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Architecture
Inside and Out SAH/SCC Tour:
Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 Montecito,
California One of the primary elements of architectural
design in Southern California is the ability to incorporate the exterior
environment. This convention of Moorish traditions—rooms arranged around a
courtyard joined by an arcade around a central space—blur the separate
typologies of “inside” and “outside.” Filtered through Spanish settlements,
this design practice came to define the California style. Join SAH/SCC executive
board member Dennis Whelan for “Architecture Inside and Outside,” on
Saturday, May 3rd, in Montecito. We will examine these ideas through three
superb examples of Spanish
Colonial Revival architecture and landscape. Some of the most notable
work of the 1920s will be revealed. This day-long coach tour
departs from a central location in the Santa Barbara area at 9:15 AM, and
returns to the same location at approximately 5 PM. A gourmet box lunch and
event brochure are included in the tour price. Participants will be
responsible for their own transportation to and from the Santa Barbara area.
Coach capacity is limited, so register early to avoid disappointment. Member
price is $139/Non-Member price is $159. The day begins with an insider’s tour of Lotusland, where Ralph Kinton Stevens, an
important early nurseryman, had his family home and commercial nursery. Many
of the large palms and other trees on the estate date back to Stevens’ time,
between 1882 and 1896. In
1916, the property was acquired by the Gavit family, which hired architect
Reginald Johnson to design a residence for them in 1919. During the 1920s, George Washington Smith
remodeled the home and designed additional buildings. The Gavits landscaped
their estate, which they called Cuesta Linda, with extensive gardens,
described in 1929 as “semi-formal Italian.” Landscape designers were Paul
Theine and Lockwood de Forest, Jr., along with horticulturist Peter Reidel. Madame
Ganna Walska, who purchased the estate in 1941, made no major changes to the
buildings. She did, however, make extensive and dramatic changes to the
grounds. During the 43 years that she lived at Lotusland, Madame Walska
redesigned most of the Gavit-period landscaping and created many wonderful
new gardens. Most
of her energy and resources were poured into making a botanical garden of
rare plants using her natural artistic talents to create a fantasy world of
exquisite beauty. To accomplish this she worked with a number of landscape
architects and designers, including de Forest, Ralph T. Stevens, William
Paylen, Oswald da Ros, and Charles Glass. The
second stop on the tour will be the rarely seen Val Verde estate
(c.1915), planned by Boston architect Bertram
Grosvenor Goodhue. Beaux-Arts formal gardens, reflecting pool, and a
spare, near-modernist house influenced by Colonial Mexican village
architecture grace the property. Val Verde was already an extraordinary place
when C.W. Ludington bought it in 1924. De Forest worked on a new landscape plan for Val Verde,
leaving Goodhue’s geometry and much of the wilderness intact. Of the 1,500
gardens created by de Forest, this is the only one remaining in its original
form. Unaltered for almost 100 years, the garden is groundbreaking for its
time and is just as relevant today. The garden is a designated national
treasure by the American Society of Landscape Architects, and a national,
state, and county landmark. The
day will conclude with a tour of the Steedman Residence by George Washington
Smith, as well as the surrounding gardens and workshop. After purchasing eleven
acres in Montecito in 1922, George Steedman selected the area’s premiere
architect, Smith, to design this splendid example of an Andalusian-style
country house surrounded by artfully planned grounds and gardens. The
house was completed in 1925, and is noted for its extensive use of
Mediterranean tile, as well as splendid examples of 13th- to 18th-century
Spanish furniture, antique architectural detail, and artwork. Much was
purchased by Steedman on buying trips to Spain. Few
of Montecito’s fabled estates have remained essentially unchanged. The Casa del Herrero
has been in the hands of the original family since it was first constructed
more than 75 years ago. It provides visitors with a glimpse into Montecito
life as the Steedmans lived it in the 1930s. The gardens were designed by
landscape architects Stevens, de Forest, and Reidel. Completed in 1933, seven
acres of gardens are formally designed and maintained in a Spanish Moorish
style. “Architecture
Inside and Outside” is a rare opportunity to experience the flora and
foundations of California style. Contemporary
Patrons: Wells in Laguna Beach SAH/SCC Talk and
Tour: Saturday, January 19, 2008 The new year welcomes the first in a new SAH/SCC
series called Contemporary Patrons.
