It has been more than six months since I first met architect Michael Lehrer at his Silver Lake office on March 5, 2010. My scribbled notations on our interview barely readable, I found it difficult to be taking notes while enraptured with the conversation. Michael Lehrer is one of those larger-than-life individuals that leave you with the sense of being in the “presence of greatness”. Under normal circumstances, I can review my notes and have something intelligent to put down in words in an hour or two. In all my years of interviewing and writing this has only happened once before, while struggling to summarize the remarkable life of Julius Shulman. Now that I think about it, Shulman and Lehrer share a lot in common: Both came from east coast/ European Jewish immigrant roots; both grew up with a deep appreciation for nature, and both share a deep love for architecture and the dignity of the human spirit. Shulman welcomed me as an equal; Lehrer treated me the same.
The Lehrer Architects office (voted one of the world’s “coolest offices by Inc. Magazine); a once-dingy warehouse on Hyperion Avenue is a playful, all-white space with a single red stripe running the length of the floor. The harmony of sounds of children playing (from the next-door day care center), birds chirping (thanks to the open, floor-to-ceiling doors) and the occasional car whisking by on Hyperion are all mixed in with the creative atmosphere. Michael greets me with the kind of warmth that is immediately telling of the type of person he is, introducing me to his staff of about a dozen co-workers “collaborators” and giving me a tour. The office is a virtual public space, where the firm often hosts lectures, fundraisers and evening get-togethers for life-drawing sessions. In a prominent display case is an essay, written by Lehrer, entitled, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” from which I quote:
“For me, the dialogue between architecture and landscape began long before I had any idea that two such discrete disciplines even existed. Growing up next to Griffith Park, I carved forts out of the bushes on the canyon hillsides where I lived. The smell of the chaparral oil that stained my hands followed me as I ran down the hill to my mother’s daily call for “Dinnertime!” As a child, I was surrounded by great landscapes and spectacular architecture, as I came to appreciate years later. Neutra’s Lovell House was just over the ridge behind our house. Wright’s Ennis House lined a ridge one canyon over, and Schindler’s Schrage House, with a garden by Neutra, was atop a hill on the other side of our canyon. A great Soriano house was just up the street at the edge of Griffith Park, and Barnsdall Park was a mile away. Growing up, architecture, landscape, native flora, and joy were givens to my day-to-day existence. The inseparable connection of architecture to landscape was not something I thought about as a kid. It just was.
“I decided to be an architect when I was eight. I was in love with a girl whose father (S. Kenneth Jonson, the “J” in DMJM) was an architect. She brought plans of a high school he designed to share with our third-grade class. And that was it.
By the age of ten, I was entranced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s drawings and seduced by his line: how the line of the building would become the line of foliage, and then extend to become the line of the topography, and continue as the picture frame. This sublime integration was the font of my sensibility about architecture and landscape. Both were orchestrated, inseparably, by the construction lines that organized Wright’s plans and elevations. Beginning with drawing, Wright melded the two—architecture and landscape—into the apotheosis of space.
While I was an undergraduate at Berkeley, this sensibility incubated organically within me. Marc Treib and Ron Herman’s course on the Japanese landscape was informative. At Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, this integration would become a way of life.”
After graduation, Lehrer worked at Frank O. Gehry and Associates and other design firms before opening his own practice in Silver Lake in 1985. His designs demonstrate a reverence for light and space, grounded in the idea that beauty is the expression of human dignity; the spiritual essence of architecture. The firm has won over 60 national, state, and local design awards since 1996, including numerous honor awards from The American Institute of Architects, the Chicago Athenaeum, and the International Interior Design Association. The Water + Life Museum in Hemet, an internationally honored environmental showcase, was honored as the first LEED Platinum museum in the world. In 1999, he was elected President of the American Institute of Architects, Los Angeles, and has served as Vice Chairman of School Construction Bond Oversight Committee, responsible for upgrading 700 existing schools and the construction of new schools for the Los Angeles Unified School District. In 2004 he was elevated to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects.
Today Michael is President of Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles, on the Harvard Alumni Association representing the Graduate School of Design and on the Harvard Design Magazine Professional Advisory Board.
He is married to Mia Lehrer, Mia Lehrer + Associates Landscape Architecture. They have three children: Benjamin, Rebecca, and Raphael.
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Tags: Michael Lehrer Water + Life Museum Los Feliz Los Feliz Architecture Los Angeles Architects Lehrer & Associates “NikonflickrAward” archiref Michael Locke Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor
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Born in Buenos Aires Argentina, Leonardo received a master’s degree in architecture from the Univercidad Nacional de Buenos Aires in 1981. In 1982 Leonardo moved to Los Angeles, a year before the end of a military dictatorship that was ruling Argentina at the time. The regime was conducting a “dirty war” that resulted in the disappearance of approximately 50,000 citizens.
After working for an engineering firm in Burbank, followed by several “pay the bills” jobs, Leonardo opened his own practice doing small remodeling jobs as well as graphic design and art projects. In 1990, after obtaining the California Architect’s license, Leonardo started getting larger commissions and focused his practice on custom residential architecture.
