SAHNEWS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2008green.gif

Charles-Greene.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAH/SCC, P.O. Box 56478 Sherman Oaks, CA 91413

Call: 800.9SAHSCC. (in CA only) (1.800.972.4722)

Or write: sahscc-info@sahscc.org

 

butt1

butt3

butt4

butt6

butt7

butt9

 

 

 

Greene & Greene Behind the Scenes

SAH/SCC Tour

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

 

Gamble-House.jpg

David B. Gamble House, Pasadena, 1907-09. Photo: ©Alexander Vertikoff.

 

 

Join SAH/SCC for an exclusive tour of the upcoming exhibition “A ‘New and Native’ Beauty: The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene,” led by co-curator and SAH/SCC Advisory Board member Edward R. Bosley, on Saturday, November 15th, 9AM-1PM. This special opportunity offers participants a private guided tour of the exhibition at the Huntington Library in San Marino before the gallery opens for the day to the public.

            The event is organized by SAH/SCC Executive Board member Sian Winship. The ticket price includes exclusive access to private areas of the Library, day-pass admission to the galleries and gardens, high tea, and parking. SAH/SCC member tickets are $59; non-member tickets are $85. Due to the exclusive nature of this event, space is very limited.

            The exhibition is the most comprehensive ever undertaken on the work of Arts and Crafts movement legends Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene. It comprises 200 works drawn from collections at The Huntington and Gamble House, as well as from more than 30 private and institutional lenders. The exhibition includes furniture, decorative arts, architectural drawings, photographs, watercolors, and related materials, some of which have never been on public display.

            Following the tour, participants will enjoy mid-morning high tea at the tea room in the rose garden at the Huntington Library. The menu features an extensive array of seasonal salads, tea sandwiches, scones, pastries, cookies, and freshly steeped tea.

            The formal program for the day will culminate with a visit to the private archive facility, led by the Archivist of the Greene and Greene Archives Ann Sheid. A contributing author to the new book A “New and Native” Beauty: The Art and Craft of Greene & Greene (Merrell Publishers, 2008), Sheid will provide tour-goers with a behind-the-scenes look at the Library Archive and display selected holdings for exclusive viewing. Bosley, also an editor of the exhibition book, is the Director of the Gamble House in Pasadena and the author of Greene & Greene (Phaidon Press, 2000).

            In the afternoon, event participants are welcome to enjoy the 120 acres of botanical gardens at Huntington Library or visit the newly restored residence of Arabella and Henry E. Huntington designed by Myron Hunt in 1911. A $20-million restoration of the Beaux-Arts interpretation of an Italian Renaissance villa was completed in May by Architectural Resources Group (preservation architect) and Earl Corporation (design/build contractor).

            Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the architecture and artistry of Greene and Greene with the experts. See Order Form on the back page to reserve early. Click here for a printable order form or click here to order tickets through PayPal.

 

 

Tichenor-watercolor.jpg

Adelaide A. Tichenor House, Long Beach, 1904-05 (watercolor by Charles Greene, c. 1905). Courtesy: Greene and Greene Archives, The Gamble House, University of Southern California.

 

 

Getting to Know Architect Paul Edward Tay: Five Houses in Long Beach

SAH/SCC Tour

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

 

Penn_Residence-Berley.jpg

Penn Residence (1954). Photo: John Berley

 

There are still spaces open to join SAH/SCC Executive Board member Adam Wheeler for a tour that will uncover the work of architect Paul Edward Tay, an unknown yet prolific figure in the annals of modern architecture. On Saturday, September 20th, 10:30AM-3PM, in Long Beach, tour-goers will visit homes from the 1950s through 1970s that expose an individual language and pure identity that showcase the talented hand of Tay. The event is $35 for SAH/SCC members; $45 for non-members. See Order Form on back page.

 

Penn_3Nick-Pugh.jpg

Penn Residence (1954). Photo: Nick Pugh

 

            Born in Pomona in 1924, Paul Edward Tay graduated from USC in 1950 and counts Harwell Hamilton Harris and Frank Lloyd Wright as early inspirations. He opened his practice in Long Beach soon after graduation and conducted a healthy career designing many residential projects in the Southern California area. The Tay tour will touch upon the evolution of this architect, revealing his work as a blend of a modernist aesthetic within a ranch-style vocabulary. Throughout his 25 years in Long Beach, he produced more than 30 residential projects that both exude the “essence” of ranch modernism as well as a particular individuality.

The self-driven tour begins with The Braly Residence (1972) located on the Peninsula, Long Beach, which was the last house that Tay designed in Southern California before moving his practice north to Mendocino. This two-story residence incorporates the “Piano Nobile” idea, whereby the primary living spaces are on the second floor to capture the views, air, and light of the waterfront. Next stop is the Crail Residence (1957), a single-story 3,700-square-foot compound-like courtyard house with cantilevered eaves and vaulted ceilings located on a 10,000-square-foot lot in the Park Estates area.