Modeled after our on-going Modern Patrons series, these events are designed
to highlight the process of commissioning, designing, and living in a house
from the original clients’ point of view. Whereas Modern Patrons looked to
those ground-breaking talents that established LA’s Modern legacy,
Contemporary Patrons focuses on current practitioners who are investigating
the meanings of today’s architecture. Please join us on January 19th, 2-4PM, at the home of Jan
and Paul Muñoz in Laguna Beach,
designed by former SAH/SCC board president Ted
Wells. Moderated by board member John
Ellis, the talk will feature the homeowners’ journey in creating the
piece of contemporary architecture. The event is $15 and open to SAH/SCC Life
and Patron members (the program will only be available to the general
membership in the event there is space available). See the order form on the
back page. Space is limited. Ten years ago, the Muñozes
purchased what was classified as an “unbuildable” sloping lot on Pacific
Coast Highway. Beside the grade and location issues, the lot had access,
parking, and height restrictions that would make it a nearly impossible
property to develop. They worked with a noted architect on a design for three
years, but still had no approvals from the city. And worse, the proposed
design had been compromised to such an extent that the landowners had
resigned themselves to building a house they no longer loved, selling it, and
moving on. They
started a process of finding a new lot for a new house and had saved a cover
of the Los Angeles Times Magazine
showing a house designed by Ted Wells. They called Wells, and decided to face
the challenge of designing a house on their existing lot. The house was
completed in December 2005. Known to
many at SAH/SCC, Ted Wells
was our board president, and leader of many memorable tours; he remains on
SAH/SCC advisory board. Wells is the principal at Ted Wells living:simple LLC, in Laguna Niguel, CA. His designs
include houses, offices, monasteries, gardens, and neighborhood planning
projects throughout the US, as well as restorations of significant historical
properties by noted architects such as Henry and Charles
Greene, RM Schindler,
and Irving Gill. His architecture degree is from USC, and he is
currently an architectural guest lecturer at UC
Irvine, and taught at Saddleback
College in Mission Viejo from 2002 to 2004. Wells has lectured at universities around the
world, and appeared for three years on Home
and Garden Television network’s “American Homestyles” series, as well as
on numerous PBS educational programs. Wells is writing a book on architect Harwell
Hamilton Harris, to be published in 2009, and is a contributing author to
a book on Southern California Modernism to be published in 2008. The
house Wells created for the Muñoz family wanders up the hillside in a series
of three boxes made of prefabricated panels of Cor-ten weathering
steel. The quarter-inch-thick plates of steel are the structural walls of the
house. Between the three-foot-wide panels of steel are windows covered by
sliding wood screens. The three boxes stack and interlock upon one another
around a central courtyard garden and are topped by thin copper-edged roofs
that shade gable ends filled with glass. Additionally, the house is
environmentally conscious in construction, durable in material, and flexible
in plan. At the core of the house is a two-story airy transition
room with a cantilevered steel stair and a 13-foot-high sliding hangar door
to the courtyard. On the upper floor are the main living areas and a wide
ocean view. The level below contains two bedrooms, a bath, and studio. The
lowest level, shielding the house from PCH, contains a guest bedroom, bath,
and office. Steel, wood, glass, concrete, and boulders combine in a form
reminiscent of an old barn, but one made of elegantly crafted material with
