Architecture: The South Bay Reinvents Itself
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Transcript of Architecture: The South Bay Reinvents Itself
8/3/2019 Architecture: The South Bay Reinvents Itself
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/architecture-the-south-bay-reinvents-itself 1/4
“The moTheR aRT Is aRchITecTuRe.
Witt rittr f r w w v l f r w ivilizti.”
~ Fr Ll Wrigt
ART DECO MGM
PhOTOGRAPh by: kiEROn MckAy
8/3/2019 Architecture: The South Bay Reinvents Itself
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/architecture-the-south-bay-reinvents-itself 2/4
12.16.2011 | STHBydGS. 41
Downtown L.A. hAs its soAring Lofts,
PAsADenA its stAteLy mAnsions. hoLLywooD
is An unAPoLogetic mAsh-uP of bungALows,
miD-century kitsch AnD chAteAu-styLe
APArtment buiLDings. in the south bAy, the
buiLDing LAnDscAPe is not eAsiLy DefineD.
however, An ArchitecturAL renAissAnce is
sweePing over the beAch cities, herALDing
A new erA of styLe AnD Aesthetic iDentity.
WRiTTEn by: PAMElA CORAnTE-hAnsEn
A r c h i t e c t u r e :
t h e S o u t h B Ay r e i n v e n t S i t S e l f
8/3/2019 Architecture: The South Bay Reinvents Itself
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/architecture-the-south-bay-reinvents-itself 3/4
42 STHBydGS. | 12.16.2011
n a swath o Southern aiornia communities
ene rimari b the choice stri o beach that
hugs the coastine, the South Ba has strugge with
its architectura ientit, as man oca reservationists
can attest. Storms, res an urban renewa obiterateear eono Beach anmarks; a ost-war buiing
boom a over Southern aiornia et its mark on
South Ba cities with the construction o a ew gems
an countess utiitarian homes buit or a bue-coar
emograhic. n recent ears, anmark homes have
been estroe to be reace b contemorar
renitions o cassic architectura themes: Tuscan,
eiterranean, ae o.
But a new era o architectura awareness has
arrive, as evience b the recent uer pier venue
ace it in Hermosa Beach an a surge in custom-buit
South Ba homes that are gracing the ages o nationasheter magazines. for the rst time since man oca
architects, buiers an resients can remember, the
South Ba is carving out its own unique architectura
aesthetic. renewe areciation or wor-cass
esign an construction has resute in more visua
arresting commercia an resientia architecture in
the beach cities an surrouning neighborhoos.
A little cottAge by the seA
Whie the South Ba home buer o 2011 ma
sti be on a quest to ive near the sea, ermanence
is the river. yestera’s seasona seasie cottagehas become toa’s beach-chic rimar resience,
insiring architects to aat to their cients’ more
cosmooitan tastes an 21st centur iestes.
Some homes being buit toa ma retain a beach
aesthetic, but the are esigne in a wa that meets
the nees o homeowners who entertain reguar
or require a coniguration that can accommoate a
home oice or roessiona-caiber kitchen, meia
room or wine cear.
s a resut, the South Ba’s bran o new
architectura esign has given rise to striking
moern resiences with ame use o meta anwoo etaiing, an gass was to take in ocean
an beach views. South Ba architect dean ota’s
recent roject at 718 The Stran in Hermosa Beach
exemiies this aesthetic.
in with the old
ean ines, gass was, inoor-outoor iving
saces. Souns rett 21st centur, but the South
Ba’s architectura renaissance is reccing a
movement that was initiate b moernist masters
.. Schiner an ichar eutra in the 1930s an
40s. The South Ba boasts an imressive number oeutra houses, most o them on the paos Veres
eninsua. ot a o them exist toa, as aesthetic
merit is in the ee o the behoer.
ecent news about the oore house in paos
Veres states, esigne b lo Wright (the son o
architect frank lo Wright) roves the oint. The cit
an homeowner continue to iscuss the home’s status
with reservation grous. wareness about reserving
the area’s architectura heritage has aowe or the
reservation o homes such as the rt deco gem at
3421 anhattan venue in anhattan Beach. Buit b
G Stuios in 1936, one o the home’s most amous
occuants was screen io rro fnn.
