The Westin Bonaventure (completed in 1976) by John Portman & Associates has come to embody an idea of Los Angeles in ways few other buildings have. Courtesy Brian Guido
Throughout the 1970s, the rising architecture stars of the L.A. School—as it was sometimes called in the national press—distinguished themselves from their New York or Chicago peers, who didn’t have as broad an opportunity to build their envelope-pushing designs. The experimental work of upstarts—Frank Gehry, Eric Owen Moss, Franklin D. Israel, and Thom Mayne, to name a few—was fresh and unorthodox. Unlike the New York Five, who wished to be seen as a unitary movement, L.A. architects working under the (often unwelcome) banner of Postmodernism maintained the freedom to explore and develop their own ad hoc styles—asymmetrical proportions, theatrical uses of cheap materials, and self-conscious jabs at consumer culture. Gehry once commented that “the rise of the variety of styles thrown together under the heading of Postmodernism made architecture more fun.”
Take Jeffrey Daniels, a disciple of Gehry’s and the architect of a playful Deconstructivist design for a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise location. “For me, it was about a freedom to experiment more than a process of historical allusion, even when it came to transforming something as small and ordinary as a fast-food chicken store,” Daniels says.
Here we celebrate the variety of innovative architecture under the umbrella of Postmodernism (an elusive phantom with many faces) coming out of La La Land between 1975 and the early 1990s—from Gehry’s expressive forms to experimental residences by the likes of Moss and Mayne, as well as overlooked gems such as Moore Ruble Yudell’s ebullient church in Pacific Palisades.
Westin Bonaventure at 404 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles The Westin Bonaventure, whose five cylindrical towers occupy an entire block in downtown Los Angeles, is so linked to the idea of “postmodern hyperspace,” a term coined by Marxist critic Fredric Jameson, that it is difficult to see past it to the building. Since its opening, the hotel’s spectacular atrium—with its dizzying visual connections, expansive scale, and disorienting layout—has thrilled, seduced, and offended observers.
Courtesy Brian Guido
Westin Bonaventure at 404 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles The Westin Bonaventure, whose five cylindrical towers occupy an entire block in downtown Los Angeles, is so linked to the idea of “postmodern hyperspace,” a term coined by Marxist critic Fredric Jameson, that it is difficult to see past it to the building. Since its opening, the hotel’s spectacular atrium—with its dizzying visual connections, expansive scale, and disorienting layout—has thrilled, seduced, and offended observers.
708 House, 708 El Medeo Ave., Pacific PalisadesEric Owen Moss described his renovation of his own family home—a one-story, wood-frame stucco Case Study House in L.A.’s Pacific Palisades designed by James H. Caughey in 1948—as “not so much into an order of space or volume, but into the making of a piece, and then the making of surfaces, which then evolved or was developed in other projects.”
Courtesy Brian Guido
708 House, 708 El Medeo Ave., Pacific PalisadesEric Owen Moss described his renovation of his own family home—a one-story, wood-frame stucco Case Study House in L.A.’s Pacific Palisades designed by James H. Caughey in 1948—as “not so much into an order of space or volume, but into the making of a piece, and then the making of surfaces, which then evolved or was developed in other projects.”
St. Matthew’s Church of Pacific Palisades at 1031 Bienveneda Ave., Pacific Palisades.In 1991, architecture critic Aaron Betsky likened most churches to shopping centers in their banality, with a notable exception: St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church of Pacific Palisades. “Hiding its massive shape behind a ring of sloping roofs, it rises up to contain a majestic, light-filled space that cannot but fill you with awe,” Betsky wrote in the Los Angeles Times.
Courtesy Brian Guido
St. Matthew’s Church of Pacific Palisades at 1031 Bienveneda Ave., Pacific Palisades.In 1991, architecture critic Aaron Betsky likened most churches to shopping centers in their banality, with a notable exception: St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church of Pacific Palisades. “Hiding its massive shape behind a ring of sloping roofs, it rises up to contain a majestic, light-filled space that cannot but fill you with awe,” Betsky wrote in the Los Angeles Times.
