As an architecture buff, I take no small pride in knowing a thing or two about the architecture in and around Los Feliz, so it came as a great surprise when I stumbled upon the John Lautner-inspired Leiberman House on Prospect Avenue, originally designed by Glen Howard Small in 1989. Perhaps one of the least known mastermind's of contemporary architecture, the architect demonstrated early promise while an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, where he was awarded the Eliel Saarinen Scholarship for the Masters of Architecture program at the Cranbrook Academy of Arts and Institute of Sciences. After graduation (1967) he worked for various architectural firms including John Lautner and Smith and Williams. After a three year stint as assistant professor at Cal Poly Pomona School of Environmental Design, he joined a group of fellow architects to co-found the Southern California Institute of Architects (SCI-Arc) in 1972 where he taught for the next 18 years.
In the Leiberman House the original owners commissioned a creative addition to their home, described by the architect as a "a dingbat Spanish house that had no character." The resultant "face lift" consists of "a series of quarter curves in two different directions", the architect's attempt at bringing "sensuous, flowing curves to life" in a residential setting. The wall of the house have been sculpted in such a way as to eliminate the need for a roof, leaving the interiors open to the heavens and "exalted by its light." The house was purchased by Estela Mara Bensimon and Agapito Diaz in 1995. Dr. Bensimon who is co-director of the Center for Urban Education at the USC Rossier School of Education states that "when we purchased the house in 1995 from the Liebermans, the house was kind of half finished, i.e. nothing had been done beyond the living room. Over time, with the help of Los Feliz-based architect Anthony Eckelberry, we remodeled the rest of the house, tore down some walls, changed all the windows to take advantage of the openness of the design. As fate would have it, Eckelberry was a student of Glen Howard Small at SCI-Arc, so the remodel was faithful to the original vision."
Small currently lives in Managua, Nicaragua where he has recently completed three projects of national importance, the Concha Acustica, the centerpiece of the Nicaraguan national cultural plaza; the Journalist Rotunda, a monument to the journalists of the Sandinistan Revolution, and the Colon Rotunda, a fountain in the city's civic center. In 2002, Glen Small's daughter Lucia Small made an award-winning documentary film on his work, "My Father the Genius".
I missed it however the Assembly® located at 2045 S. La Cienega Boulevard presented a retrospective of Small's contribution to green architecture entitled, "Glen Small: Recovery Room," a selection of earnest architectural proposals "yet to be realized" November 9-30, 2013. In describing the exhibition Archinect's own Orhan Ayyüce writes “When he saw the Green Machine, he said, ‘we're going to build this thing.’” – Glen Small quoting Los Angeles city planner Calvin Hamilton. Oregon and Nicaragua-based architect Glen Small’s mid-career proposals still inspire radical reconsideration of our notions of environmentalism, housing, and urban development. From the 1960s-1980s, a body of visionary designs placed Small at the center of key discussions of architectural experimentation and ecological consciousness in California, and studying alongside him was an assumed part of one’s education during the founding decades of the Southern California Institute of Architecture.
Thirty-plus years later, his proposals still exist - not as suggestions for monuments, nor as paper architecture, but as thoroughly worked out architecture. Projects like Green Machine (1977-80) and Turf Town (1983) are made all the more valid and relevant by comparison with contemporary development projects. Details of a work like Biomorphic Biosphere Megastructure (1969-77) may be elegant, but these qualities are never separate from a primary function as architectural program. Glen Small, and the flickering ethos of early SCI-Arc, still represent positions that are often considered too difficult in the current state of education and emerging practices. Through original models, drawings, published material, and a series of events, Assembly® will join in the conversations Small has sustained throughout his practice".
The Leiberman House is located at 3995 Prospect Avenue in the Franklin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles.
