Archinect - Features

Exploring Modular Construction in Addressing Homelessness with CannonDesign

2020-03-12T16:00:00-04:00

Archinect recently explored the architect's role in addressing homelessness in Los Angeles. We connected with Michael Pinto AIA and Helena Jubany FAIA, both principals at NAC Architecture, to discuss their work in tackling this social crisis. This previous discussion centered around the cruciality of collaboration and the power of impactful partnerships that enable participants to capitalize on their respective skills. The architect, in this sense, becomes one of many parties, with a specialized focus on the building environment, there to contribute expertise to a larger whole of volunteers, professionals, politicians, and advocates.

As we dove deeper into this investigation, we focused in on a new project led by the Los Angeles County USC Medical Center called the Restorative Care Village, a first-of-its-kind facility committed to receiving homeless individuals "wherever they are." Going beyond a mere shelter this facility will provide supportive housing, recuperative care, psychia...

Public Architects: Ric Abramson, Urban Design and Architecture Studio Manager for the City of West Hollywood

2020-03-02T12:30:00-05:00

We hear quite a bit about corporate and boutique architecture practices, but what about the public sector?

Although the vast majority of the architectural work that takes place in the United States happens through private sector practices, there exists a strong and vibrant group of public sector architects who help guide the design of private architecture projects while also working to bring impactful government programs into being across the American built environment. These architects work quietly, often in administrative roles, but always in a way that serves to apply and codify design expertise to best suit the interests of the American public.

One such architect is Ric Abramson, FAIA. Abramson was recently selected to head the City of West Hollywood's Urban Design & Architecture Studio, a division that exerts significant influence across the small-but-mighty Southern California city. Archinect caught up with Abramson to discuss the outlines of his new role, some of the urban d...

For Los Angeles' Future, See Tokyo's Present

2020-02-03T12:00:00-05:00

Writer Colin Marshall presents a case for seeing Tokyo, Japan and Los Angeles, California as sibling cities, two places that have much in common formally, visually, and materially while remaining distinct and uncategorizable all the same. The two megalopolises possess a deep similarity," according to Marshall: They sprawl in similar ways, are multi-nodal in similar ways, and present vexing formal and urban realities that run counter to some of the more traditionally urban cities located within their respective countries.

Los Angeles, Tokyo, or both?

Considering the Architect’s Role in Addressing Homelessness in Los Angeles

2020-01-31T13:33:00-05:00

With the dramatic rise of homelessness in Los Angeles, addressing the issue has become a paramount concern. Political pressure is rising, and the onset of public programs, task forces, and initiatives have shown promise, but still face mounting roadblocks. In response, many are pounding their fists in frustration. This endemic has been in discussion amongst architects also, who, as citizens themselves, seek to contribute to a resolution.

The need for shelter is a basic human need, and the architect recognizes a duty to facilitate that need. But, when it comes to addressing an issue so marred with bureaucratic constraints, we realize something so seemingly simple is multifaceted and complex. As architects, how can we better understand those complexities? And what is our role in the manner? There isn't a single answer. But, let's look at the work of a few architects and investigate how each embraces their duty to listen and collaborate in order to help establish fruitful partnerships...

Studio Visits: Lehrer Architects

2020-01-29T12:00:00-05:00

When you first walk into Lehrer Architects’ studio you’re struck by something you can’t quite put your finger on. It only takes seconds to get a full picture of the studio’s essence. Absent of obstructions and barriers, large arrayed work surfaces centralize the primary workstations and activity, computer screens illuminate the faces of the staff, some peering intently, mouse in hand, and others cutting away at rough mock-ups.

On the western end of the space, adjacent to the centralized desks, are an aggregation of working models of varying scales. The eastern end holds the firm’s libraries and works as a subtle divider of the layout. The south sports two large garage-style doors that lead to a quiet outdoor space and to the north is a raised wooden platform, staging another large model encircled by a gallery of the studio’s numerous awards.

Demystifying SCI-Arc's M.Arch I Program With Rebecca Fitzgerald

2020-01-16T14:00:00-05:00

Pursuing a graduate degree in architecture can be a daunting task for any prospective student. Earning an M.Arch I degree requires that individuals undergo a "crash course" in architecture, for one. But before that can happen, they must also find the right institution, typically one that not only provides them with the support, tools, and resources they need to foster their sense of architectural exploration but that also helps nurture a critical disciplinary perspective.