MacDonald Research Laboratories and Gonda Center, UCLAThe design of laboratories, says Denise Scott Brown, “is an honorable problem”—one she and partner Robert Venturi tackled throughout the ’80s and ’90s, when the two built a string of them, first at Princeton, then UCLA and UPenn.
Courtesy Brian Guido
MacDonald Research Laboratories and Gonda Center, UCLAThe design of laboratories, says Denise Scott Brown, “is an honorable problem”—one she and partner Robert Venturi tackled throughout the ’80s and ’90s, when the two built a string of them, first at Princeton, then UCLA and UPenn.
World Savings and Loan Branch, 10064 Riverside Dr., Los AngelesWith its surface play and emphasis on frontality, this Frank Gehry building certainly owes something to Robert Venturi’s brand of semiotics. “It reminds me a little bit of Venturi’s fire station in Columbus [Ohio],” says Paul Goldberger, who played Gehry’s biographer with his 2015 book Building Art. “[Both were] trying in similar ways to pull away from the limits of orthodox Modernism as they were felt then.”
Courtesy Brian Guido
World Savings and Loan Branch, 10064 Riverside Dr., Los AngelesWith its surface play and emphasis on frontality, this Frank Gehry building certainly owes something to Robert Venturi’s brand of semiotics. “It reminds me a little bit of Venturi’s fire station in Columbus [Ohio],” says Paul Goldberger, who played Gehry’s biographer with his 2015 book Building Art. “[Both were] trying in similar ways to pull away from the limits of orthodox Modernism as they were felt then.”
Norton House, 2509 Ocean Front Walk, VeniceThe Norton House, also designed by Gehry, is a self-referential jungle gym that incorporated bits of Laugier’s Primitive Hut and even Gehry’s own 1978 house.
Courtesy Brian Guido
Norton House, 2509 Ocean Front Walk, VeniceThe Norton House, also designed by Gehry, is a self-referential jungle gym that incorporated bits of Laugier’s Primitive Hut and even Gehry’s own 1978 house.
Loyola Law School, located at 919 Albany St., Los AngelesThe Loyola Law School by Frank Gehry features a burnt-yellow facade that sears the retinas and scrambles vision to allow an appreciation of Gehry’s on-site joke—an allusion to classical temple architecture.
Courtesy Brian Guido
Loyola Law School, located at 919 Albany St., Los AngelesThe Loyola Law School by Frank Gehry features a burnt-yellow facade that sears the retinas and scrambles vision to allow an appreciation of Gehry’s on-site joke—an allusion to classical temple architecture.
Sunset Multi-Use, 8981 Sunset Blvd., West HollywoodEven before this project’s completion, it was controversial. It was awarded a Progressive Architecture citation in 1986 by a jury that included Susana Torre, Thom Mayne, and Richard Rogers.
Sunset Multi-Use, 8981 Sunset Blvd., West HollywoodEven before this project’s completion, it was controversial. It was awarded a Progressive Architecture citation in 1986 by a jury that included Susana Torre, Thom Mayne, and Richard Rogers.
The Fleetwood Center, 19611 Ventura Blvd., TarzanaA singular sight on Ventura Boulevard, the Fleetwood Center in Tarzana, California, never functioned as a Cadillac dealership, but you couldn’t tell by looking. Angular corner turrets resemble a Caddy fender, circular neon tubing makes up the headlights, central windows limn a radiator grille, and first-floor masonry walls are painted tire-black.
Courtesy Brian Guido
The Fleetwood Center, 19611 Ventura Blvd., TarzanaA singular sight on Ventura Boulevard, the Fleetwood Center in Tarzana, California, never functioned as a Cadillac dealership, but you couldn’t tell by looking. Angular corner turrets resemble a Caddy fender, circular neon tubing makes up the headlights, central windows limn a radiator grille, and first-floor masonry walls are painted tire-black.
The Pacific Design Center at 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.Built in fits and starts, the Pacific Design Center was something of a white whale for its architect, Cesar Pelli, who was working at Gruen Associates in the early 1970s when he was commissioned with the project.
Courtesy Brian Guido
The Pacific Design Center at 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood.Built in fits and starts, the Pacific Design Center was something of a white whale for its architect, Cesar Pelli, who was working at Gruen Associates in the early 1970s when he was commissioned with the project.
