Unit Hits The Market!
2841 1/2 Avenel St
Los Angeles, CA 90026
3 BR, 1 BA
$749,000
Days like today remind about why I love working in real estate in Los Angeles as this is one of two very exciting listings to hit the market today (check out the other one here). Located in the Avenel Cooperative Housing Project in Silver Lake which helped put Los Angeles on the map as the epicenter for the Modernist movement in American domestic architecture, this property was designed by architect Gregory Ain in 1947. I was able to see four units in this housing complex last October (check out my writeup here) as part of the MAK Tour and I pretty much blown away by the unit’s simplicity, sophistication and charm.
Gregory Ain’s Avenel Homes Cooperative
The last stop on the MAK Architecture Tour was in some ways the most interesting – Gregory Ain’s Avenel Homes. The Homes (4 of which we saw on the tour) were commissioned by a collective of WWII veterans who pooled $11,000 each to purchase a small 248 by 124 square foot hillside lot in Silver Lake. On less than a square acre, the multi-family units offered a counter to the suburban single-family homes being developed in other parts of the city.
Ain designed the ten unit row house in a “sawtooth” pattern set at an angle to the street. The units are staggered due to the steep hillside and they look above one another. A common path separates the two lots.
The interior floor plan is an ingenious use of the 908 square foot of space designed to be shared among four people. Partial sliding walls open and close to allow for social gathering while maintaining privacy. Each unit also has a 20 foot rear garden to create an additional outdoor room.
I was impressed by how much was packed into each of the homes. Every square inch of space seemed to be used to maximum benefit. It probably didn’t hurt that most of the owners were themselves architects (part of a 90s renovation of the complex by passionate Ain fans) who made each home look like something out of the pages of Dwell.
(More pics after the jump)
MAK Center Architecture Tour: Silverlake/Los Feliz Mid-Century Modernism
There’s a great architectural tour coming up that I’ll be attending in Los Angeles that I’m very excited about. The MAK Center’s fall tour features some amazing homes for the public to explore (such as Schindler’s How House above).
The tour focuses on seven homes in the Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods and features architects such as Gregory Ain, Raphael Soriano and Craig Ellwood. Aside from the How House, which is the main attraction, other highlights include Ain’s Avenel Cooperative project in Silver Lake, Schindler’s McAlmon House and Ellwood’s Moore House in Los Feliz.
The tour takes place Sunday, October 4th and tickets are $75 ($65 for students and Friends of the Schinderl House). Click here for more info. See you there!
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