daring structural design. Throughout the house, the
repetition of the panelized structural system of Cor-ten steel panels asserts
itself. On the interior, each prefabricated panel is inset with finished
materials of waxed Masonite,
smooth cork, or muted-color laminate. The floors, of cork or polished
concrete, are simple to maintain, unaffected by sand from the beach, and are
warmed by radiant heating. At the center of the living area, a freestanding
wall of bookcases and closets defines the space and is anchored by two
fireplaces of thin horizontal brick. Today, the house is a
single-family dwelling for Mr. and Mrs. Muñoz and their teenage son, along with spaces for their
daughters and grandchildren, who frequently visit. There is a separate studio
workspace for the couple: Mr. Muñoz is a design engineer of micro-medical
devices, and Mrs. Muñoz is a fabric artist. But these contemporary patrons want
their house to adapt and change as their lives will, so the house is designed
to convert to two or three independent dwellings, if needed, for
multi-generational living. Join us for the inaugural
Contemporary Patrons event, for an afternoon of exploration into what it took
to create this work of architecture overlooking the Pacific. Call for Proposals Society of Architectural Historians 62nd
Annual Meeting Members
of the Society, representatives of affiliated societies, and other scholars who
wish to chair a session at the 2009 SAH Annual Meeting in Pasadena, CA, are
invited to submit proposals by January 2, 2008, to Prof. Dianne Harris,
General Chair of the SAH 62nd Annual Meeting, Department of Landscape
Architecture, 101 Temple Buell Hall, 611 Lorado Taft Drive, Champaign, IL
61820; harris3@uiuc.edu; 217.333.7727. As
membership in the Society is required to present research at the annual
meeting, those wishing to chair a session or deliver a paper who are
currently not members must become an SAH member before October 19, 2008, also
the deadline for fellowship applications. Since
the principal purpose of the annual meeting remains that of informing the
Society’s members of the general state of research in their and related disciplines,
session proposals covering every period in the history of architecture and
all aspects of the built environment, including landscape and urban history,
are encouraged. Sessions may be theoretical, methodological, thematic,
interdisciplinary, pedagogical, revisionist, or documentary in premise and
have broadly conceived or more narrowly focused subjects. In every case, the
subject should be clearly defined in critical and historiographic terms, and
should be substantiated by a distinct body of either established or emerging
scholarship. Proposals of no more than
500 words including a session title should summarize the subject and the
premise. Include name, professional affiliation (if applicable), address,
telephone, and fax numbers, e-mail address, and a current CV. For examples of
content, consult the “Call for Papers for the 2008 Annual Meeting in Proposals will be selected on the basis of merit
and the need to organize a well-balanced program. Proposals for pre-1800
topics and topics exploring the architecture of the Centering
on Art Center SAH/SCC Members’
Celebration Saturday, December
1st, 2007 2-4PM Please join SAH/SCC for the annual Members’
Celebration on Saturday, December 1st, 2-4PM, at Art Center College of
Design’s Hillside Campus in Pasadena. We’ll meet at the Faculty Dining Room
in the building designed by Craig Ellwood. Attendees will learn about the
history of Ellwood’s design, as well as future planning and development
growth for the college. As always, our Members’ Celebration is free to
SAH/SCC members in good standing. To reserve a spot, use the form on the last
page, call 800.9SAHSCC, or email info@sahscc.org. Walk-ins are always
welcomed. The
featured speakers are Having
operated in the City of Ms.
