Architects Say the Darndest Things
UC Irvine Comtemporary Arts Center by Ehrlich Architects. (Courtesy Ehrlich Architects)
If you’ve ever wanted to know more about LA’s architects than the results of their projects in steel and stone, check out Success By Design by writer and photographer Jenn Kennedy. The book profiles 25 of them, including Steven Ehrlich, Barton Myers, Ray Kappe, the late Stephen Kanner, and Hodgetts + Fung. Architects divulge all sorts of secrets like Myers’ insecurities about getting upstaged by students; Art Gensler’s original desire to start a “small” firm (his firm, Gensler, has over 2,000 employees); Randy Peterson of HMC’s amazing lack of free time; Kanner’s struggles with fees; and Kappe’s surprising facility with the business end of architecture. The book recently launched its digital version and a web site. See some interesting quotes below.
Just When Things Were Looking Up At LAUSD
Hodgetts + Fung's prototype classroom.
Last month we reported on the LAUSD’s push to design new schools and temporary facilities using innovative prefab prototypes designed by Hodgetts + Fung, SLO, and Gonzalez Goodale. But today we learned from the LA Times that the jump starter of that project, LAUSD facilities chief James Sohn, has just resigned (among other things, the Times story noted questions about various conflicts of interests with contractors). So the fate of this, and other LAUSD projects may be up in the air.
The good news: According to Richard Luke, LAUSD’s Deputy Director of Planning and Development, “there should be no impact” on the prototypes program. “We’re proceeding with those, and we’re trying to move to the next step,” he tells AN. We’ll be watching to make sure all goes ahead with those and other new plans at the district.
High School Musical
The laser-cut acoustical screen.
Just weeks from completion, a shiny new auditorium by L.A.’s Hodgetts + Fung looks to put the little town of Menlo Park, CA on the architecture map. The $28 million project is at a public institution of learning–Menlo-Atherton High–and the 500-seat venue was designed with top-notch acoustics and a stage that can accommodate a full symphony orchestra, in the hopes of also hosting performances by professional touring groups. Painted in Kynar metallic paint (copper was too expensive), the exterior gleams. But the real treat is inside: the acoustical scrim around the stage is laser-cut with a pattern based on the historic oaks outside. Read More
How Much Is That Building Really Worth To You?
Shigeru Ban sketch on the block for SCI-Arc
If you’ve got some extra cash this year—and really, who doesn’t?—why not invest in architecture? Not the pricey, unlikely-to-be-built, brick-and-mortar kind. We’re talking about 2D architecture, the kind you can hang on your wall. Shigeru Ban, Daly Genik, Hodgetts + Fung and Michael Maltzan are just a few of the architects you could have in your home by Christmas, thanks to this auction where you can bid on their drawings and renderings, with all the proceeds going to SCI-Arc.
Advertise on The Architect's Newspaper.
Archives
Categories
Architecture
Design
East Coast
Midwest
National
Planning
Shft+Alt+Del
Sustainability
Transportation
West Coast