To learn more about the journey of an M.Arch I student, Archinect spoke with recent Southern California Institute of Architecture's (SCI-Arc) graduate Rebecca Fitzgerald. Part reflection, part interview, we unpack the journey of an individual whose robust liberal arts background and passion for architecture's multifarious nature activated a desire to chart out her own architectural trajectory. Together, Rebecca and I discuss her academic journey, how research furthered her architectural thinking, and her interests ...

Smith-Clementi on Starting a New Practice Three Decades Into Their Career

2020-01-15T15:44:00-05:00

Architects Julie Smith-Clementi and Frank Clementi recently launched Smith-Clementi, a new multidisciplinary design practice that aims to operate at the intersection of architecture, product, and urban design. The creation of this new firm follows a 28-year run for the pair at Rios Clementi Hale Studios, where the two designers led a variety of award-winning projects at a variety of scales, "from plates to parks," according as they explain it.

Now, with a new fledgeling practice up and running, the two architects are poised to embark on a "more genuine and productive continuation of what we’ve long valued and in fact loved about the practice of design" via a slate of ambitious projects around the country.

For this week's Studio Snapshots installment, Archinect chats with Clementi and Smith-Clementi to discuss what prompted the desire to start a new practice and working without regard to geography or scale while reveling in "radical difference."

Unpacking The Spatial Implications Of Architecture's Accessibility Failures

2020-01-14T13:19:00-05:00

There is a particular type of obliviousness to the built environment that most of us have the privilege of experiencing day-to-day. This obliviousness relates not to architecture’s aesthetic values, but rather to architecture’s accessibility out in the world. Built to Scale, an exhibition by artist Emily Barker currently on view at Murmurs Gallery in Los Angeles, is designed to knock you right out of it. And for designers and architects, it's a must-see. On view in a young gallery tucked between the nondescript buildings of LA's Manufacturing District, Barker's new solo show delves deep into the fundamental misunderstandings of architectural accessibility and its spatial implications, particularly in the realm of the home.

Studio Visits: Assembledge+

2020-01-13T11:54:00-05:00

When David Thompson graduated from Tulane University in 1991, he began searching for his place in the design world. Eager to tackle something manageable for a recent grad, he tried his hand at furniture design, winning some early commissions and gaining some experience as a young professional. To complement this ambitious pursuit, the young grad secured a position with a renowned architect and inventor, a posting that solidified his entrepreneurial inclinations. After 6 years of professional practice, building his chops as a designer and a businessperson, David took a dive and went out on his own — Assembledge+ was born.

A Conversation with Audrey Sato on Fostering Hard and Soft Skills in Architecture

2020-01-07T12:27:00-05:00

For architect Audrey Sato, studying architecture may not have seemed like an obvious choice at first, but she eventually realized that her passion for sustainability and a desire to build in parallel with nature made her a natural fit for the job. Sato grew up in Hawaii, and after graduating with a double concentration in Visual Arts and Architecture Studies from Brown University, interned at architecture firms to start off her career.

The experience inspired her to pursue a Master's of Architecture degree at California Polytechnic State University Pomona. After her studies, Sato chose to start an independent practice, Sato Architects, not out of necessity, but because it was "a natural and practical thing" for her to pursue. If you ask Sato now, her plan at the time was to get going and find a way to "do it right later," a vision that, over nearly a decade of practice, Sato admits, "just kept working." Today, aside from running her own firm, Sato is a LEED-Accredited Professional ...

Deans List: Stephen Phillips on Complementing Architectural Practice With Academic Discourse and Vice Versa

2020-01-06T14:18:00-05:00

Archinect's Deans List is an interview series with the leaders of architecture schools, worldwide. The series profiles the school’s programs, pedagogical approaches, and academic goals, as defined by the dean–giving an invaluable perspective into the institution’s unique curriculum, faculty, and academic environment.

For our latest installment, and in conjunction with Archinect’s Spotlight on Los Angeles, Archinect spoke with Stephen Phillips, Director and founder of the Cal Poly Los Angeles Metropolitan Program in Architecture and Urban Design. The 30-student program offers fourth-year undergraduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo “an urban experience highly suited to an advanced architecture education” that compliments SLO’s more traditionally collegiate educational offerings while also offering an integrated design curriculum that includes a 20-week internship experience at some of the city’s top architecture firms. Phillips writes: “We position our students within the profe...