Hutt will speak on the history and future conservation efforts of the The
Hillside campus is located at Prefab
Lite SAH/SCC Tour and
Talk Saturday, October
20th 2007 Join SAH/SCC Board
Member Jean Baaden for the second of an on-going investigation of
prefabricated structures in Prefab
Lite—a lecture, slide show, and studio tour—features Jennifer Siegal,
known for her work in creating mobile structures that include customized,
prefab Modernist homes. She is the founder and principal of the Los
Angeles-based design firm Office of Mobile Design (OMD), which is dedicated
to responsible sustainable construction and focuses on designing
“non-permanently sited structures that move across and rest lightly upon the
land.” The event will feature a
tour of the OMD Prefab Show House, which is a product that embraces the
advantages of the modern manufactured housing industry—factory production,
mass-customization of materials, and repetitive labor practices—combined with
the advantages of good green design. OMD’s mobile homes offer eco-friendly
traditional materials, such as bamboo and coconut palm flooring, Kirei panels
made from Japanese Sorghum plants, and non-toxic Koski panels, along with
some newer technologies, such as tankless water heaters, radiant electric
heaters, translucent polycarbonate sheets, and an iPort integrated sound
system. OMD’s current designs are
rooted in the explorative work of the Mobile Eco Lab and the Siegal’s projects are
featured in her book, Mobile: The Art
of Portable Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press, 2002), and have
been published in more than 100 books, newspapers, and journals, including The
New York Times, Newsweek, and Esquire. Siegal’s work was exhibited
at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s 2003 “National Design
Triennial”; the Walker Art Center’s “Strangely Familiar: Design and Everyday
Life”; the 2006 NY Mobile Living Exhibition; and the National Building
Museum’s “The Green House, New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and
Design” in 2006 and “Reinventing the Globe: A Shakespearean Theater for the
21st Century” in 2007. In addition, her work has been broadcast on CNN, HGTV,
and NPR. Please join us for an exciting opportunity to
learn more about Siegal’s innovative design sensibilities, expertise in
futuristic concepts, prefabricated construction, and green building
technologies. SAH/SCC Travel Tour, September 7th-9th 2007 Join Board Members Sian Winship and Out of the
Shadow—a
tour of modern residential architecture in No other architect of the
20th Century exerted as much influence on the profession as Frank Lloyd
Wright. In this wild and uninhabitable landscape in the 1930s, Wright found
inspiration for his ideas, a blank canvas on which to apply them, and a
renegade spirit of the West that suited his “learn by doing” approach. By the early 1960s, a number of key ingredients
came together in the The event begins Friday
evening with a lecture at the Phoenix Museum of Art (Tod Williams/Billy Tsien
and Associates, 2006) and will be followed by two full days of residential
touring. Benefiting from the presence of so many original owners, the tour
will draw inspiration from SAH/SCC’s popular Modern Patrons program and
include discussions with original owners. Participants will be
treated to the works of Case Study House architects including Al Beadle (Case
Study Apartments #1), Calvin Straub formerly of Buff, Straub & Hensman
(some never-before-seen homes), Paolo Soleri, and contemporary master Will
Bruder. Plus, tour-goers will be introduced to a series of nationally and
internationally recognized modern architects whose work deserves acclaim and
rediscovery: Blaine Drake, Bennie M. Gonzales, Edward B. Sawyer, and others. A
Block in SAH/SCC
Tour Saturday, May 19th,
2007 SAH/SCC is pleased to announce A Block in
Glendale, a one-day tour showcasing the diversity and originality of A
Block in Glendale—a drive-yourself event—will be held Saturday, May 19th,
10AM-2PM. Tickets are $45 for SAH/SCC members and $55 for non-members, and
include snacks and refreshments at the conclusion of the tour in lieu of a
box lunch. The
event will commence at Ard Eevin, an impressive Colonial/West Indies
Plantation home built in 1903, which has recently been inducted into the
National Register of Historic Places. At this location, former City of Participants
