Remodeling Guides
Architecture
Modern Architecture
Regional Modern: Stunning Innovations in Los Angeles
Legendary modernists, topography and climate fuel L.A.'s groundbreaking architecture
Los Angeles is home to some of the best modern and contemporary residential architecture in the United States, if not the world. This quality arises from a number of factors: the 72-and-sunny climate and therefore an embrace of outdoor living; the dramatic topography, especially the foothills that open to views of L.A.'s plains; a sprawling urban landscape that invites single-family houses as much as apartments and vertical living; and of course the money that pays for the houses, be it from Hollywood or other local industries.
Yet, like Chicago, the residential climate is also influenced by historical modernists, especially Richard Neutra, R.M. Schindler, and Irving Gill. The last two figures are celebrated in Esther McCoy's indispensable Five California Architects, which also includes Bernard Maybeck, and the Greene brothers.
Gill quietly trailblazed simple unadorned forms before European modernists; R.M. Schindler articulated complex layering of surfaces and indoor and outdoor spaces; and Neutra used glass to open up hillside houses to expansive views, putting L.A. itself on display. More recently, Frank Gehry has left his mark on the city, influencing architects with his sculptural designs.
This ideabook focuses on L.A.'s houses removed from the Pacific Ocean, so the next one will feature coastal houses. The inland residences that follow illustrate the various conditions that make L.A. a breeding ground for innovative architecture.
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Yet, like Chicago, the residential climate is also influenced by historical modernists, especially Richard Neutra, R.M. Schindler, and Irving Gill. The last two figures are celebrated in Esther McCoy's indispensable Five California Architects, which also includes Bernard Maybeck, and the Greene brothers.
Gill quietly trailblazed simple unadorned forms before European modernists; R.M. Schindler articulated complex layering of surfaces and indoor and outdoor spaces; and Neutra used glass to open up hillside houses to expansive views, putting L.A. itself on display. More recently, Frank Gehry has left his mark on the city, influencing architects with his sculptural designs.
This ideabook focuses on L.A.'s houses removed from the Pacific Ocean, so the next one will feature coastal houses. The inland residences that follow illustrate the various conditions that make L.A. a breeding ground for innovative architecture.
More regional modern architecture:
Chicago | Boston | Austin | NYC | New York Metro | Oregon | Seattle | No. California | San Francisco
What better way to start an ideabook on Los Angeles architecture than a house that doubles as a place for watching movies.This second-floor projection doubles as a cover for a carport, putting the car on display as well. Yet neither display may not be able to compete with the panoramic view to the right, what Reyner Banham called the "Plains of Id" in his classic book, Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies.
This residence by the same architect shows a similar opening up of the house towards dramatic views. Yet here we see another strand of L.A.'s residential architecture: sculptural design influenced by another local architect, Frank Gehry. While he is not solely responsible for this aspect of L.A.'s regional modernism, his unique blend of dynamic forms and cheap materials was embraced by many younger architects.
This house merges itself with the hilly landscape and presents a roofscape that formally responds to the same. Most dramatic are cantilevered portions that reach toward the Valley and create panoramic views through expansive glass facades.
From the street side, this large house is clearly delineated in three floors: a solid base built into the slope, a transparent middle, and a wood-clad top floor with windows articulated for privacy and views. This front barely hints at what is happening on the other side of the house, which you'll see next.
Amazing panoramic views of the urban plain are the result of the architect's plan. Here we are in the middle, transparent floor, where butt-glazed glass on the left and a sliding glass wall on the right provide indoor and outdoor enjoyment of this L.A. experience.
One architect clearly inspired by R.M. Schindler is Steven Ehrlich, whose carefully composed volumes, surfaces, and openings have influenced many younger architects. This large house appears smaller by stepping away from the street and articulating the different floors. It is modern yet elegant.
In the back the house is more open, orienting itself towards a pool, a standard element in many L.A. houses.
Also by Ehrlich, but far removed stylistically than the previous house, is this Corten-steel clad corner house in Venice, close to the ocean yet urban in its immediate context. Bright orange sails shade the house (and pool between the fence and house) and soften the rust of the steel walls.
Balancing the solidity of the Corten steel and the parallel CMU wall next to the neighboring house are large glass doors at either end of the plan. They lead to a large open living space on the ground floor that opens to yards on both sides.
Like Ehrlich, another influential architect is the late Stephen Kanner, who created a diverse array of residential projects around LA. This house is austere and closed-off in the front. But in back ...
... an L-shaped plan embraces a large patio. Lots of glass allow interior views toward this space and the hills and ravine beyond.
Also by Kanner, but quite different, is this office/guesthouse adjacent to a larger residence. The sculptural house responds gracefully to the topography by following its ups and downs.
The landscape also carefully follows the slopes. Here the steps look like they were carved from the rock. The framed view in the wall in the center of the photo is a nice touch.
This house is found in Sullivan Canyon near ranch-style homes from the 1920s-'50s. Architect Susan Minter broke the house into separate volumes clad in different ways, in effect breaking down the scale of the house. From the front the house is, not surprisingly, fairly closed off.
Yet in the rear, the house in Sullivan Canyon opens itself up to a small yard created through the L-shaped plan.
I'm not sure what's more interesting in this house, the interlocking volumes (three or four, depending on how one counts them) or the grass paving for the driveway. The first attempts to break down the scale of the three-story house, while the latter allows water to drain into the ground rather than into the street and sewer. In L.A., where water is scarce and becoming more and more of an issue every day, tactics like these are small but important.
This house on a corner lot articulates a fairly straightforward box with different materials (wood, CMU, metal) and a cantilever over the driveway. The last, with its wraparound clerestory window and awning window below it, resembles a face looking over the street.
This last house provides a segue to the next ideabook with coastal L.A. houses. Located in Manhattan Beach, this three-story speculative house opens itself on the second and third floors toward the Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, the design is quite urban, responding to its immediate context through its massing and materials.
More regional modern architecture:
Chicago | Boston | Austin | NYC | New York Metro | Oregon | Seattle | No. California | San Francisco
More regional modern architecture:
Chicago | Boston | Austin | NYC | New York Metro | Oregon | Seattle | No. California | San Francisco