Curbed National is our weekly look at architecture and design happenings in other Curbed cities as reported by our sister blogs, Curbed NYC and Curbed SF.
3) San Francisco: Renderings for the 1 Kearny Street project in San Francisco have arrived. A nicer bookend has never been seen before. [photo gallery]
Curbed National is our weekly look at architecture and design happenings in other Curbed cities as reported by our sister blogs, Curbed NYC and Curbed SF.
Curbed National is our weekly look at architecture and design happenings in other Curbed cities as reported by our sister blogs, Curbed NYC and Curbed SF.
A Curbed reader forwards us a link to "Archisuits". Described as "four leisure jogging suits made for specific architectural structures in Los Angeles. The suits include the negative space of the structures and allow a wearer to fit into, or onto, structures designed to deny them." Seriously, the City has become so relaxation-unfriendly that we don't travel anywhere without our bean bag chair strapped to our backs.
· Archisuits [Sarah Ross]
Few homes in the Historic Preservation Overlay Zone known as Angelino Heights in Echo Park come up for sale, so it's notable that 1417 Kellam Ave, aka Historic-Cultural Monument #166, just hit the MLS today. The carriage house was declared historic back in the dark ages (1976) and was built in 1880. According to the listing, the "two historic structures on a large lot have been painstakingly restored, preserving historic & architectural integrity while incorporating a modern lifestyle using warm contemporary interiors. Craftsman home with a center hall plan. Victorian guest house. Separate, luxurious guest quarters. New modern swimmers pool and spa." Asking price for this beauty: $1.5 million.
· 1417 KELLAM AVE [Redfin]
Peter DeMaria, the man behind the recent spate of shipping container construction projects in Los Angeles, speaks with Boise Thomas of G Living's Room 101. Mr. DeMaria's a busy man - mentioning one project in Venice and several others on the board, including some multi-family developments. His inspiration to build with shipping containers comes from his personal experience with the high cost of building a normal home. The shipping containers are an affordable alternative and they come from China! How exotic. The recycled containers cost anywhere between $900 and $2,500 each and can be stacked like LEGOs.
· Peter DeMaria Talks About Cargo Container Design and Sustainability [Jetson Green]
· Even More Shipping Container Home Fun--And This One's Got Wood [Curbed LA]
· Container Homes, Part II: Architect Peter DeMaria's Latest [Curbed LA]
We're calling the concrete and glass trend over. If only for ourselves. We've fallen back in love with brick and wood. Give us a ranch or a craftsman, sir. Nevertheless, these glassy concoctions are still popping up, such as this home on Woodrow Wilson in the Cahuenga Pass. A reader has concerns: "I've been driving by this house on Woodrow Wilson, just off the 101, and it looks pretty cool. I can't help but wonder, though, how the residents are going to deal with the lack of privacy afforded by the hip walls of glass that face the street."
Let us now take a very visual look at the latest architecture and design news as revealed on our sister blogs, Curbed NYC and Curbed SF, this week.
1) New York: We've never seen New York look so warm and inviting. Runners, water taxis, greenery await Toll Brothers Gowanus project. Also, square asshats now spotted in NYC. [photogallery]
2) San Francisco:Silicon Valley gets its very own Dwell House. The prefabness opens to the fanny pack wearing crowd this weekend. Tickets on sale now. We're sure it's not like every other prefab house you've seen before. zzzzz....
3) San Francisco: Architect Daniel Liebeskind arrives in San Francisco and puts together something so simply stunning, we are rendered full of hatred and jealousy. Curbed SF goes Inside for a preview at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. Those contemporary Jews have got it going on. [photogallery]
LA Architects Making the World Better is our irregularly scheduled look at projects around the globe designed by LA-based architects. Monday, we saw the High Line 23 project from Neil M. Denari Architects. Today, Frank Gehry's jumble of sticks.
Frank Gehry has done it again. Taking what you and I might mistake for the discarded pieces of another construction project, the LA-based architect will erect a jaw-dropping timber and glass "street" set to grace the London Serpentine Gallery. Via Design Week: "...the pavilion is designed to be part amphitheater, part promenade, making a place for 'reflection and relaxation by day, and discussion and performance by night'" The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion series, now in its ninth year, invites world renowned architects to create temporary structures on the lawn of the gallery. We think the structure might actually fall apart before they have a chance to disassemble it.
The past few years have seen a dramatic drop in violence for most neighborhoods. But today's LA Times reminds us that certain areas still have to worry about drive-bys. Reporter Ari Bloomekatz speaks with Councilman Ed Reyes (CD1) to look at how architecture in his district has been adapted to account for the randomness of stray bullets.
"Every development is geared toward the people that have to live there on a day-to-day basis," [Councilman Ed Reyes] said. "When we look at the pragmatism of our neighborhoods, we have to ask questions: Where is the bullet going to come from? What projectile elevation should we adhere to in our development? Where should we situate the trees?"
Instead of putting public spaces at street level, they're being elevated or hidden in some cases. But the "defensive architecture" has some people worried about the pedestrian friendliness of it all. We're guessing those opposed are not big fans of the Downtown Macy's or the Beverly Center. Now there's some good bulletproof fortress architecture.
· Bulletproof public design in L.A. [LA Times]
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From the studio lots to the downtown lofts. From the beachfront bungalows to the canyon views. From the south bay to the valley, from the westside to the eastside—Curbed LA covers our sense of place, and the neighborhoods we call home. Read more about Curbed LA...
The past few years have seen a dramatic drop in violence for most neighborhoods. But today's LA Times reminds us that certain areas still have to worry about drive-bys. Reporter Ari Bloomekatz speaks with Councilman Ed Reyes (