1100 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles With its asymmetrical form and complex materiality, 1100 Wilshire Boulevard reflects an interesting moment in the development of the Pomo aesthetic. The building, which opened in 1986, was designed by AC Martin Partners, although this fact comes with two caveats: the architects’ disavowal of responsibility for the widely panned building in the decades following its construction and the strong hand its developer wielded in the design process.
Courtesy Brian Guido
1100 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles With its asymmetrical form and complex materiality, 1100 Wilshire Boulevard reflects an interesting moment in the development of the Pomo aesthetic. The building, which opened in 1986, was designed by AC Martin Partners, although this fact comes with two caveats: the architects’ disavowal of responsibility for the widely panned building in the decades following its construction and the strong hand its developer wielded in the design process.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, 40 N. Western Ave., Los AngelesFor the new location of his Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise, owner Jack Wilke hoped to avoid the outlet’s typical form and instead pay tribute to 1950s Googie architecture. He wanted a design that would eschew the corporation’s standard false mansard roof, signage featuring a giant bucket, and boxy modern shape.
Courtesy Brian Guido
Kentucky Fried Chicken, 40 N. Western Ave., Los AngelesFor the new location of his Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise, owner Jack Wilke hoped to avoid the outlet’s typical form and instead pay tribute to 1950s Googie architecture. He wanted a design that would eschew the corporation’s standard false mansard roof, signage featuring a giant bucket, and boxy modern shape.
901 Abbot Kinney Blvd, VeniceIn 1991, Franklin D. Israel renovated and transformed three buildings that contained the former offices of Charles and Ray Eames into the design offices of Keith Bright and Associates. A passionate urbanite—he identified his three most important influences as New York, Rome, and Los Angeles—Israel believed in designing “cities within”: interior spaces with the variety, color, and energy of a large metropolis.
Courtesy Brian Guido
901 Abbot Kinney Blvd, VeniceIn 1991, Franklin D. Israel renovated and transformed three buildings that contained the former offices of Charles and Ray Eames into the design offices of Keith Bright and Associates. A passionate urbanite—he identified his three most important influences as New York, Rome, and Los Angeles—Israel believed in designing “cities within”: interior spaces with the variety, color, and energy of a large metropolis.
2-4-6-8 House, 932 Amoroso Pl., VeniceThom Mayne is hardly sentimental about his first built works, least of all the 2-4-6-8 House. Completed in 1978, not long after Mayne returned to L.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the little house was the outlet for youthful—and perhaps murky—ideas about typology, abstraction, and scale. “I’ve always thought it very curious why it was thought to be interesting, frankly,” he admits. “It’s just an early work that has little meaning to me other than it was part of a journey.”
Courtesy Brian Guido
2-4-6-8 House, 932 Amoroso Pl., VeniceThom Mayne is hardly sentimental about his first built works, least of all the 2-4-6-8 House. Completed in 1978, not long after Mayne returned to L.A. from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the little house was the outlet for youthful—and perhaps murky—ideas about typology, abstraction, and scale. “I’ve always thought it very curious why it was thought to be interesting, frankly,” he admits. “It’s just an early work that has little meaning to me other than it was part of a journey.”
Hollywood Duplex, 6949 Camrose Dr., Los AngelesThe buttoned-up, nearly windowless orange facade of Koning Eizenberg’s Hollywood Duplex, built in 1987, conceals the building’s unique layout, as well as the open hillside vista viewable from its rear. In Koning Eizenberg: Buildings, Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg credit the inspiration for the duplex’s dynamic double-volume design to Minoru Yamasaki’s office towers in the Century City neighborhood in Los Angeles, which seem to dance around one another.
Courtesy Brian Guido
Hollywood Duplex, 6949 Camrose Dr., Los AngelesThe buttoned-up, nearly windowless orange facade of Koning Eizenberg’s Hollywood Duplex, built in 1987, conceals the building’s unique layout, as well as the open hillside vista viewable from its rear. In Koning Eizenberg: Buildings, Hank Koning and Julie Eizenberg credit the inspiration for the duplex’s dynamic double-volume design to Minoru Yamasaki’s office towers in the Century City neighborhood in Los Angeles, which seem to dance around one another.