Kilograph and Climate Cents Team Up To Rewrite L.A.’s Climate Action Narrative

2020-01-03T14:57:00-05:00

Discussions regarding climate change and the need to make progressive reforms in the built environment are everywhere these days.

Over the last year, calls from architects and the architecture community to strengthen their involvement in fighting the growing climate crisis have increased markedly. From international organizations like Architects Declare to efforts on the part of individual practices to create manifestos to ensure their own accountability towards this issue, it's difficult to avoid talking about sustainability and climate action when discussing architecture.

Individually, however, the task of reinforcing action and follow-through can be tough, but collectively, entities and groups of firms can band together to create not only moments of change, but also movements that advocate for continuous action. To learn more about such collaborations, Archinect spoke with Keely Colcleugh, CEO of Kilograph and Sean Cushing board member of Climate Cents. Together, they unpack th...

Studio Visits: Bestor Architecture

2019-12-18T09:00:00-05:00

Since 1995, Bestor Architecture has upended architecture and design by infusing their projects with a bold use of pattern, color, and graphics. The steadily growing practice is almost single-handedly responsible for generating California’s now-ubiquitous “Bohemian Modern” style that blends Mid-Century Modern formalism with earthy materiality and contemporary image culture references to generate a cool but comfortable aesthetic that has global appeal.

Known mainly for ground-breaking residential designs, lively office interiors, and tasteful historic restorations, as Bestor Architecture hits its mid-20s, the firm has its sights set on going even bigger. With her finger on the pulse of contemporary culture and a self-motivated staff in the office, firm founder and principal Barbara Bestor is striving to broaden her reach to include transformative urbanism, housing, the 2028 Olympics, and more.

For our latest Studio Visit, Archinect’s Paul Petrunia got in touch with Bestor to dig into...

Neil Denari On Balancing Practice, Teaching, and Experimental Design

2019-12-14T07:30:00-05:00

In 2019, Neil M. Denari was awarded the 2019 Educator of the Year award by the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles chapter, an award that caps a three-decade long career situated at the intersection of practice and teaching.

In light of the award, Archinect caught up with Denari to discuss his career in academia and his perspectives on education.

Second Home Hollywood Offers A Genuine Approach to Coworking Post-WeWork

2019-11-22T12:03:00-05:00

If American fast-food chains expanding to the furthest corners of the planet was the most widespread symptom of globalization in the 90s and aughts, for us in the late 2010s, the coworking space might represent a contemporary analogy. Any major city on the planet right now—if it’s a node for international business—will have shared coworking spaces. Like the proliferation of gig-economy labor, the short gains offered by decentralized contract workers means that work is becoming increasingly informal: No central office, no binding contracts.

While this arrangement has freed up employers and employees to reduce their obligations to each other and to bureaucratic blockage alike, it also means that a lot of people are left without a homebase from which to do these jobs.

With Peter Zumthor's LACMA in the Home Stretch, Is Los Angeles Entering its Post-Rational Phase?

2019-09-04T09:00:00-04:00

Despite vocal critical and popular outcry, Atelier Peter Zumthor's controversial Los Angeles County Museum of Art replacement project is moving full-steam ahead and is due to begin construction imminently.

LACMA Director Michael Govan recently sat in conversation with University of Southern California School of Architecture Dean Milton Curry to discuss his plans for the new museum. The plan, derided for offering less exhibition space than the current museum in an uninspiring "blob" building that some have liked to a coffee table, has prompted much head-scratching from the design community, which has shown a surprisingly reverence for the existing William L. Pereira & Associates-designed museum complex.

In an Op-Ed, architect John Southern summarizes and reflects upon the discussion between Govan and Curry and ponders if the success of the museum project signals that "L.A. has stopped being the city that dares to dream and take architecture to the limits of rationality."

...

KoningEizenberg on Designing with the Sun

2019-09-02T09:00:00-04:00

KoningEizenberg Architecture (KEA) was recently awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal for 2019, the country’s highest architectural honor. The Santa Monica, California-based office has a nearly four-decade-long track record of fusing thoughtful programming with formal pragmatism to create a hemisphere-spanning set of eye-catching projects that inspire both architects and laypeople alike.

We recently caught up with KEA’s founding principals, Julie Eizenberg and Hank Koning, to talk about the firm’s outsider roots, the need for collective action on climate change, and the importance of designing for the sun.

