Getty Launches 'Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A.'

Photo Credits: Julius Shulman (American, 1910–2009) Department of Water and Power Building Corner with Fountains, 1965 Gelatin silver print Sheet: 25.4 x 20.5 cm (10 x 8 1/16 in.) © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute 2004.R.10.51The Getty invited a distinguished list of media and art luminaries to the historic Studio A in the Capitol Records building in Hollywood earlier this week to announce Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A. The next installment in the Pacific Standard Time branded exploration of Los Angeles and Southern California design culture will be more modest, with eleven exhibitions and accompanying programs in and around Los Angeles scheduled for spring 2013. The Pacific Standard Time Presents event will continue the momentum of 2011’s Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945–1980 events, which included exhibitions and programs at 60 arts institutions across Southern California. The momentum carried by Pacific Standard Time is very real: according to a study by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, Art in L.A. generated $280.5 million in economic output and supported 2,490 jobs with total labor income of $101.3 million for the Southern California region.

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This Weekend: Tour the Carver Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architecture

Carver Apartments image via Zev's BlogThis weekend, deLaB (Design East of La Brea) will host a tour of the Carver Apartments by Michael Maltzan Architecture. Since they were completed in 2010, the Carver Apartments--the second Maltzan project for the Skid Row Housing Trust--have been celebrated for innovative design benefitting the large homeless population of Downtown Los Angeles. Tickets for the tour (available here) will cost $20 to tour the 97-unit supportive housing complex, with proceeds benefitting the Skid Row Housing Trust and deLaB.

In a bit of PR-serendipity, deLaB isn’t the only Los Angeles group that has focused  on the community-driven work of Michael Maltzan lately. The blog of LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky last week published a long, detailed account of Maltzan’s growing portfolio of work for the Skid Row Housing Trust, the most recent example of which is Star Apartments at 6th Street and Maple Avenue in Downtown LA. Zev’s Blog sums up this latest ambitious effort, which will begin installing units this month, as “a project that will graft pre-fabricated housing units onto an existing, multi-use single-story building at 6th Street and Maple Avenue. A new ‘structural tray’ atop the original building will support the network of 100-plus studio apartments being trucked in from a factory in Idaho, while also forming a kind of outdoor mezzanine with community gardens, jogging track, basketball court, yoga platform and shared kitchen, laundry and computer room spaces.”  So, fans of prefab, keep your calendars open for tours of Maltzan’s latest contribution to the welfare of Los Angeles when that project is complete spring or early summer 2013.

The Star Apartments. Rendering via Zev's Blog.

42nd Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards

Ports O' Call Complex (Photo Courtesy of the Los Angeles Business Council)The Los Angeles Business Council recently hosted the 42^nd Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards to honor Los Angeles-based projects ranging from Best Museum to Best Affordable Housing. The awards congratulated innovative design to 33 separate projects from the previous year. In addition, 2012 marked the first year to present the “Julius Shulman Emerging Talent Award” to design students attending one of eight Los Angeles institutions. This year’s winners belonged to a team from USC for their design to revitalize the Ports O’ Call Complex at Port of Los Angeles.

Star Apartments (Photo Courtesy of the Los Angeles Business Council)Star Apartments won the “Under Construction” category for its impressive combination of LEED Platinum certification, mixed-use development, and 102 units of affordable housing. Michael Maltzan Architecture, Inc. designed the structure in partnership with Skid Row Housing Trust and Westport Construction, Inc.

The business council awarded the Grand Prize to LACMA’s Resnick Pavilion, Ray’s Restaurant, and Stark Bar. The project is part of LACMA’s Transformation Phase II, which incorporates the original building’s central plaza and creates a “town square” atmosphere within the complex. Renzo Piano Building Workshop collaborated with Gensler to design the stunning travertine space with trademark red, decorative punctuation.

Finalists Announced for National Mall Design Competition

Michael Maltzan Architecture + Tom Leader Studio for Sylvan TheaterThe Trust for the National Mall has opened an exhibition showcasing the finalists in National Mall Design Competition. The competition, launched last September, asked designers to redesign areas near the Capitol, Washington Monument, and Constitution Gardens in the nation’s capital. According to an article by the Associated Press, the hope is to have one of the sites—either Constitution Gardens or the area near the Washington Monument—complete by 2016.

A jury recently picked four finalists for each of the three sites, paring down a field of 32 teams. Organizers will select a winner for each site in May, but are currently seeking public comment to help make their decisions. Among the distinguished finalists emerges a West Coast connection—including LA-based firm Michael Maltzan Architects and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the firm responsible for the Broad Art Foundation, which is coming soon next door to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Bustler has a complete list of finalists, including the design boards for each finalist.

The Trust for the National Mall must still meet the funding requirements for the lofty ambitions of the competition. According to the AP, “The nonprofit National Mall group aims to raise $350 million to help restore the mall, beginning with one of these sites. Former first lady Laura Bush joined the fundraising effort last year, and the group committed $875,000 to the design competition.”

Diller Scofidio Renfro + Hood Design for Sylvan Theater

FORM EVENT: April 7-Infrastructure: The intersection of design, engineering and imagination-RSVP

Click image for the PDFClick here to fill out the RSVP form

Join FORM April 7 as we celebrate March/April's Infrastructure issue at Perkins+Will with Friends of the Los Angeles River. A panel discussion will explore how infrastructure impacts the human experience, the environment and the economy. Examples and presenters: FoLAR's Piggyback Yard Conceptual Master Plan created with the PBy Collaborative Design Group (Chee Salette Architecture Office, Mia Lehrer + Associates, Michael Maltzan Architecture, and Perkins+Will); Michael Bohn, AIA, Principal, studioneleven at Perkowitz + Ruth Architects, discussing streetscaping and road diets; Cliff Garten on the integration of architecture, landscape and engineering; and Deborah Weintraub, AIA, Chief Architect, Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering on architecture and urban infrastructure.

Moderator will be Jack Skelley, architecture/design/urbanism journalist and FORM contributor.

FORM video premiere - 6th Street Bridge with Alex Ward, AIA, and Chairman of FoLAR

Drink sponsors: PAMA and IZZE, Water provided by Ovopur by Aquaovo

Date:  4/7/11 - Thursday     Time:  6:30-9 PM
617 West 7th St., Ste 1200, Los Angeles, CA 90017

Please forward on to colleagues!  The FORM Team