Archinect - News

Lehrer Architects-designed Aetna St. Bridge Home opens in Los Angeles

2020-08-13T12:56:00-04:00

Lehrer Architects' latest project, the Aetna Bridge Home was opened this week by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti as part of the city's A Bridge Home initiative. The design team converted an under-utilized quarter-acre parking lot into a vibrant 70+ bed facility for homeless Angelenos. With a tight timeline, the complex was designed in a mere three weeks and built in only four months.

"For us, projects like this are exhilarating," said Michael Lehrer, FAIA, Founding Partner of Lehrer Architects in a statement. "Political, time, and cost constraints were severe—demanding extreme design discipline and chops. Our focus was to honor, nurture, and restore a modicum of wholeness and delight to our fellow our citizens without homes."

Lehrer and the team worked closely with multiple city agencies led by the Bureau of Engineering and the Department of Public Works. One of the most intense constraints for the project was the mandated use of pre-fabricated trailers, a stipulation that forced th...

Dan Brunn redefines net zero housing with a California mid-century modern flare

2018-10-19T13:53:00-04:00

Los Angeles based architect Dan Brunn assembles a team of innovative energy efficient manufacturers to create a vision for contemporary net zero housing. The Bridge House LA, whose construction is soon to be completed in January 2019, is a project teeming with building systems manufactured product at the forefront of eco-design.

Bridge House rendering © Dan Brunn Architecture

Nestled in Los Angeles' Hancock Park, the 4,500 square foot home was intricately designed to omit zero energy emissions. From its construction phase to its completion, the footprint of the home was a priority for principal architect Dan Brunn and his team. The 212 foot long, 20 foot-wide structure rests within the cozy neighborhood along with a running brook found below the center of the home.

The single-story rectangular structure may have a simplistic form, however, its clean lines and structurally minimalistic silh...

A Bridge Just Far Enough

2011-10-13T14:28:20-04:00

working with Bob Duncan, an architect with the Burlington firm Duncan-Wisniewski, the couple came up with the bridge house. It is built in such a way that the bridge might one day be removed and, with the addition of a kitchen, it could function as two separate houses — the smaller one being the sort of house Ms. Lanahan says she might want if she eventually found herself an elderly lady on her own.

Joyce Wadler interviews two Vermont artists, Eleanor Lanahan and John Douglas who recently moved in together, though they have dated for 18 years. However, in order to facilitate the move, their idiosyncratic spatial/studio needs and divergent aesthetic approaches, they ultimately built an addition for Mr. Douglas, with two bedrooms and a bathroom, that is connected to Ms. Lanahan’s house by a 20-foot bridge.