The amazing T. Ando
Your Home. Your Style. Our Expertise.
Showing posts with label architecture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label architecture. Show all posts
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Heaven.
I LOVE religious architecture of every denomination. Religious architecture has the power to move me in ways that I have never experienced with any other type of architecture; it makes me want to bow down to the design Gods and give thanks everyday. I feel that when these structures fulfill their destiny and purpose, they can be powerful and resonate within you regardless of faith. This chapel is in St. Maria de Feira, Portugal and took me by surprise when I logged onto Design-Milk.com. Although I am not crazy about that staircase, (it's playful shape is very distracting), I'm loving the images! Job well done. To brighten your day, I will also include some images of my favorite, Tadao Ando.
The amazing T. Ando
The amazing T. Ando
Monday, August 30, 2010
Local Iconic Home in Danger of Demolition
Southern California has been blessed with the existence of so many post-war and post-modern architecture, sometimes I think we take it a little for granted. Who can not recognize the famous Chemosphere or Case Study House #22? You may not know the names of these homes, (they were of course committed to my brain early in my design education) but you know their faces.
Hugging the hills above Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes, CA sits the Moore House. Other than obviously standing out amongst the ranch homes and Mediterranean revivals that are so prominent in the area this home was the brainchild of Architect Lloyd Wright. Sound familiar? Lloyd Wright is the son of a man who needs no introduction, Frank Lloyd Wright. Unlike his father's buildings that are scattered across the country, Lloyd Wright's architecture was mostly concentrated in Southern California. Palos Verdes is home to another one of his structures, the beloved Wayfarer's Chapel that overlooks Portuguese Bend. I could go on and on about the significant structures this architect has contributed to the landscape that is Southern California, but that is not the intention of this blog. The potential demolition of the Moore House is what I would like to bring to your attention and I feel is my responsibility being a designer of a firm that is literally down the street from this home.
The current owners purchased the home in 2004 with the intention of demolishing it and building new. I can't imagine that they weren't aware of the home's famous past and they believe it to be "unfair that I would be asked to preserve the home at my cost for everyone else's benefit." Unfortunately Palos Verdes doesn't have a historical preservation society, and technically the home wasn't considered historic at the time of purchase. Recently inspected by an independent consultant it was determined the home was historically significant and more reports are being conducted. The point is, this house is an important piece of Southern California Architecture and History and should be treated with respect. I understand that this type of architecture isn't for everyone. But if history has taught us anything, there is a trickling effect and subsequently effects the place we find ourselves in today. This demo was initially brought to the resident's attention because what the owners wanted to replace it with would grossly obstruct the neighbor's views because of it's size.
In a location and city where there is a tear-down mentality, and rightfully so, I wish that this one structure would be allowed to remain and if treated correctly, could bring positive attention to the city and owners instead of the opposite. Architecture is art: a statement and fact that is easily forgotten in Southern California.
Lloyd Wright's Moore House or "Bird of Paradise" House.
Lloyd Wright's Wayfarer's Chapel
Other Iconic Post-Modern Homes: Chemosphere & Case Study #22
You don't have to like Post Modern Architecture, but you can't deny it's power.
Hugging the hills above Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes, CA sits the Moore House. Other than obviously standing out amongst the ranch homes and Mediterranean revivals that are so prominent in the area this home was the brainchild of Architect Lloyd Wright. Sound familiar? Lloyd Wright is the son of a man who needs no introduction, Frank Lloyd Wright. Unlike his father's buildings that are scattered across the country, Lloyd Wright's architecture was mostly concentrated in Southern California. Palos Verdes is home to another one of his structures, the beloved Wayfarer's Chapel that overlooks Portuguese Bend. I could go on and on about the significant structures this architect has contributed to the landscape that is Southern California, but that is not the intention of this blog. The potential demolition of the Moore House is what I would like to bring to your attention and I feel is my responsibility being a designer of a firm that is literally down the street from this home.
The current owners purchased the home in 2004 with the intention of demolishing it and building new. I can't imagine that they weren't aware of the home's famous past and they believe it to be "unfair that I would be asked to preserve the home at my cost for everyone else's benefit." Unfortunately Palos Verdes doesn't have a historical preservation society, and technically the home wasn't considered historic at the time of purchase. Recently inspected by an independent consultant it was determined the home was historically significant and more reports are being conducted. The point is, this house is an important piece of Southern California Architecture and History and should be treated with respect. I understand that this type of architecture isn't for everyone. But if history has taught us anything, there is a trickling effect and subsequently effects the place we find ourselves in today. This demo was initially brought to the resident's attention because what the owners wanted to replace it with would grossly obstruct the neighbor's views because of it's size.
