The Architecture Thread

Originally Posted by StephenHero

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It's probably because we're on a men's fashion forum.

you ever met an LA architect? they're probably lurking in sw&d by now. sci-arc is basically fashion school.

nvm repost

^^posted a few pages back

Originally Posted by mharwitt

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you ever met an LA architect?
I've never lived in LA ... but back in the early 80s, I was part of the team* at HHPA (in NYC) that designed:



* my part was minimal. But I rememer a scheme that included blue tile as water "flowing" out the entrance and into the street. And I remember when Goldberg of the NY Times referred to it as a "WPA project modernized in the 60s." Oh well, we all make mistakes. Most just aren't as large as LACMA.

i am glad that your part was minimal because that is one of the worst buildings in los angeles (but still better than the buildings of the original campus).

Originally Posted by mharwitt

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i am glad that your part was minimal because that is one of the worst buildings in los angeles (but still better than the buildings of the original campus).
Better than the Pereira buidlings? Are jou sjhore? Why I'll have you know that Time Magazine called the HHPA "building" a Monty Python "giant foot." A giant foot I tell you!

That's okay ... cause while the firm was designing the new entrance to LACMA ... I was working a building that would become the home of RJman's prep school. I think he compared it to some mall in New Jersey ... although Architectural Record referred to it as "Aldo Rossi meets Salvador Dali." That had a better ring to it while saying the same thing.



Not to worry though ... after a couple of years at this all too high profile firm, the partner's let me know (via the 4th partner whose name wasn't even on the damn door) that my heart and future were not with them. That was hardly a surprise. Given the moment, I thought it was appropriate to serve notice of my pending departure two weeks hence.

The next moring I was called to the library and asked if I could leave sooner. I asked "How soon would you like?" The answer, "Finish your coffee."

Perhaps it's needless to say, but my "former" boss did not get to borrow my house in the Hamptons that weekend.

Originally Posted by mharwitt

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i am glad that your part was minimal because that is one of the worst buildings in los angeles (but still better than the buildings of the original campus).

I completely agree. A total abomination, and a real disaster in context.

I just signed up for this forum, and this is a great thread. Lots of excellent stuff. There are many, many buildings I'd love to post, but since this is a style forum (OK, THE Style Forum), I'll start with Villa Malaparte, Capri, Godard, and BB. From the film "Contempt".















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Originally Posted by RSS

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Better than the Pereira buidlings? Are jou sjhore? Why I'll have you know that Time Magazine called the HHPA "building" a Monty Python "giant foot." A giant foot I tell you! That's okay ... cause while the firm was designing the new entrance to LACMA ... I was working a building that would become the home of RJman's prep school. I think he compared it to some mall in New Jersey ... although Architectural Record referred to it as "Aldo Rossi meets Salvador Dali." That had a better ring to it while saying the same thing. Not to worry though ... after a couple of years at this all too high profile firm, the partner's let me know (via the 4th partner whose name wasn't even on the damn door) that my heart and future were not with them. That was hardly a surprise. Given the moment, I thought it was appropriate to serve notice of my pending departure two weeks hence. The next moring I was called to the library and asked if I could leave sooner. I asked "How soon would you like?" The answer, "Finish your coffee." Perhaps it's needless to say, but my "former" boss did not get to borrow my house in the Hamptons that weekend.
great post. i really hate pereira.

Originally Posted by venessian

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I completely agree. A total abomination, and a real disaster in context. I just signed up for this forum, and this is a great thread. Lots of excellent stuff. There are many, many buildings I'd love to post, but since this is a style forum (OK, THE Style Forum), I'll start with Villa Malaparte, Capri, Godard, and BB. From the film "Contempt".
i always wondered about that building. thanks for the info

Originally Posted by RSS

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Better than the Pereira buidlings? Are jou sjhore? Why I'll have you know that Time Magazine called the HHPA "building" a Monty Python "giant foot." A giant foot I tell you!

Tough call.

Legend has it that Hardy and Holzman (or Hardy and Pfeiffer or Holzman and... etc., etc.) first met in a men's room in NYC, when both were carrying drawing tubes while standing at adjacent urinals.

"Soooo, you're an architect too?"....

Now, how meeting in that manner would then inspire designing a "giant foot" is beyond me. Perhaps there were certain fetish elements involved never revealed to the public, and after all this meeting did occur when semantical garbulation was becoming all the rage.

Pereira, on the other hand, was obviously of a more old-school, what-you-see-is-what-you-get bent, since when he used his urinal-inspiration to churn out his own masterpiece he went strictly literal.

Pereira's Prick?....................................................HHPA's Giant Foot?
...........

Yep, real tough call.
Let's just call it a draw.

IIRC, Pereira designed a fountain/fish pond over the same tarpit that LACMA sits on. the fish would invariably die and chemicals would leak into the water, periodically turning it a rust/dried blood color.

HHPA wins for covering it up. Pereira was also a socialite who schmoozed the LACMA board into choosing him over Mies van der Rohe to design the museum
and is additionally responsible for this eyesore in Downtown:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3406/...ff9773.jpg?v=0

Gehry's design for the New World Symphony campus in Miami looks very interesting.

Exterior is actually quite sober:



Interior looks like WDCH 2.0 minus the super-sized French fries organ:



Unlike WDCH, the interior has provisions for projections:



Gehry is once again collaborating with WDCH acoustic designer Yasuhisa Toyoda.

--Andre

Originally Posted by mharwitt

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IIRC, Pereira designed a fountain/fish pond over the same tarpit that LACMA sits on. the fish would invariably die and chemicals would leak into the water, periodically turning it a rust/dried blood color.

HHPA wins for covering it up. Pereira was also a socialite who schmoozed the LACMA board into choosing him over Mies van der Rohe to design the museum

and is additionally responsible for this eyesore in Downtown:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3406/...ff9773.jpg?v=0

True re: the pits.

But, oh, come on! Labelling WP a "schmoozing socialite schmoozer" is rather harsh, don't you think?

I mean, Mies probably just said, "Yes, I believe I can design a great building for you. May I just finish my cigar first?"

WP, on the other hand, assuredly wowed the board with his uncanny ability to manipulate extremely complex geometry.

As in, "Look, y'all hire that Mies fellow you'll just get another bland, black steel box. Plus, he's a German in Chicago. Bland, bland, bland. Me, I'm a Portuguese who left Chicago, sunny, vibrant, and I like to infuse my projects with a bit more, say, vim and vigor! Panache! That's French for 'vim and vigor'. I don't think 'vim and vigor' even exists in German! Here, allow me to demonstrate...":

"Thesis":


"Anti-thesis":


"And, voilà , synthesis!!!"




"See, I'm versatile!"

I mean, how could the board not be bowled over by that???

Originally Posted by A Y

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Gehry's design for the New World Symphony campus in Miami looks very interesting.

Exterior is actually quite sober:

Interior looks like WDCH 2.0 minus the super-sized French fries organ:

Unlike WDCH, the interior has provisions for projections:

Gehry is once again collaborating with WDCH acoustic designer Yasuhisa Toyoda.

--Andre
Very nice.

Toyota is a remarkable man.
The 1:10 scale mock-up of the WDCH interior was an amazing thing.

glad to have you on board