Tag Archives: Los Angeles

Home Design, Homes, Sustainability, Tours, Videos, Views

Design: A Tour Of Emeco House In Los Angeles

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The Local Project (May 12, 2023) – Demonstrating an inspiring commitment to fully sustainable living and working, Emeco and David Saik Studio transformed Emeco House, a forgotten 1940s sewing shop, into a space that retains, restores and rejuvenates in equal measure.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Fully Sustainable Living and Working Space 00:34 – The Location and its Surrounds 00: 48 – A History of the Designer 01:26 – A Multifunctional Space 01:44 – A Walkthrough of the Space and its History 02:04 – The Original Materials 02:39 – Being Surrounded by Nature 02:55 – The Material Palette 03:36 – The Project Architect 03:59 – The Idea of Permanence 04:11 – Proud Moments 04:33 – Focusing on Leaving A Legacy

Located at the edge of a residential neighbourhood in Venice, Los Angeles, Emeco House is a fully sustainable living and working space for furniture designer Emeco. The house sits in an area where many creatives live and work, therefore serving as a hub for local architects, designers and the community to come together. The initial structure has been reworked to form two separate living areas and one common living area with a kitchen, living room and balcony.

In the creation of a fully sustainable living and working studio, the renovation was grounded in an ethos that underpins Emeco – “Begin with what’s left over. Turn it into what will last.” The design process, therefore, focuses on retaining and restoring as much of the original building as possible, with thoughtful new integrations throughout. In this way, Lead Architect David Saik blurs the old with the new to craft a fitting reflection of the junction of sustainability and evolution, two elements that sit at the core of what Emeco stands for.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Design: Rustic Canyon House In Los Angeles

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The Local Project (May ,9 2023) – Found in a localised part of Los Angeles, Rustic Canyon by Walker Workshop is a magical glass covered home that embraces the Hacienda-styled homes through a contemporary lens.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to The Magical Glass Covered Home 00:39 – The Brief of a Modern Hacienda Style Home 01:06 – Adapting A Classic Typology 01:42 – The Floor Plan 02:17 – A Careful Study of Light 02:40 – The Heart of the Home 03:04 – Defining Moments of the Kitchen 03:39 – Capturing Iconic Moments Outside 04:00 – A Minimalistic Palette 04:29 – Proud Moments 04:47 – Designing from Perspective

Offering new experiences, the residence’s location is defined by one of the few naturally flowing creeks in Los Angeles, Rustic Creek. Due to this, and the home’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean, Rustic Canyon creates its own microclimate, allowing for lush vegetation and several different species of trees to grow. Building for a young family, Noah Walker of Walker Workshop was given freedom to design a magical glass covered home that would fit the family’s modern needs.

Honouring the client’s desire for a Hacienda-style home, a more traditional Spanish house from about 100 years ago, the magical glass covered home has been adapted to suit the needs and technologies of the modern age whilst also separating itself from the typology of the area. Laid out in four wings, the home has been divided into a primary suite wing, a children’s wing, guest wing with attached theatre room and a fourth wing reserved for services and the garage.

Architecture, Art, Home Design, Homes, Tours, Videos, Views

Architecture: An Insider Tour Of Sheats-Goldstein Residence In Los Angeles

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The Local Project – (April 25, 2023) – Overlooking the city of Los Angeles, Sheats-Goldstein Residence by John Lautner and James Goldstein is an iconic and action packed home that ignites the idea that a residence is an expression of its owner.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Inside the Iconic and Action Packed Home 00:49 – A Reflection of Mentality and Personality 01:16 – A 1972 Purchase of Amazing Design and Views 02:14 – The First Step in the 45-year long Renovation Process 03:14 – No Separation between Inside and Outside 03:42 – John Lautner’s Dislike of Box-like Forms 04:09 – A Focus on the Natural Elements 04:43 – The Addition of Tropical Vegetation 05:30 – A James Turrell Skyspace 06:05 – The Continuation of John Lautner’s Legacy 06:45 – Two Rebels Working in Cohesion 07:21 – Preserving History and Hard Work

Built and designed to reflect James’s life and experiences, the house asserts a dominance over the landscape with its frameless glass walls, hidden wonders and angled corners and turns. After buying the residence in 1972, James sought the help of John Lautner to re-model the home after observing the previous owner’s undesirable changes to the original design. Part of James’s wish was to return the structure’s lost character through dramatic improvements.

After John’s passing and having resided in the home for 45 years, James has continuously worked on adding to character of the iconic and action packed home, with respect to John’s original vision. Opposed to building anything that resembled a box or came to a 90-degree angle, John Lautner designed the home with angular walls, built-in furniture and open plan floor spaces. Wanting the residence to feel natural, the use of concrete floors is used to help imbue the feeling of openness, while carpets used within the home are designed to look like small stones and deepen the natural impression.

Additionally, the frameless glass wall that occupies the living room continues to unite the indoor and outdoor spaces and enables views of the tropical foliage and vegetation that surround the building. Spanning across over 1.5 hectares of hillside, the home’s landscape is saturated with thick foliage and vegetation that holds hidden walkways, ponds and open grassy areas. Additionally, the unique character of the iconic and action packed home is further emphasised with the James Turrel skyscraper. Tucked into the lower hillside of the home, the building acts as a form of art, allowing for one to sit back and delve into the appreciation of light and shadow.

