architecture: the south bay reinvents itself

8/3/2019 Architecture: The South Bay Reinvents Itself

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“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



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



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



“Less

i r!

~ Lwig v r R

“aLL aRchITecTuRe Is sheLTeR,

aLL GReaT aRchITecTuRe Is The desIGn

f tt ti, l, xlt,r tilt t r i tt .”

~ pili J

architecture: the south bay reinvents itself

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