Tuesday, May 8, 2012

We lost one...

So as most of you are keenly aware, the Moore house was demolished in Malaga Cove last week, after years of back and forth with various constituents.  The 1959 house, with all its spaceship-ness, was designed by the son of Frank Lloyd Wright, Lloyd Wright.


(Source: Curbed LA)


While I am generally a fan of preservation, this house has me torn.  On the one hand, its great to have a unique example of mid-century modern from a regionally acclaimed architect preserved for posterity.  On the other hand, this house should never have been built in Malaga Cove.  It is out of character with the vision the PV Project planners had for the area, and it is also not in keeping with the scale and feel of comparable homes in the area. 

That said, the home that is meant to take its place gives me great pause - for I fear it may go the way of the uber-McMansion.



The replacement home will span nearly 6,000sf and is penned by Ed Beall's firm.  Ed Beall is one of the better architects in the area.  That said, the above design is plagued with the features and artifcats of a classic Caliterranean McMansion - too many windows which are oversized, arches galore and an overall massing that is uninspired and boring.  I recall the comment from George Washington Smith that white space is just as important as other facade features, if not more so.  Why do McMansionists feel the need to fill every nook and cranny of a home with some ornate this or that?  Restraint!  Understatement! Subtlety!  These should be the guiding principles with which pen is put to paper.



17 comments:

Jared said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You're absolutely right...what are these owners thinking? Having extensive windown on an oceanfront home, rediculous. The Moore house got by with view windows from only one room. Smart enough to the the kitchen, office, masterbedroom, and study all face the alley. Best to have large sheets of plywood facing the ocean, or in the new case, just blank walls...tourists driving by this remote street need to be served!

Anonymous said...

Why must have to ask about the issue "white space" when you know darn well the present "Arts" (yeah, right) Jury is all about capricious and arbitrary ornament and excessive detail....just look at some of the "Arts" Jury work in their professional practice...
This is a community of nothing more than a series of missed opportunities while at the same time heralding themselves as something unique and special.
Having worked with this supposed "Arts" Jury I have little to say in high regard about their process or insight. Arbitrary and Capricious is the bottom line...

Jared said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I feel sad for my country that leadership is so inadequate in these tough times. A residence developed out of body is going to be better to destroy or why not be topic to break which a single produced from brick.
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