Architecture, Home Design, Homes, Reviews, Tours, Videos, Views

Modernist Architecture: John Lautner 1962 Garcia House Tour, Los Angeles

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Architectural Digest (March 30, 2023) – Today Architectural Digest takes you up into the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles to visit Garcia House on Mulholland Drive, a legendary mansion designed by architect John Lautner that was recently on the market for $16 million.

For John McIlwee, living in John Lautner’s Garcia House has been nothing short of life-altering. “It’s been empowering and substantial,” he tells AD. An entertainment business manager, McIlwee and his partner, Bill Damaschke, bought the 1962 modernist masterpiece from Vincent Gallo in 2002, who told them the property would change their lives. McIlwee says it did. “John Lautner has kind of a cult following with people from all walks of life, so it’s been an amazing way to be part of a bigger collective world of art and architecture,” he says. Now, it’s time to pass the torch—or, better phrased, the keys—to a new owner. 

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Art, Art Galleries, Arts & Literature, Exhibitions, Reviews, Views

Art Gallery Views: ‘Paths Crossed’ – Hilary Pecis

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Hilary Pecis

David Kordansky Gallery (March 18, 2023) is pleased to present Paths Crossed, an exhibition of new paintings by Hilary Pecis, on view in Los Angeles at 5130 W. Edgewood Pl. from March 18 through April 22, 2023.

Hilary Pecis, Frog Town Pear Blossoms, 2023
Hilary Pecis
Frog Town Pear Blossoms, 2023

Pecis creates drawings and paintings inspired by the interior, exterior, and inter-spaces that surround her daily life. For her first exhibition with David Kordansky Gallery, the artist presents a selection of lush, saturated landscapes reflecting the mountainous, desert, and urban landscapes commonly associated with Southern California.

Hilary Pecis, Southern Rim, 2022
Hilary Pecis
Southern Rim, 2022

Architecture, Buildings, Design, Museums, Reviews, Videos

Los Angeles Architecture: Inside The Broad Museum

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Dezeen – Architect Elizabeth Diller explains how The Broad Museum in Los Angeles was designed to feel “extremely welcoming” in the next instalment of Dezeen’s Concrete Icons series produced in collaboration with Holcim.

The video features The Broad in Los Angeles designed by Diller’s studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro, a three-storey museum that houses an expansive collection of contemporary and post-war artworks. Speaking to Dezeen in an exclusive video interview filmed at the Diller, Scofidio + Renfro office in New York City, Diller explained how the building was designed to feel inviting to visitors with a porous facade that allows light to be gently diffused into the gallery.

“It doesn’t really feel like a traditional museum,” Diller said. “There’s no sense of authority. When you step off the street, no one tells you where to go. There’s no information desk, there’s no admissions desk. You don’t pay, it’s free. It feels extremely welcoming.”

Art, Culture, Exhibitions, History, Tours, Videos, Views

Tours: ‘The Art Of Ramen’ – Japan House, Los Angeles

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This exhibition touches on the history and culture of ramen, but its primary goal is to spotlight the donburi itself. To examine donburi more closely, these bowls are “dissected” and observed in detail, like a specimen. Then, in the hands of thirty artists, the bowls serve as blank canvases on which the fun, the deliciousness and the many possibilities of ramen are uniquely expressed. In addition, the exhibition introduces the region of Mino – Japan’s largest producer of porcelain ramen bowls – and its long and important history of ceramic production, from tea bowls to house wares to donburi.

Ramen – wheat noodles served in soup with toppings – were introduced to Japan in the late 19th century, grew popular over the following decades and became deeply connected with the culture of postwar Japan. A fast food served in a single bowl, the hot noodle soup can satisfy hunger for a reasonable price. Originally Chinese, this everyday dish has evolved differently in each region of Japan, featuring diverse ingredients and seasonings. 

Culture, Stories, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Travel & Culture: Route 66 America’s Heartland Road

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The historic ‘Mother Road’ of America is Route 66. It has connected Chicago and Los Angeles across eight states and four time zones since it was opened almost 80 years ago. It now provides a nostalgic and entertaining journey through a dramatic and exciting period of American history.

From Chicago in the east to Los Angeles in the west, there is only one direction in songs, novels, and for Route 66 lovers. This fabled route snakes its way through the gorges of the city at Lake Michigan before becoming a rural road for about 4000 kilometres across “Small-town America.” In many parts, Route 66 still looks like a museum from the 1930s and 1950s. This three-part series delves into the rich and historic route that has come to resemble a piece of American history, geography, and faded American ambitions from the past.

Architecture, Buildings, Design, Interviews, Profiles, Videos

Profiles: Frank Gehry’s ‘Playful Architecture’

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At 92, famed architect Frank Gehry is not resting on his substantial laurels. The designer behind such landmarks as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, talks with “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker about his creative process, and how aerospace technology has enabled him to turn his playful ideas into reality.