will visit the Baird House by Paul Revere Williams. Built in 1926, this
exceptional early example of Williams’ work has never before been open to the
public. It features an almost completely intact exterior and interior, with
original Mediterranean garden and water features as well as furniture and
artwork original to the house. The
tour also features a remarkable Spanish Colonial Revival residence; a 1950s
modernist home by Alfred T. Wilkes; a glass house built in 1973 by Vahran
Kevork Jebejian; and a 1960 modernist residence that has recently been
remodeled and updated by the design firm Built. Downtown Walking Tour Saturday, April 14th, 2007 SAH/SCC members are
invited to participate in a special downtown walking tour of Buildings featured on the
tour encompass diverse architectural styles, from the Victorian through
Spanish Revival, Art Deco, and early Modernism, including: § The Rapp Saloon, also the
first city hall, built in 1875, the year the city was founded. Having passed
through many adaptive reuses, today it is incorporated into the American
Youth Hostel facility. § The Majestic Theatre,
later the § The Keller Block, a
splendid example of Romanesque Revival architecture. § The Builders Exchange, a
restored Churrigueresque/Spanish Revival building, with intact decorative
interiors. § The § The El Miro theater, an
exuberant Art Deco/Streamline Moderne creation that became the centerpiece
for the revitalization of the old mall into the Third Street Promenade. SMC is debuting this tour
in April, and is making the 14th a special SAH/SCC event, offering members
the SMC price of $5. Reservations are required, and should be made by April
10th by calling 310.496.3146, or by emailing rsvp@smconservancy.org. Please
mention that you are an SAH/SCC member, and provide name, number in your
party, contact information. Remember to mention the SAH/SCC April 14th tour
date. Tours depart from the
Youth Hostel at SMC, a nonprofit
organization, was founded in 2002 by residents who were concerned about the
accelerating loss of the citys historic character. The organization is
dedicated to raising awareness of Santa Monicas irreplaceable architectural
heritage and providing a collective voice for the preservation of the city’s
historic assets. Hooray for The
conference includes more than 50 sessions on key
issues facing What is Old is New: Conceptualizing A
Remake (Adaptive Reuse) Modern Masters on the Red Carpet
(Modernism) Acting Together to Protect the Past (Legal/Advocacy) On Location: Cultural Landscape Makes the
A List Conference headquarters
and attendee lodging will be at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a
1927 local landmark rehabilitated in 2005. The history and allure of The California
Preservation Foundation, founded in 1976, is In
Search of Ancient Splendor SAH/SCC Talk Sunday, February
11th , 2007 Please join architect, world traveler, and
SAH/SCC Advisory Board Member Stephen Harby on Sunday, February 11th, 2-4PM,
for Libya and Tunisia: In Search of Ancient Splendor and the Far-Flung
Outposts of Empire, an illustrated talk. The talk takes place at the
Santa Monica Public Library
at These two countries were
once the breadbasket of the This lively slide talk
will take place at the newly built Santa Monica Public Library designed by
Moore Ruble Yudell, recipient of the prestigious 2006 Architecture Firm Award
by the American Institute of Architects. Opened in January 2006, the library
represents a greater civic presence on Authors
on Architecture SAH/SCC Book
Signings Lifetime
of Winter SAH/SCC Lifetime Achievement Award Gala Sunday December 3rd,
2006 The Southern California Chapter of the Society of
Architectural Historians (SAH/SCC) is celebrating its 30th anniversary. One
of the founding fathers was Dr. Robert Winter, architectural historian and
professor emeritus at Since its founding, both
SAH/SCC and Dr. Winter have realized many accomplishments. Dr. Winter
co-wrote with David Gebhard the succession of guidebooks to Los Angeles-area
architecture that we all refer to constantly (the edition currently available
is An Architectural Guidebook to Los
Angeles, Gibbs-Smith, 2005). He has written
numerous books and articles on architecture-with subjects ranging from
bungalows to fantasy works from He has served as adviser
on preservation at the state, city, journal, and individual building levels.