noteworth comonent o the South Ba’s
architectura reinvention is the reviva o stesother than the ubiquitous eiterranean ook, with
careu attention to erio etais an suerior
cratsmanshi. wier range o stes is being
tae, rom ratsman to aribbean (see Sweet
digs artice in this issue).
rchitect ies pritzkat o pritzkat & Johnson
rchitects in eono Beach recas an origina
cratsman home in eono Beach that was
emoishe 12 ears ago. “ ear or two ater, homes
were oing u with shinges an traitiona
cratsman sting. These things cce back – it’s ike
the esign trums a, eventua.”
bigger is not AlwAys better
none who has ever ive in a South Ba house
buit in the 1940s or earier ma have strugge with
the astouning ack o coset an storage sace. The
reason: an homes in the beach cities at the time were
buit as summer resiences or we-heee los ngeesan pasaena amiies who wante to escae the inan
heat. ssuming weath ngeenos o that era were
ight traveers, there was no nee or cavernous cosets
or cuboars in their seasie secon homes.
inuscue cosets ma be the bane o man a
beach cities renter or homeowner, but the chaenge
or toa’s buier is the sma size o the ot itse.
“n terms o architectura sting, we have a ot ess
an than the wou in pasaena or other areas in
l.. where homes are ar more srea out,” sai att
orris o att orris deveoment in anhattan
Beach. “The high cost er square oot in the South
Ba rives the nee to be creative in terms o what
we can o with that sace.”
Which cas to min the other -wor,mansionization. t’s a toic that remains hot
ebate; in toa’s architectura renaissance,
bigger can inee be better, i one right. The new
architectura anscae emos tasteu esign an
baance roortions to create beaut on a arge
scae, as in the trie-ot, singe-ami resience at
212 The Stran in anhattan Beach. Whie the home
was the center o much iscussion, the en resut is
arguab we-execute.
But successu architectura esign aso is
occurring on a smaer scae. “ more recent
henomenon we’re seeing is a secon or thir waveo reinement in the neighborhoos that origina
were buit ost-Wor War ,” sai pritzkat. “part
o the reason this works is that eoe are getting
the sense that i ou have our itte sot o South
Ba an ou oish it an make it woneru, it’s a
great ace to ive. The ots here are sma, so ou’re
starting to see a ensit o esign on genera
smaer ieces o roert.”
aking the most out o a sma ot toa means
maximizing the use o outoor sace. ore homes are
being buit with room outoor iving rooms boasting
re its, buit-in outoor cooking ranges, an amesquare ootage to accommoate urniture. Terraces
on uer oors exten iving sace in berooms an
sitting areas, taking u avantage o the South Ba’s
mi cimate.
the next 10 yeArs
oern esign, a eman or quait, green
buiing an smaer-scae construction are just a
ew o the architectura trens on the horizon or
the South Ba. ost are starting to gain momentum
area, as evience b the Burkhater house in
anhattan Beach. Buit b architect Ben Burkhateras his resience, the ‘green’ home is energ-ecient
an buit with environmenta rien materias,
high-ecienc xtures an aiances, an rought-
toerant anscaing. The structure was aware
ld patinum certication in a.
eman or high quait is attribute to an
increase in new weath, as note b Gerar Bisignano,
a South Ba rea estate agent who seciaizes in uxur
homes. “When we came out o the 1996 recession, it
seems anhattan Beach was iscovere b eoe
on the Westsie,” he sai. “aibu was too ar, Santa
onica was too congeste, so anhattan Beach gota whoe new crow, an the brought with them a ot
o architectura inuences.”
With this inux comes an ecectic range o tastes
evient in the various architectura stes that have
emerge uring the South Ba’s esign rebirth. looking
at the next 10 ears, quait is ke, accoring to pritzkat.
“Some architects o more contemorar rojects,
others ocus more on traitiona esign. But it’s ike
saing, ‘What’s the best music — cassica, jazz or hi-
ho?’ it’s thought through, quait esign is timeess.”
“
“some aRchITecTs do
moRe conTempoRaRy
pRoJecTs, oTheRs
Focus moRe on TRadITIonaL desIGn.
BuT IT’s LIke sayInG,
‘Wt’ t bt i –
lil, jzz r i-?’
If it’ tgt trg,
qlit ig i til.
- aritt mil pritzt f
pritzt & J aritt