CurbedWire: In Memoriam: Goodbye to the Demolished Buildings of the Decade
Lost in the Aughts from curbed los angeles on Vimeo.
LOS ANGELES AND BEYOND: Los Angeles’ indifference to its own history is infamous (and sometimes exaggerated)–we built a lot of groundbreaking new landmarks this decade, but we tore down a lot of ancient ones. Here is Curbed LA’s Oscar-style montage of some of the notable buildings demolished this decade. (The music, but, is in honor of the Carpenters’ fans, still fighting the excellent fight to save the band’s house in Downey.)
Gilmore Bank, via Wildbell
Wolfe House, via The Post Usonian Project and Platial
Pink Palace, via The Diana-Morrissey Phenomenon
Maslon House, via Architecture Week
Original Hollywood Bowl Orchestra Shell, via Wikipedia
Biltmore Hotel, via PlasticLiving.com and via PS Modcom
Ambassador Hotel, via da90027 and you-are-here
RAND Headquarters, via Santa Monica Civic Center Public Parks
Mullen and Bluett, Wilshire, via jericl cat
Casablanca Hangar, Van Nuys Airport, via you-are-here
Mann National Theater, via you-are-here
Santa Monica Ficus Trees, via Curbed LA
Lou Ehlers Cadillac, via LottaLiving.com
Bob’s Huge Boy, Wilshire, via LottaLiving.com
Columbia Savings, via you-are-here
· Preservation Archives [Curbed LA]
In the Region: A Town Where Sellers Smile
Situated just below the city of Hartford, Newington has managed to avoid a real estate downturn.
On the Market: Wallace Neff Richter House in San Marino
Perhaps you cling on to the dream of one day really being a lady of the Manor, of owning a residence where you can walk the grounds. Maybe this Wallace Neff-designed home in San Marino fits that fantasy. This home hit the market about five months ago: “One of the few French Revival homes in San Marino, it boasts upwards of 30 rooms, including seven bedrooms and eight baths…a magnificent entry hall, exquisite music room / ball room, living room, dining room, kitchens on the first and second floors, and a breakfast room.” It’s listed at $9.288 million. According to this Craigslist ad, the home was built in 1930 and is known as The Richter House.
· 1221 VIRGINIA Rd [Redfin]
Block by Block: A Quiet Pocket of SoHo
Against some odds, Crosby Street has managed its revitalization without losing its character.
Development: Downtown’s Renaissance Tower Going Condo?
Now this is fascinating: Looking over the schedule for the next Downtown Land Use and Committee Meeting, there’s mention of a proposal for a 205-unit apartment building at 501 W. Olympic Boulevard, site of the huge Renaissance Tower Apartments. “Conversion of 205-unit residential apartment building to condominiums.” The name listed on the application is SSR Western Multifamily LLC, and the building went up in 1994-95 and was renovated in 2000. But who knows if the building will really convert. Earlier this year, there was chatter that developer CIM Group was taking its downtown rental building Gas Company condo, but nothing has happened on that end.
· Advisory Agency Hearing Re: 501 W. Olympic Blvd [DLANC Plotting]
Sander Talks Green Architecture: Watching the clock at work…
Watching the clock at work until it’s time to check out and grab your noisemakers? Then delight in this small video distraction – an interview with Venice-based Whitney Sander. Sander built The Hybrid House, a prefab rental in Culver City as well as The Broadway in Santa Monica. [YouTube]
Land Preservation: What’s Booming During the Bust: Land Preservation
The New York Times reports that conservation groups are gobbling up swaths of land for open space that were previously targeted for developments that have since imploded. Many of these properties (the Times mentions specific cases in Florida, Idaho, New Jersey, and New York) are now owned by banks which are keen to get the foreclosed properties off their books. The developers who still own these spaces want out too: “The prices were lower, but what has really changed is the attitude of the developers — they want to get out,” Suki Molina, vice president of the Foothills Conservation Advisory Committee, told the paper. “Before this year, they would call, say they had a fantastic piece of land and wanted top dollar. Now, they just want to sell.” Some folks are bemoaning this trend, since the developments had promised local improvements and financial benefits. The tale brought to mind Las Lomas, the recently cancelled mega-project north of the city that would have added 2.7 million square feet of office and residential space to a scenic slice of California.
· Preservation Groups Find Deals in Housing Bust [NYT]
· Las Lomas Officially Dead [Curbed LA]
Come Buy With Me And Be My Love
For some very sound (if not grandma-pleasing) reasons, the first house often precedes the march down the aisle.
Living In | Cedarhurst, L.I.: Portrait of a Village at 100
Because of an influx of new residents who are primarily Orthodox Jews, Cedarhurst, L.I., has been undergoing a transformation.
Year In Review: 2009: Best Architecture, Bold-Faced Names of 2009
And on the Year in Review posts roll….architecture and architects, you’re up.
Notable Home: Standard LA’s Jeffrey Allsbrook and Silvia Kuhler converted an existing two-bedroom in Mt Washington into the Hidden House, which featured several sustainable materials, including fabulous flooring made out of reclaimed end grain block wood. They also completed this solar Tree House.
Best Residential Building: You know Kanner Architects did a fantastic job when the photographer shooting the project for Curbed questioned for leasing information (and she’s been inside every new development). A renovation of a former office building, CIM Groups’s new Sunset Vine Tower feels modern and appropriate for the neighborhood. (But we still loathe the four billboards.)
Best New Public building: Thank you, Wallis! A rehabilitation of the historic Marion Davies Guest House and pool, Santa Monica’s Annenberg Beach House–and all the future summer fun you’ll have–comes courtesy of Frederick Fisher Partners, with landscaping by the always impressive Mia Lehrer & Associates.
Architecture firms/people/trends that stood out in 2009:
1. Commune: Not purely an architectural practice, per se, Commune is closer to a design collective incorporating architects, graphic designers, and interior designers. Most of their work has been in residential interiors, retail and restaurants although this year Commune designed the “hippie-campground” at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. They also recently opened a pop-up retail shop at their office, where the only rule is everything must be made by hand.
2. SCI-Arc’s Buenos Aires Brigade. They’re young, they’re charming, they’re handsome, and they’re both from Argentina. As two of SCI-Arc’s more intriguing faculty members, Alexis Rochas and Juan Azulay are working on upcoming exhibits this spring there, both featuring robots. This year Rochas built an urban rooftop garden on top of downtown apartment building The Flat, while Azulay has been working on an essay film and documentary on land art while developing his architecture practice, Matter Management.
3. MASS Architecture and Design: Chances are if you’re a twenty- or thirtysomething Bobo living in Los Angeles, you’re hanging out somewhere that principals Ana Henton and Gregory Williams have designed. Intelligentsia Venice, Breadbar in Century City, Cork Bar downtown, Silverlake Wine – they designed them all. Additionally, they were behind Auburn 7, their first multi-unit residential .
4. Ball-Nogues Studio: Benjamin Ball and Gaston Nogues design site specific installations out of unusual materials, including twine, fluorescent tubing, and cardboard. In 2010, the firm will be included in shows at the Seeline Gallery in West Hollywood, at the Guggenheim in New York, and at Cité de l’architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris. Additionally, they’re currently showing an installation made of American Apparel clothing at the Biennale in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
And the most alarming architectural trend: We dread castle architecture may the new AssHat. From the Westside to Koreatown, a crop of turrets and balconies emerged in the last year and half.
· Curbed LA-Architecture [Archives]