In a location and city where there is a tear-down mentality, and rightfully so, I wish that this one structure would be allowed to remain and if treated correctly, could bring positive attention to the city and owners instead of the opposite. Architecture is art: a statement and fact that is easily forgotten in Southern California.
Lloyd Wright's Moore House or "Bird of Paradise" House.
Lloyd Wright's Wayfarer's Chapel
Other Iconic Post-Modern Homes: Chemosphere & Case Study #22
You don't have to like Post Modern Architecture, but you can't deny it's power.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
New Developments
When I think of New Year's destinations two places pop into my mind: Times Square in New York and the Las Vegas Strip. I spent this past New Years holiday in Las Vegas for the first time and was blow away by the festivities and energy. A huge part of that energy was emitted by the the strips newest addition, the City Center. The City Center is located between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo Hotel/Casino and is comprised of 7 structures. I am not sure what to call this new center because within it is 4 hotels: Mandarin Oriental, Vdara, The Harmon and Aria, 2 residential towers called Voor, and high end shopping center Crystals. All of these elements are connected to one another through beautifully landscaped common spaces and plazas.
The new towers not only stand out due to their young age (opened 12/16/09) but the fact that they do not follow the traditional Las Vegas style of architecture. While all of the hotels and casinos that dot the strip have theme that beats you over the head, The City Center, like the Wynn, look like they could belong in any major metropolitan city. The first thing that came to my mind when viewing the new development was how much Crystals seemed to channel Gehry's Disney Music Hall in L.A. and Guggenheim in Bilbao. The skyscrapers tower above the strip with their clean glass facades of blue tones that make you realize that Las Vegas really HAS changed. People have been saying that for years now, Las Vegas has changed. The old Las Vegas, when I think of it, is lines of tour buses filled with geriatrics in their sequined hats sitting at slot machines collecting their nickels and then waiting in lines for disgusting buffets and cheesy shows. They have all been apparently shuttled over to watch the Fremont Experience, because what I saw during this past trip was the exact opposite. Young people, young people with money, and not just money to spend but lots of money to gamble with. Las Vegas must not have gotten the memo that we are in a recession, because all I saw during my trip were advertisements for spa treatments, the talk of more development to come, more club openings and the ever so lovely bottle service tables or private booths filled to capacity.
Las Vegas truly has changed and when I looked down the strip I wondered how long the older hotels had left. With new developments like The City Center, I am excited to see what is to become. I think that over the recent years, Las Vegas architects have discovered that people who visit the city regularly don't want to cheese but they want luxury and that is what the new Las Vegas is about, the luxury.
www.citycenter.com
The new towers not only stand out due to their young age (opened 12/16/09) but the fact that they do not follow the traditional Las Vegas style of architecture. While all of the hotels and casinos that dot the strip have theme that beats you over the head, The City Center, like the Wynn, look like they could belong in any major metropolitan city. The first thing that came to my mind when viewing the new development was how much Crystals seemed to channel Gehry's Disney Music Hall in L.A. and Guggenheim in Bilbao. The skyscrapers tower above the strip with their clean glass facades of blue tones that make you realize that Las Vegas really HAS changed. People have been saying that for years now, Las Vegas has changed. The old Las Vegas, when I think of it, is lines of tour buses filled with geriatrics in their sequined hats sitting at slot machines collecting their nickels and then waiting in lines for disgusting buffets and cheesy shows. They have all been apparently shuttled over to watch the Fremont Experience, because what I saw during this past trip was the exact opposite. Young people, young people with money, and not just money to spend but lots of money to gamble with. Las Vegas must not have gotten the memo that we are in a recession, because all I saw during my trip were advertisements for spa treatments, the talk of more development to come, more club openings and the ever so lovely bottle service tables or private booths filled to capacity.
Las Vegas truly has changed and when I looked down the strip I wondered how long the older hotels had left. With new developments like The City Center, I am excited to see what is to become. I think that over the recent years, Las Vegas architects have discovered that people who visit the city regularly don't want to cheese but they want luxury and that is what the new Las Vegas is about, the luxury.
www.citycenter.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)