Spaceship or Water Recycling Plant? Inside Anthony Lumsden's Toilet Utopia

2019-08-08T10:24:00-04:00

Under the Skin is a review series that focuses on existing buildings in Los Angeles. Each review selects one finished building, whether newly built or long-time-standing, and takes an in-depth look at it in order to get under its skin.

For the third installment, we take a visit to Sepulveda Water Reclamation Plant, a remarkable experiment in glass skin architectural design, to look at the lasting and influential legacy of corporate architecture firm DMJM.

Sepulveda Water Reclamation Plant (currently the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant)

Built: 1984
Architect: Anthony J. Lumsden of Daniel, Mann, Johnson, and Mendenhall (DMJM)
Location: 6100 Woodley Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

Building Score: 8.2

In Focus: Miguel Rodriguez exhibits Los Angeles architecture as a silent observer

2019-08-08T10:15:00-04:00

In Focus is Archinect's recurring series dedicated to profiling the photographers who help capture architecture and who make the work of architects look that much better. In this series, we ask: What is their relationship to architecture? How do they work? What equipment do they use? What are their goals when capturing buildings?

For this installment, Archinect chats with Los Angeles-based photographer Miguel Rodriguez. By observing the relationship structures have with light, Rodriguez has found a way to capture the city of Los Angeles from a fresh perspective. By focusing on the design details and textures each building posses, he invites the viewer to look at the city in a whole new way. Fueled by Los Angeles's rich architectural history, Rodriguez aimed to highlight the buildings of G. Albert Lansburgh, Albert C. Martin, and Walker & Eisen. According to Rodriguez, he compares Los Angeles to an "architectural petri dish" where one can see the evolutions of the buildings in a conf...

Inside the Plan to Save LA’s Southwest Museum

2019-06-11T12:00:00-04:00

It’s an open question whether the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in Los Angeles has its best days behind or ahead of it.

The Spanish Colonial Revival-style mountaintop campus was built in 1914 by architects Sumner P. Hunt and Silas Reese Burns at the behest of anthropologist, historian, journalist, and photographer Charles Fletcher Lummis. Lummis, founder of the Southwest Society, the west coast branch of the Archeological Institute of America, created the museum several years earlier in Downtown Los Angeles to highlight a vast collection of Native American cultural artifacts he had acquired while traveling through the American Southwest. The museum, dedicated to supporting the “history, science, and art of the American Southwest,” contains the largest and one of the most important collections of Native American cultural artifacts in the country.

Today, it also exists today mostly as a shell of its former self.

Thoughts on Eric Owen Moss' Gated Gateway Tower

2019-05-19T13:39:00-04:00

Some rumors suggest Samitaur Tower, a project completed by Eric Owen Moss, will open in relation to some milestone for the adjacent public transportation system; others claim it is condemned for exceeding the maximum allowable height according to Culver City’s Zoning Charter. But it is more likely that the act of transgression was designed into the Tower.

Geoffrey von Oeyen on Exploring Resilience at a Number of Scales

2019-04-29T13:32:00-04:00

From Pavilions in China to Horizons in Malibu, Geoffrey von Oeyen blurs boundaries and explores the means and methods of architectural exploration at both environmental and social scales.

For this week's Studio Snapshot, Geoffrey von Oeyen Design walks us through how their firm is pushing from conventional building substrate to conventional substrate of other construction methods from other industries.

“Talk About Why This Is the Office for You”: wHY's Kulapat Yantrasast Shares Job Application Tips and Life Lessons on Teamwork

2019-03-07T12:11:00-05:00

A multi-perspective, collaborative approach is at the core of wHY's practice. Led by founder and creative director Kulapat Yantrasast and managing principal Misa Lund, the 30-person firm has worked with a broad range of top cultural and educational institutions across the globe, retailers, renowned artists like Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra, Yoko Ono, and more.

As an interdisciplinary practice, what qualities does wHY seek in their most promising job candidates when it's time to hire new staff? Archinect founder Paul Petrunia recently visited Kulapat at wHY's L.A. office, where Kulapat talked about his firm's own approach to the hiring process — not to mention a vital lesson about teamwork that he learned from Tadao Ando while working as his close associate.

