Archinect - News

Los Angeles' famously Googie Norms to become focal point in new "community of shops"

2015-03-16T18:21:00-04:00

Developer Jason Illoulian of Faring Capital is the new owner of the land under the restaurant and its 43 parking spaces ... his plan: To build a “community of shops” where the parking lot now stands. [...] “It’s such a beautiful building and that sign is just like fucking awesome,” he says. Will there be room in this new village for an $11.99 steak dinner? “We’re hoping to keep it as a 24- hour diner,” says Illoulian of the restaurant space. “Whether it’s Norms or somebody else.”

This upcoming Thursday, the Cultural Heritage Commission will decide whether the La Cienega Norms that faced imminent demolition back in January will be given monument status. Meanwhile, development plans for the site are chugging along. Developer Jason Illoulian, who purchased the site back in December, is working with Hodgetts + Fung to design a "community of shops" as infill in Norms' parking lot. The "background building" around the Norms structure would eat up parking on the site, drastically affecting the restaurant's accessibility. According to Mike Colonna, Norms' president, "Parking is a primary issue for us. We’re not a high end restaurant where you could valet park your car and take an elevator to the third floor.”

Even if the building is declared a historic monument, the diner-institution of Norms may no longer be a good fit for the neighborhood, according to Craig Hodgetts of Hodgetts + Fung: “Norms is not a good fit on La Cienega,” says Hodgetts. “It’s not appropriate. ...

The sky is falling! Weekly News Round-Up for January 12, 2015

2015-01-19T18:05:00-05:00

Friday, January 16:

Architecture for Humanity to shut down: The San Francisco HQ has laid off all employees and will file for bankruptcy, however it's unclear how this will affect operations of the many national/international AfH outposts that function through volunteers.
Work at Manhattan's 432 Park Ave tower ordered to stop after pipe falls from 81st floor: The latest in a recent series of similar incidents, including a bolt falling from London's cheesegrater, falling art in Mons, the 2015 European Capital of Culture, and concrete panels dropping from Zaha Hadid's library in Vienna.

Thursday, January 15:

Norm's Coffee Shop, an LA Googie icon, is temporarily saved from demolition: Along with the first Taco Bell being in peril of demolition, part of southern California's architectural heritage is being considered.

Wednesday, January 14:

Jean Nouvel boycotts opening of his Philharmonie de Paris: Despite the restaurant and exhibition space not being fully complete, Nouvel's Philharmonie hel...

Moments in Fast Food Urbanism: First Taco Bell may be demolished

2015-01-15T19:20:00-05:00

The building that housed the world’s first Taco Bell is under “imminent threat of demolition,” according to the Downey Conservancy [...] Although Downey is more famously recognized as the site of the oldest operating location for [McDonald's], it is Taco Bell that built its very first location within the city. [...] “The [Conservancy] recognizes that the building’s current location may not be the best for its future and, as such, is also looking at opportunities to relocate"

Why does this matter? Not because Taco Bell is inherently newsworthy, but because fast food spots are arguably Downey's local urbanism icons. The city in southeast Los Angeles County is known for its Googie fast-food joints, historic McDonald's and drive-ins (as well as the birthplace of the Apollo space program) – so the Taco Bell is in good company. While not as iconic as a Googie structure, the Taco Bell is still emblematic of Downey's postwar California urban planning, awash in asphalt oceans where cars were king. Perhaps the chain's success in peddling drive-in fast food around the world may actually have perpetuated that kind of urbanism.

The building is currently vacant, leading Downey Conservancy to take up the preservation case, planning to possibly relocate it to “another site within the city”. Taco Bell has even joined the cause, despite not even being the building’s most recent tenant, with the hashtag #SaveTacoBell. I wonder if Alexandra Lange is tracking this.

Meanwhile,...