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.

The value of an Art Jury...

So in my daily perusal of SoCal MLS listings, I saw one from -gasp- the Valley!  It reminded me of the utility of having an Art Jury - even a bad one - to prevent these cartoons from being built.  Please note this house is NOT NOT NOT located in Palos Verdes.  Its in Burbank actually.

(Source: MLS)

The home is currently listed for $1.5M on the MLS (listing can be found here).   Built in 2010, the The 4,500sf home sits on a 10,000sf lot and it   The "architectural design inspired by European style & elegance" - uh huh.  I've traveled a fair amount through Spain, France and Italy, and I don't recall seeing a concrete block wall topped with translucent plexiglass.  


What about those windows!  Builder special!  And the columns?  Petite.  Ah, and who can ignore the authentic banana colored stucco!  Oh Tuscany!  Wait folks - it gets better!

 (Source: MLS)

(Source: Google Maps)


How about that creative footprint - a box - and the siting of the home on the lot.  So much thought went into this.  And the balcony - look at those support columns - breathtaking.

What's more - this is yet another case of an investor/developer exploiting the land.  Here's what the site used to look like and what it looks like now:

(Source: Bing Maps)

(Source: Bing Maps)

Yep - that's right folks.  What was probably a 0.7 acre wooded lot has been transformed into a cram-as-many-homes-as-possible spec builder special.  No real room for a yard - just concrete and stucco.  All those great trees - gone.

(Source: Google Maps)

Best I can tell is that the developer bought the original lot for $1.4M in 2009 and tore down the old home, subdivided the lot, and built these three 4,500sf McMansions.  What a shame!

So as much as I complain about how the PVE Art Jury lets certain questionable homes (like this or this) slip through, at least they protect against the extremes.