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Tags: Los Feliz Los Feliz Architecture Michael Locke Treasures of Los Angeles Architecture Glen Howard Small Anthony Eckelberry Leiberman House archiref Orhan Ayyüce Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor Los Angeles Architecture Calvin Hamilton Agapito Diaz Estela Mara Bensimon
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Lucile Avenue between Micheltorena and Landa Streets is one of those particularly narrow, winding and steep streets typical of the Moreno Highlands. Most of the homes on the street appear to have been developed n the late fifties and early sixties as buildable lots were becoming increasingly scarce. Architect Otto Korver designed this modern home for Henry Jacobs in 1962. Located at 1934 Lucile Avenue.
Tags: Silver Lake Otto J. Korver Henry Jacobs Residence Michael Locke Treasures of Los Angeles Architecture Los Angeles Los Angeles Architecture Los Angeles Modern Silver Lake Architecture greatphotographers Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor Michael Locke, Editor archiref
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Keeping it in the family, Architect Barton Choy designed a residence for his sister Marylin Choy on a vacant lot right next door to his own in Silver Lake in 1977. The hous has many of the same attributes of his own home yet is quite different. The extensive use of redwood and glass give this property a distinctive alpine look that takes full advantage of the view of the lake below.
The Marylin Choy Residence is located at 3025 Windsor Avenue in the Primrose Hill section of Silver Lake. Please do not use this image in any media without my permission.
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Tags: Silver Lake Silver Lake Architecture archiref Eugene Kinn Choy Barton Choy Choy Associates Michael Locke Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor
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Rising up from a formerly vacant lot on busy Silver Lake Boulevard, the house is an attempt to reconcile the needs of the working artist with those of the domestic mass mass-marketplace. Initially conceived as a loft space, the project seeks to question the traditional notions of domesticity coupled with the contemporary requirements of the home studio. For the designer, John Southern, the home simultaneously represents a space of play and a space of work. While the spaces can be perceived as more private the further one moves into the house, the overall layout of the project allows for maximum flexibility on both levels of occupation. In short the house is a constantly shifting landscape of either the domestic homebody or the work space of the artist, with the dominant pole never really defined. John Southern, and his architectural studio, Urban Operations, were responsible for both the design and construction of the project, including the installation of the exterior finishes, which consist of corrugated steel, clear cedar siding, and stucco (the stucco was done by another contractor). John also designed and installed much of the interior finish work, utilizing bamboo floors and plywood elements to make the house seem more human. However, the interior spaces were left as minimal as possible so as to allow for future experimentation and alteration as the designer and the house grew together. By realizing that the house is an organism, not unlike the human body, alterations and maintenance have been planned for, and even accepted as an opportunity to re-tailor the building to the designer's changing tastes and personal desires.
The 2 bedroom, 3 bath home in 2407 sq. ft is currently (June 2015) on the market listed for sale for $1.2M For more details please visit www.817silverlakeblvd.com.
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Tags: Michael Locke, Realtor Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke Treasures of Los Angeles Architecture John Southern Urban Operations Silver Lake SILVER LAKE ARCHITECTURE Archiref
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The Jenkyns House in Silver Lake just came on the market (August 2011) priced at $1,070,000. The 3-bedroom, 2-bath house is a classic expression of California Modernism. Described in the listing, "The residence is lifted from the street with a slanted roofline, creating a dramatic soaring effect and capturing views of the Silver Lake Reservoir.. Exposed posts and beams, brick fireplaces, and floating staircases punctuate the classic design."
The architect, who passed away in 2002 aged 94, was friends with other non-conformists of the period, including architectural photographer Julius Schulman, landscape designer Garrett Eckbo, and fellow "radical" architect Gregory Ain. He was a card-carrying Communist whose political activism made him a target of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Shulman photographed the Jenkyns House for his friend, but never allowed them to be published, citing privacy issues. The house is located at 1973 Redesdale Avenue. Please do not use this image in any media without my permission. © All rights reserved.
Tags: China Silver Lake Silver Lake Architecture Josef Van der Kar AIA Jenkyns House Julius Shulman Garrett Eckbo Gregory Ain archiref Michael Locke Michael Locke, Photographer Michael Locke, Realtor
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