Tag Archives: Architecture

The Changing Face of North La Brea

July 11, 2014 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

636 N. LaBrea, Photo Romi Cortier — 636 North La Brea, Photo Romi Cortier

1145 N. LaBrea, Photo Romi Cortier — 1145 North La Brea, Photo Romi Cortier

LaBrea at Santa Monica Blvd, Photo Romi Cortier — La Brea at Santa Monica Blvd, Photo Romi Cortier

Unless you’ve been living on another planet, it’s been hard to miss The Changing Face of North La Brea. After a torturous year or two of lane closures and nonstop construction, things are really starting to come together, and fortunately in a good way. As you know, not all facelifts are for the better, especially in this town.

I’d been avoiding going anywhere near La Brea, regardless of the time of day or night for ages. And then, one evening without thinking, I drove north from the 10, yes the 10, not the I-10. I felt disoriented as I crossed over Wilshire Blvd into a whole new world. It was as if La Brea had become the new Sunset Strip, the Sunset Strip minus the star seeking tourists and double parked limo’s. It was bustling in a new fun way, a way that made me feel old and out of the loop. It was time to get my groove on and start spending some time there.

I love the Streamline Deco inspired 636 N. La Brea with it’s porthole windows and saturated pastel tones. The tropical tones remind me of South Palm Beach in Florida. Happy. Playful. Spirited. I just hope the graffiti ‘artists’ leave it alone. This is also the kind of Art Deco inspired building that we should be seeing in the Miracle Mile, not the crap we’ve been getting sold as Deco that’s nothing more than communal architecture trying to please everyone. (do I dare name names?) My research shows that this may be the new residence of the Olympic Rehabilitation Center (please correct me if I’m wrong). It would make sense, as there’s a large parking lot in the back with a private walled off entrance. Additionally, their web site uses the same tones as this particular building, so they’re branding seems to be intact.

As for 1145 N. La Brea, It’s quite cool. Initially when I drove by I thought it looked like a dilapidated Guggenheim Museum. Then I realized the facade is just that, a facade, completely non structural. I also love the laser cut metal skin with the aqua walls behind it. They’ve also done a spectacular job of incorporating vertical florescent lights that seems to be a nod to the work of Dan Flavin. I remember seeing his Retrospective at LACMA in 2007 and loving the high impact of his work made from commercial lighting materials. According to wehoville.com this is a five-story 32-unit building of affordable housing, paid for through federal HUD funds and the City of West Hollywood’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Bravo for affordable, yet chic, housing.

And that interesting building on the corner of La Brea and Santa Monica… I was calling it the ‘eyelash‘ building until I snapped a couple of photos. Then I thought hmmm, looks a bit more like, well… like a Vajayjay to quote Opera. Wehoville.com reports this as a six-story, mixed use project with 12,800 square-feet of retail space and 184 apartments, 36 of which will be affordable housing units as well. (I’m curious to know what qualifies as ‘affordable’ in the city of LA and West Hollywood).

Lastly, I have to say that I love the use of Yellow on these commercial projects, its a nod to happier times and is a great color for sunny southern California.

Architecture

The Heart of John Lautner’s Harvey Residence

June 30, 2014 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

Harvey Residence, Main Entry, Photo Romi Cortier

Harvey Residence, Foyer, Photo Romi Cortier

Harvey House, Circular Main Room, Photo Romi Cortier

Harvey Residence, Living Room, Photo Romi Cortier

Harvey House, Mid-Century Lighting, Photo Romi Cortier

The remarkable Central column above might be the Heart of John Lautner‘s Harvey Residence , or it might also be Actress Kelly Lynch and Mitch Glazer who are committed to mid-century preservation. In 2008 they opened their home to the public via the MAK Center and the Hammer Museum in conjunction with the Lautner retrospective ‘Between Earth and Heaven’.

Marked as a tear-down, the couple bought the home in 1998 and set to work restoring the 1950 residence. No two Lautner homes are alike, even if this concentric design reminds you of his iconic Chemosphere home. While Lautner had a strong preoccupation with geometric forms, such as the circle and triangle, his homes are ultimately rooted in the concept of integrating the home into its location, creating an organic flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces. If the words ‘Organic Architecture’ ring any bells, you might be thinking Frank Lloyd Wright whom Lautner apprenticed under at Taliesin .

The fact that all of this might be lost because the home sits on a remarkable piece of property with a 180 degree view, or more, is unthinkable. Imagine sitting in the grand central room while listening to chamber music as the lights of the city twinkle behind the performers… it’s pure magic. As luck would have it, several years ago one of my clients gave me her tickets for The Da Camera Society, who specialize in Chamber Music In Historic Sites. Therefore, I’ve been in this home twice, and Kelly and Mitch as usual are remarkable hosts. They wouldn’t know me if I walked in through their doors again, but that’s not the point. The point, is that they’ve restored this remarkable home and kept the doors open, even to the public.

Architecture, Decorative Arts

Art Deco Metal Works of the Waldorf Astoria

June 26, 2014 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

Art Deco Mailbox at the Waldorf Astoria, Photo Romi Cortier

Elevator Doors at the Waldorf Astoria, Photo Romi Cortier

Waldorf Astoria Seating Area, Photo Romi Cortier

Waldorf Astoria Vent Register, Photo Romi Cortier

Waldorf Astoria Stairwell, Photo Romi Cortier

Art Deco is alive and well at the Waldorf Astoria. Over 80 years have passed since she was built in 1931 by Schultze and Weaver, and she’s still the jewel of the City. I had the distinct pleasure of staying there this spring (thank you American Express Rewards) and I wasn’t disappointed. Since my first visit to her lobby in the early 1980’s, I’ve been wowed by her glamour and sophistication. Judging by the amount of tourists taking selfies in her lobby, I’m not the only one.