An Interview with Frank Gehry, Who Turns 90 Today, Upon Receiving the Neutra Award for Professional Excellence

2019-02-28T12:34:00-05:00

Over the course of his career, Frank Gehry, who turns 90 today, has become a household name, achieving a level of architectural stardom rivaled by few, if any. Honoring this impressive legacy, Cal Poly Pomona’s Department of Architecture recognized Gehry earlier this month with the Richard Neutra Award for Professional Excellence, the school’s annual award which is given to an architect for their dedication to the research and development of new environments in everyday life.

Each year Archinect publishes a conversation between Orhan Ayyüce and the winner of the award. Recent years have included published interviews with Tadao Ando, Guy Nordenson, Enrique Norten, and Carme Pinós.

The Architectural Backdrops and Studio Backlots of the Inaugural Frieze LA Art Fair

2019-02-21T11:43:00-05:00

This past weekend, the city of Los Angeles was buzzing with art events; however, the most anticipated event of all was the inaugural edition of Frieze LA. Making its debut in a city famed for the glitz and glamour of the movie industry, the decision to host the event within the Paramount Studios backlot seemed appropriate. Accompanying the historic backlot was Los Angeles' own Kulapat Yantrasast of wHY, who designed the indoor-outdoor art area. Riddled with architectural styles and motifs, Paramount Studios seemed up to the challenge of hosting this event in Los Angeles. But, was architecture merely an accessory to the event or did Frieze LA allow for these structures to shine in their own way?

Is it a Museum? An Up Close and Personal Review of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's Broad Museum

2019-02-13T12:44:00-05:00

The Broad is much more than a building, so to review it only as a physical object would be to fall for the decoy. The Broad is playing next-level games with art and real estate, in a similar way that Trump played next-level games with the media during his campaign. The benefit to The Broad’s games, of course, is that people can go see some beautiful art for free - or, more accurately, they can go see art at no cost to them, but which nevertheless is considerably subsidized by the City of Los Angeles. (More on that later.)

The Broad

Built: 2015
Architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Executive Architect: Gensler
Location: 221 S. Grand Ave Los Angeles, CA

Building Score: 5.7

Under the Skin; An Intimate Building Review of AC Martin's LADWP Headquarters

2018-09-18T11:37:00-04:00

Under the Skin is a new review series that focuses on buildings in Los Angeles. Each review selects one finished building, whether newly built or long-time-standing, and takes an in-depth look at it in order to get under its skin.

In this first installment, we take a look at the Department of Water and Power Building.

Built: 1964
Architect: AC Martin and Associates
Location: 111 N Hope St, Los Angeles, CA

Building Score: 9.4

Designing AND Developing Is a Fantasy for Many Architects; David Freeland Tells Us How FreelandBuck Did It With the Stack House

2018-09-14T12:00:00-04:00

Nestled in the hillsides of North East Los Angeles, a new four-story home built by the architecture duo FreelandBuck is offering a lucky buyer a taste of quintessential California living. Designed as a series of volumes stacked on top one another to slightly varying orientations, the 2,207-square foot residence comes complete with a wide-open floor plan, seamless indoor-outdoor living spaces, far-reaching views of the San Gabriel Mountains, and an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) that can be rented out or used as office space.

The Archinect Outpost Guide to the Los Angeles Arts District

2018-08-21T11:55:00-04:00

The Arts District holds special significance in Los Angeles. From its origins as a vineyard to a twice-dilapidated blight on the city, the Arts District is now the home of SCI-Arc, Hauser & Wirth and the locally beloved Bread Lounge.

The Archinect Outpost - our retail initiative featuring a collection of small-run, independently published architecture and design publications - opened its polygal doors on June 15th with the intention of living up to the quality of its newfound neighbors in the Arts District.

Now available at the Outpost is our free guide of the Arts District, featuring a walking guide for those unfamiliar with the area. Our selection is based on the customer feedback we received during Archinect Outpost's first two months of operation, most of whom had never been to Los Angeles, and fewer still had been to the Arts District. Check out some highlights from our recommended walking route below.

From Obscurity to MoMA. Eric Owen Moss's Playa Del Rey Triplex

2018-08-03T09:00:00-04:00

From the Ground Up is a series on Archinect focused on discovering the early stages & signs of history's most prolific architects. Starting from the beginning allows us to understand the long journey architecture takes in even the formative of hands and often, surprising shifts that occur in its journey. These early projects grant us a glimpse into the early, naive, ambitious and at points rough edges of soon to be architectural masters.