Archinect - News

On the mystery and magic appeal of LA's iconic visual language

2022-05-19T16:51:00-04:00

The apartment signs of L.A. announce location through flair, decadence, strangeness, absurdity, signification. When you see an otherwise unremarkable name affixed to a building in your neighborhood, you know — probably to the exact number of paces or miles, if you counted — how much further your intended destination is. That’s the thing about L.A. apartment signs — they point you toward where you need to be: home.

The LA Times has a really cool new series I am personally obsessed with wherein the “architecture of everyday life” is explored in and around the city. In this iteration, the Times’ style editor Ian Blair waxed poetic about LA’s midcentury typographical elements, best embodied on the facade of Paul Revere Williams’ iconic Beverly Hills Hotel, that are now synonymous with the visual imagination of Southern California feted by David Hockney and so many others.

Image courtesy Joe Wolf via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Blair spoke to the alien nature of the language contained in apartment typeface, commenting on their need to communicate intimations of luxury and class in a way in which words alone become a most effective means of conveying the interiority of space (no matter how illusory).

“Apartment signs affect us because of the amount of effort put into the premise: Please stop, look, come inside, see if you desire to belong here. There’s innuendo baked into the concept; the main selling poi...

Montalba is making over Edward Durell Stone's iconic 9720 Wilshire building

2021-11-02T13:56:00-04:00

A Beverly Hills icon is getting a long overdue facelift thanks to a top-notch local firm.

Santa Monica-based Montalba Architects is behind a newly announced renovation that will transform the former Pacific Mercantile Bank building, an eight-story office tower on Wilshire Boulevard by New Formalist master Edward Durell Stone.

Image courtesy Montalba Architects

Stone was the architect of the Ahmanson Center and responsible for several other midcentury commercial developments on Wilshire Boulevard that have become synonymous with the visual landscape of Los Angeles thanks to artists like Ed Ruscha and David Hockney.

Image courtesy Montalba Architects

The building’s characteristic Romanesque facade will remain untouched as the fronting fountain and plaza area are reimagined in order to make space for a “sunken garden” that allows the architects to activate its previously unused basement substructure. Interior renovations will be made using a “reserved palette of materials that harken th...

Beyer Blinder Belle renovates mid-century modern landmark church in Washington, D.C.

2021-11-01T17:17:00-04:00

New York-based architecture practice Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB) is known for projects that focus on the "planning, restoration, and the design of new buildings." Their latest project for the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., focuses on expanding and renovating one of D.C.'s historic mid-century modern church sites.

Designed by American architect Harold E. Wagoner in 1967, BBB continued with its 2016 master plan for the Church by designing two additions that offer new meeting rooms and added public space for members. According to firm Partner Hany Hassan, FAIA: "Our work introduces a contemporary entry and new central staircase, expressive and open in design, to draw people through all three levels of the Church."

National Presbyterian Church Image © Alan Karchmer/Courtesy of Beyer Blinder Belle

The new buil...

The designer that Columbus, a film featuring numerous Modernist icons, forgot about

2017-08-25T16:11:00-04:00

The Miller House and Garden, now owned by the Indianapolis Museum of Art, is acknowledged as one of the greatest Modernist collaborations. This thirteen-acre property was developed between 1953 and 1957 as a unified design through the close teamwork of Kiley, architects Eero Saarinen and Kevin Roche, interior designer Alexander Girard (who is acknowledged in the film), and clients J. Irwin and Xenia Miller.

The recent film Columbus is centered around a love story of a son of a renowned architecture critic stuck in a small Midwestern town and a 'young architecture enthusiast' who works at the local library. Taking place in mid-century Modernism mecca, Columbus, IN, the motion picture spares plenty of spectacular views of iconic Modernist sites: the Miller House, North Christian Church (1964), Cummins Inc. Irwin Office Building (1954), First Christian Church (1942), and Columbus Regional Hospital Mental Health Center (1972). The characters, surprisingly, do not fail to acknowledge the architects at each location—there are mentions of Eero and Eliel Saarinen, James Polshek... However, Dan Kiley, whose landscapes are often the movie's pivotal settings, got left out and never once credited.

Kiley designed more projects in Columbus than any architect—over thirty landscapes which among many others include the Art Institute of Chicago, South Garden (1962), Jefferson National Expansion Expansio...

Now is the time to invest in mid-century Scandinavian furniture, experts say

2016-02-01T19:58:00-05:00

Prices of chairs, tables, sofas and other pieces, particularly those of Scandinavian origin, from the late 1940s through the early 1960s have increased dramatically in recent years and show no sign of falling soon...[It] reflects an increase in overall real-estate activity, which in turn has driven a demand for furniture. The economy has been strong enough to drive the auction market for high-end furnishings and artwork to new highs...

February is furniture month here on Archinect! Send us your furniture musings, interviews, reviews, designs, projects and investigations for review to be featured on our site. The open call for submissions is effective immediately.

More details here.

The creative fight to save a masterpiece of Lexington modernism from the wrecking ball

2015-11-19T12:03:00-05:00

Built in 1962, the People’s Bank has distinct glossy, off-teal bricks and a sawtooth, vaulted rooftop. The building is not only one of the finest remaining examples of Googie commercial architecture in Kentucky — it is one of the finest examples in the nation. However, after years of neglect, locals are working to ensure that the building isn’t leveled into a movie theater parking lot.

Related in the Archinect news:

Baby Boomers pass the mid-century baton in Palm Springs

2015-02-26T09:49:00-05:00

Along the highways leading from Los Angeles into the Coachella Valley desert, there are two types of sign-posts. One is the rocky, harsh faces of the imposing mountains – the closer the mountains are cut to the side of the road, the narrower the perspective and the less intimidating the surrounding desert seems, like blinders on a horse. The other is literal sign-posts, glowing lollipops of fast food restaurants, gas stations, motels and casinos. Floating above their signifieds like geotags on a satellite image, they make their offerings known – food! gas! fortune! In the desert’s harsh environs, it’s too risky to venture into the unknown, so best stick with the drive-through cheeseburger.

But then, suddenly there are neat rows of palm trees. Scattered lights on the nightscape coalesce into boulevards and fall in line with landscaped desert palms, manicured gravel patches, and curated cacti. And then there are the mid-century modernist dollhouses, amidst equally inspired gas station...

Palm Springs Art Museum A+D Center draws hundreds

2014-11-10T14:16:00-05:00

Hundreds flocked to downtown Palm Springs Sunday for the grand opening of the Palm Springs Art Museum's Architecture and Design Center, an ode to the city's unique — and timeless — mid-century modern designs. The center opened with "An Eloquent Modernist," an intimate depiction of the work of E. Stewart Williams, the acclaimed architect whose designs defined desert modern style in Palm Springs throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

Previously: Palm Springs: New Architecture and Design Center to open in November

Palm Springs: New Architecture and Design Center to open in November

2014-08-29T13:51:00-04:00

Each year Palm Springs dedicates a week to celebrating Midcentury Modernism architecture in the desert city. Now, it has more reason to celebrate. The Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion, is set to open Nov. 9. It will provide a place to showcase the sleek style pioneered by architects such as Richard Neutra, Donald Frey and E. Stewart Williams. The project is an expansion of the Palm Springs Art Museum, which also is housed in a Williams building.