He has preserved the Batchelder House (1909, 1913) and opened it to countless
visitors. He is an internationally-recognized dean in the field of American
Arts & Crafts aesthetics. The Lanterman House is an
Arts & Crafts house of reinforced concrete, which some would call a
bungalow-or at least a mega-bungalow. However, Dr. Winter (a/k/a Bungalow
Bob) insists it is not a bungalow because it has two stories. Whatever
its classification, it is a very grand home, and has been restored to what it
was at its prime. The
Award Gala will include an open house look at the beautifully restored main
floor; wine, music, and hors doeuvres upstairs; and a lovely dinner
highlighted by well-deserved tributes to Bob Winter. There will also be a
silent auction and plenty of opportunity to chat with other friends of architectural
history and fans of Dr. Winter in a classic, not-a-bungalow in La Celebrate
Preservation SAH/SCC
Members Celebration Sunday, December
9th, 2006 2:00PM This year, the SAH/SCC Members Celebration will
take place at the historic Charles F. Lummis Home and Garden (El Alisal) in Although the Members
Celebration is free to current SAH/SCC members-as always-there is limited
space and parking, so advanced reservations are necessary. See back page for
order form. Members may bring a guest for $10, which is applicable to a new
membership. In the 1880s, Lummis
walked from As editor of Land of Sunshine and Out West magazines, and as founder and
key spirit behind the movement to restore the missions, Lummis spearheaded
the romanticization of the Spanish past as an essential part of Since 1963, the Lummis
Home and Garden, owned by LA City Department of Parks and Recreation, has
been operated by the Historical Society of Southern California. Time has
taken its toll: the roof leaks, there is no air conditioning in summer and
only fireplace heating in winter, wiring is not up-to-date, etc. We will look
to our members to discover elements that need repair as we take a close look
at this historic and interesting structure. Then we will hear from a panel
comprising Denise Spooner, the director of the Historical Society; Anthea
Hartig, Western Director of the National Trust; Peyton Hall, restoration
architect and director of a preliminary restoration study; and Marc Mariscol,
LA City Parks & Recreation. They will speak on the state of the house,
the need for restoration, and how best to go about it, followed by an
interactive session for ideas and suggestions from SAH/SCC members and
guests. Winter
in the 20s Saturday, October
14th 2006 Meet
the venerable historian and SAH/SCC Founding and Life Member Robert Winter,
who turns his incisive eye toward the booming decade of the 1920s, which
impelled the convergence of Chasing
Saturday,
September 16th 2006 Come meet the indomitable John Leighton Chase,
who takes on current Living Pre-Fab SAH/SCC Tour and Lecture Saturday, August
5th, 2006 LivingHomes, the latest entry into the pre-fab
housing boom, opens its inaugural house to SAH/SCC for an afternoon tour and
talk in LivingHomes, the
brainchild of Steve Glenn, offers homeowners an eco-sensitive, high-design
pre-fab housing solution. Designed by the venerable architect Ray Kappe,
FAIA, the first house, which Glenn calls his own, is meant to act as a model
for homes to come. Before developing LivingHomes, Glenn was a technology
entrepreneur and a co-founder and board member of the Sustainable Building
Council. All LivingHomes products
are designed to achieve at least a LEED for Home silver accreditation and
incorporate an environmental program that encompasses both materials and
production. Glenns home was installed by lowering 11 modules onto a concrete
slab with a 350-ton crane. Installation lasted eight hours. Kappe-designed
homes come in four adaptable models, depending on size and program. They all
include photovoltaics, grey water systems, certified wood, solar and radiant
heating, formaldehyde- and urea-free millwork, movable walls and floor plates
for flexibility and adaptability, integrated media technologies, built-in
furniture and storage space, and usable living roofs with gardens, fire pits,
and other features. Rodney Walker Weekend SAH/SCC Tour Saturday, June
10th, and Sunday, June 11th, 2006 Join SAH/SCC Executive Board Member Craig Walker
for the first tour of the Rodney Walkers early work
as a draftsman in R.M. Schindlers office made him a natural choice for Arts & Architectures groundbreaking Case Study House
Program. Walkers work is characterized by the creation of aesthetically
innovative spaces using experimental materials (e.g., steel, fiberglass,
plywood), technologies, and techniques. |
