AIA LA Jury Announces Nominees in the Restaurant Design Awards Competition

Hyde lounge by G+ Design. Photo by Ryan ForbesThe American Institute of Architects Los Angeles has announced 16 nominees in the eighth annual Restaurant Design Awards Competition.

The competition jury was comprised of KCRW radio personality, chef, and restaurateur Evan Kleiman; architect Mark Rios, FAIA; and Bravo's wunderkind Top Chef winner and restaurateur Michael Voltaggio. The jury selected 16 projects in three categories: nine restaurants, three cafe/bars and four lounge/nightclubs. For a complete list, and to vote for the people’s Choice Award in each category, visit the AIA LA website.

The winners will be announced on Friday, June 22 as part of Dwell on Design at the L.A. Convention Center.

FORM Issue Event: Kick Off the LA Design Festival at Snaidero

Fans of the uniquely functional elegance of Snaidero's designs don't want to miss the June FORM Issue Event. Snaidero USA will open its doors to showcase the best of Italian Design, with products from the likes of Calligaris, Alessi, and Caesarstone. The event will kick off the LA Design Festival, and space is limited, so RSVP to rsvp@FORMMag.net or 818.956.5313. Include name, title, company, phone, and email.

What to Do This Weekend: Venice Artwalk and Auctions

The Farrell House by Steven EhrlichScheduled for this weekend, May 19-20, the Venice Artwalk and Auction is sure to be included among the year’s highlights for art and architecture aficionados. The main event, the silent art auction and community celebration, will provide a rare opportunity to party at the Google Los Angeles campus--famous for the binocular façade designed by Frank Gehry.  Of course, the Venice Art Walk and Auction also includes art and architecture tours of a selection of art studios and architecturally significant homes. This year’s tours feature artists' and architects' homes east of Lincoln (including the homes of Blue McRight & Warren Wagner and Cliff Garten & Molly Reid, in addition to the Steven Ehrlich-designed Perry Farrell house), as well as homes between Pacific and Abbot Kinney (designed by architects Steven Shortridge, John Frane, David Ritch and Damian LeMons). The “Venture into Venice Art Studio Tours” will also highlight artist enclaves around Sunset Avenue and special art exhibits.

The event is hosted by Google for the benefit of the Venice Family Clinic. For more information on the schedule of event, visit the Venice Artwalk and Auction website.

Google Los Angeles image via IK'S World Trip//Flickr

UPDATE*: XTEN Designs New Boutique Hotel for South Park in Downtown LA

Image courtesy of XTEN Architecture via ArchDaily(Updated May 18: XTEN submitted this design for the hotel, but was not accepted as the architect of record.) Los Angeles-based firm XTEN Architecture has revealed its plans for a new hotel in the revitalized Downtown Los Angeles neighborhood of South Park (the new hotel will be built blocks away from LA Live and next to the Luma tower). XTEN conceived the overall structure as a concrete monolith, with numerous, expansive portals to provide visual access to the cityscape and landscaping. The 65,000-square-foot hotel will include two subterranean bars, a restaurant, and a rooftop terrace with the obligatory infinity edge pool. A post on ArchDaily was the first to share the news.

As detailed by the LA Times, the site was once promised for a neighborhood-serving pocket park, but a consortium of local developers bought the property and announced their intentions to transform the property into a boutique hotel back in February of 2012 (the original building is a three-story building completed in 1909 that at one point had a dozen liens and competing parties claiming to hold the title). Back when they bought the property in February, the developers claimed that they would spend $25 million rehabbing the site.

Image courtesy of XTEN Architecture via ArchDaily

Morphosis Selected to Design First Building at CornellNYC Tech

The Cooper Union, designed by Morphosis, in the East Village of New York CityLos Angeles Architect Thom Mayne’s firm Morphosis has been selected as the architect for the first of academic building to be built at Cornell University’s high-tech graduate school campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City. Talking to the New York Times about his latest contract, Mayne said that “The goal here is to develop a one-of-a-kind institution,” adding, “It’s got to start from rethinking — innovating — an environment.” Mayne has made famous work of academic contracts before—most notably the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in the East Village. As for what the new building will look like, Mayne tells the NYT that he hasn’t even seen the site plans yet, but he says, “[I like being able to tell you that I don’t have any bloody idea what it’s going to look like.” Skidmore, Owings & Merrill will continue its work with the 20-year build out of the Master Plan for the new campus. Groundbreaking for the Mayne building is expected by 2014, and project completion is expected by 2017.

An Architect’s Newspaper post has more details about the exciting design and engineering team assembled for the first building: “Morphosis will work with Arup as the engineer on the first building, which the team will design to meet a net-zero energy goal; James Corner is on board for landscape.”

The rendering for the CornellNYC Tech Master Plan courtesy of SOM