Moving to Silver Lake in 1993, Leonard continued his architectural practice as well as focusing on art projects. More architectural commissions and art shows followed. He started focusing on sustainability on his projects as well as on his own residence, and that led to obtaining a LEED accreditation in 2008.
Since 2003, Leonardo and his partner Michael Saint-Onge have been volunteering for local organizations. While Michael serves as president of the “Friends of the Silver Lake Library”, Leonardo volunteers his time with the “Green Committee of the SL Chamber of commerce,” the local Library, as well as “Sustainable Silver Lake,” an organization dedicated to advance local sustainable issues.
Leonardo presently (2010) serves on the Governing Board of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council. He has a strong commitment to the environment as well as interest in public transportation, bicycle advocacy and green communal spaces. On the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, he participates in the Urban Design & Preservation committee and also is part of a group of volunteers working to bring an organic fruit & vegetable community garden at Micheltorena Elementary School, the local Title 1 school, (80% enrollment is by kids of low income families). Construction of the garden began in November 2010 with the demolition of the garden’s asphalt surface. I took this photo of him at Micheltorena School in Silver Lake.
“I'm interested in projects that encourage communal participation. When there is a need and a group of committed volunteers bringing their individual talents, neither money nor bureaucracy will stand in the way of achieving our goals”.
Interested in Leonardo’s work? Visit www.chalupowicz.com
Would you like to volunteer for the school garden? Send an email to greenschoolgarden@gmail.com
Tags: Leonardo Chalupowicz Silver Lake Los Angeles Architects Silver Lake Architects Green Architecture Micheltorena Street Elementary School Silver Lake Neighborhood Council archiref Michael Locke Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor
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I first met Leland Lee in Pasadena at a Carol Soucek-King Salon in Pasadena a few years ago.. Learning he worked with Julius Shulman between 1953 and 1961, I was immediately drawn to him and wanted to know more about his relationship with Julius. Turns out Leland has had an illustrious career of his own, with photo credits in such publications as Architectural Digest, Home Magazine, and House & Garden, however it was not until 2010, at the age of 91, that he finally received some long overdue recognition.
During 2010 Modernism Week in Palm Springs, his first solo exhibition opened at the Michael H. Lord Gallery. The exhibit highlighted his photography with a focus on the architectural work of John Lautner, including the Elrod House in Palm Springs and Silvertop House in Silver Lake (Los Angeles). This exhibition coincided with the John Lautner Exhibition, "Between Earth and Heaven," at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
I took this photo of Leland in my backyard in Los Feliz about the same time.
Tags: Leland Y. Lee Leland Lee Architectural Photography Palm Springs Modern Julius Shulman Carol Soucek-King Richard King Architectural Digest John Lautner John Lautner Foundation Los Angeles Architecture Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke Michael Locke, Realtor
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Aaron Neubert is a brilliant young architect living in Silver Lake. Recognized with Merit Awards from the American Institute of Architects (Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley chapters), Aaron’s work explores the complex relationship between architecture, landscape and urban systems, stemming from the diverse experiences of his youth in the beaches and swamps of south Florida, and later, from the urban environments of New York City and Los Angeles.
Born in West Palm Beach, FL, Aaron received a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation in 1997. He holds a Bachelor of Design Degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Florida where he studied art and architecture. In 1994, he traveled abroad and pursued studies at the Vicenza Institute of Architecture, Vicenza, Italy.
Prior to establishing his architectural practice in Los Angeles in 2000, Aaron served as lead designer and project architect for various New York City offices. He was extensively involved in the renovation and addition to the Asia Society Museum on Park Avenue, the Edison Schools’ Ed-Labs Project and numerous recognized residential projects in New York, Connecticut, Arizona and Virginia. Besides the AIA recognitions, Aaron is the recipient of the Van Alen Prize in Public Architecture. His independent and collaborative designs have been featured in numerous publications including Architecture, the Los Angeles Times, Dwell, Art in America, Architectural Design, Desert Living, Concept, Arhitext, the Art Newspaper, and the monographs Digital Architecture and All-American. He has served as a design instructor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Otis School of Design, Woodbury University, and Cal Poly Pomona College of Environmental Design.
Aaron lives in the N-HN House in Silver Lake, a home he designed for his family including his wife, Stacy, an attorney and their two children, Quinn and Penn. He is principal of aNX Architecture
I snapped the photo of Aaron at his Silver Lake home on July15, 2008.
Tags: Aaron Neubert N-HN House aNX Architecture Silver Lake Silver Lake Architecture Michael Locke Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Editor Michael Locke, Realtor Silver Lake Archiitecture archiref
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Architect Ryan Upton (Lean Arch) has a chat with Julius Shulman at the Shulman Design Studio on March 21, 2009.
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Tags: Michael Locke Julius Shulman Julius Shulman Institute Los Angeles Photographers Los Angeles Architecture Ryan Upton Lean Arch Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor Michael Locke, Editor archiref
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