 

Drake-Rendering.jpg

Drake Residence (1951)

 

The Sipprelle residence (1961) is located in Signal Hill and is the most sculptural of the homes, as it is built on a sloped site with sweeping vistas of downtown Long Beach and the ports beyond. The tour ends with two similar, yet striking, homes located in the neighborhood known as Bixby Knolls. While these residences—Drake Residence (1951) and Penn Residence (1954)—are both located on typical flat sites with unassuming street presences, each house has been restored and remodeled in its own way to accentuate open floor plans and outdoor patios.

Click here for a printable order form or click here to order tickets through PayPal.

 

 

Braly-Residence_1_Berley.jpg

Braly Residence (1972). Photo: John Berley.

 

Please join us to explore this untapped architect’s approach to five stellar projects.

 

 

 

Save the Date: Happy Heritage

SAH/SCC Members’ Celebration

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

 

This year’s annual SAH/SCC Members’ Celebration will be held at Heritage Square in Highland Park, on the afternoon of Saturday, November 8th. Eight historic structures from the Victorian Era (saved from demolition) were relocated in a park-like setting, appearing as if they’d been neighbors all along. Take a close-up look at these jewels of yesteryear and at the preservation and presentation stories behind them. SAH/SCC members, their guests, and prospective members will enjoy house tours, talks, refreshments, and good company. See the next issue of SAH/SCC News for more info.

 

 

 

A Little Piece of Heaven

John Lautner at The Hammer Museum

 

Shulman_Garcia.jpg

 

The Hammer Museum in Westwood presents “Between Earth and Heaven: The Architecture of John Lautner”, the first major exhibition survey of the architect’s work, on view July 13th through October 12th.

            John Lautner (1911-94), residing and working in Los Angeles during much of his remarkable career, created designs known for their radical innovation with specific attention to materiality, space, and a consciousness of the natural environment.

This exhibition hopes to bring Lautner’s work to a greater public beyond the world of architecture and design, where he has achieved cult-like status. The general public will gain the “shock of recognition”, as several of his works have famously been the backdrop of many Hollywood films. The Hammer’s programming will reflect this part of Lautner’s legacy along with more analytical angles. (See the SAH/SCC Calendar section for detailed events.)

An aesthetic, philosophical, and social visionary, Lautner made buildings that continue to amaze architects and patrons alike with their formal variety and freedom, their structural originality, and their sculptural force. Private residences, such as Elrod Residence (1968) in Palm Springs and Malin Residence (1960) in Los Angeles—also known as the “Chemosphere”—have become iconic examples of his work and vision.

Curated by historian Nicholas Olsberg and architect Frank Escher, “Between Earth and Heaven” will feature an exhibition design intended to be as visceral an experience as Lautner’s buildings themselves. Newly crafted large-scale models will give a sense of the internal spaces and scale of key projects, and will reveal Lautner’s construction processes.

Short color films by documentarian Murray Grigor will convey the sensation of movement through the actual buildings and their sites, helping visitors feel the “vitality within repose” that Lautner sought to create. Surrounding this dramatic core will be a wealth of archival materials, including never-before-seen drawings, architectural renderings, study models, and construction photographs that offer visitors insight into how the structures and spaces unfolded in Lautner’s mind and emerged physically in their settings.

The accompanying book of the same name contains texts by Olsberg, Escher, and architectural historian Jean-Louis Cohen. Published by Rizzoli International ($60, 234 pages, hardcover), the book gives an in-depth and intimate view of Lautner’s work. From the front cover—using the display font that Lautner himself used on his practice’s letterhead—the book’s design by Volume Inc. draws readers in with the same magnetism felt when visiting a Lautner structure. This prized volume is more than a mere “beauty book.” While marveling at how gorgeous sweeping concrete can be, one is also afforded how it can be, with a look at detailed drawings showing the workings of the architect. Nor is it a catalogue of project after project, but a presentation of the compelling ideas, intentions, and inventions behind Lautner’s heavenly designs.

 

SAH/SCC Members: Save a Tree and a Stamp

 

With rising postage costs and increased attention to recycling and waste reduction, SAH/SCC prefers to send event confirmations and directions electronically. If you have not sent us your email address, please do so at sahscc-info@sahscc.org. As a matter of policy, SAH/SCC does not share its membership lists with other organizations, and that privacy extends to email addresses, as well. As a nonprofit organization totally funded by membership and donations, sending correspondence electronically helps keeps our costs down.

 

SAH/SCC—Don’t Keep it a Secret!

 

We know that, as a member of SAH/SCC, you enjoy the insightful tours and informative calendar. Well, now is the time to share the wealth. Encourage your friends and associates to become members. Although Architectural Historians is in our name, SAH/SCC membership is open to all people enthusiastic about experiencing architecture in a personal way.

We strive to keep the costs of tours and events as low as possible, thus they are not usually money-making ventures. Indeed, the fees for the successful “Haus and Home” event at Neutra’s VDL House all went to the restoration fund for the house itself.

We call on you to upgrade your membership and encourage others to become a member at any level they can most contribute. It’s only with you that we can continue to be a member of our thriving architectural community.

See the back page of the newsletter for more information.