As a guest of the hotel, I took the opportunity to wander her halls and corridors, examining every detail. I was wowed at every turn. She is indeed a total work of art. Vent registers, handrails, elevator doors, mailboxes, the list goes on, it’s craftsmanship at its finest. It’s no surprise that Cole Porter lived there for 25 years… I would too. And with the private driveway underneath the hotel, I can see why every president stays there, secret service must love it. In fact, I was a spectacular way to exit my 4 day stay at the hotel, in chauffeured town car wearing my biggest sunglasses (yes it was actually sunny). If only someone would have alerted the paparazzi… oh, that’s right, I’m not famous. But I sure felt like it while staying at the Waldorf Astoria.

Architecture

A Fundraiser at the Kaufman House

June 25, 2014 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

Kaufman House, Upper Level, Photo Romi Cortier

Kaufman House, Courtyard, Photo Romi Cortier

Filmmaker Eric Bricker at the Kaufman House

In 2008 or 09, there was a major Fundraiser at the Kaufman House in Palm Springs, to help raise funds for Eric Bricker’s documentary film Visual Acoustics. Apparently I was the last person in town to hear about it until about 24 hours before the event… and of course it was sold out. But that didn’t stop me. A friend and I kept calling and hounding the people in charge, begging for a $100 ticket. Gaining access to the Kaufman House was extremely rare, and I knew this would be my one shot, and so worth the price of admission.

I left LA after work on saturday making the mad dash to the desert for the evening event, with dress clothes in tow. I got word en route that yes, they’d let us in. However, there were a few stipulations. No photographs in the home, nor from the end of the pool facing the mountains. That vantage point was sacred as Julius Shulman had shot his iconic image of the home from there in 1947. But that didn’t stop me from setting my little camera on the cocktail table and snapping a couple shots when no one was looking, thus the image at the top of the page.

I spent most of the evening on the upper level where I shot the images above. It was a tranquil summer night with a beautiful moon and no wind. It was the epitome of what desert modernism was about, indoor and outdoor spaces that effortlessly flow into one another. The home was built by Richard Neutra in 1946, and has remained a classic. In fact, it’s considered one of the most important houses of the 20th Century, along with Fallingwater, Robie House, Gropius House and the Gamble House.

Mr. Julius Shulman was in attendance, and despite being wheelchair bound, was having the time of his life. He was holding court in the new Marmol Radzner Pool House (built to enjoy the view his photo had made so famous) surrounded by beautiful women. Eric Bricker’s documentary was putting the man behind the camera front and center, celebrating his life’s work… he was indeed a rockstar.

Architecture, Art

Meeting Julius Shulman

June 19, 2014 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

The Shulman Home Virtual Tour when listed for sale in 2009

I was schedule to meet the Iconic Architectural Photographer Julius Shulman for lunch at Pinot’s on Sunset, April 4th of 2004. The lunch had been arranged by a client of mine who’d known him for years. Once the date was set, I cleared my schedule and arrived early for our 1:00 meeting. At 1:15 my client came dashing in the door and said ‘Julius can’t make it, his friend Pierre just died and he’s fielding phone calls, would you mind getting lunch to go and meeting us at the house?‘ Absolutely. I arrived 30 minutes later at his Hollywood Hills home with our lunch in tow. From the moment I crossed the threshold into his home, I was speechless. There in front of me was every iconic image of his that I’d ever studied in my art history classes at UCLA, and then some. I had to fight back the tears, because at that moment I knew I was in the presence of genius. No Hollywood celebrity could hold a candle to this man standing in front of me, a man who’d shaped how I’d seen the world of architecture, long before I even knew who he was. But in that moment, his life’s work touched me in a very profound way that I’ll never forget.

As we were setting our lunch entrees on the dining room table, Julius began telling his stories. Stories about how his peers looked to nature to create the homes of their era… cutting an avocado in half and being inspired by it’s color. He gushed about how the architect Soriano had built his home for him nearly 50 years ago and that he’d watched the trees grow up around the home. The phone rang and interrupted him… it was another publication calling and wanting to use his image of the Case Study Home #22 for free. ‘Absolutely not, I don’t work for free’ he replied. His friend Pierre Koenig had built it… the man who’d just died. It was all making sense now. He was the architect of the Stahl House, one of LA’s most iconic home’s for 50 years, the home that Julius made famous as 2 elegant women sat perched in the glass box that appeared to float over the city at night when he snapped their photo in 1960.

After lunch Julius gladly autographed one of his books for me, which is what he’s doing in the studio shot above. It’s a bit jarring to watch the virtual tour and see his studio stripped bare, and the walls of his home without his iconic photos, but they’re all in safe keeping at the Getty Archives. Ultimately I ended up buying that iconic photo from Julius and returned to his home a second time to pick it up. He rolled it out on his dining room table, inspected the print, and signed it in white ink. It’s still one of my favorite possessions to this day and I’m so grateful that I had the incredible honor of meeting him.

Julius Shulman: October 10, 1910 – July 15, 2009

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