Experimental Architecture in Los Angeles: Essays by Aaron Betsky, John Chase, and Leon Whiteson

Rating:
Summary: A dissection of LA's architecture
Review: The book talked about young architects that were influenced &/or taught by Frank Gehry & is better known as the Gehry's Kids. Gehry commented in his essay that some of the talented ones ought to be given opportunity to leave their marks in LA but sadly enough, the young architects are only given the chance to explore in the residential market rather than in the public market. Even though Gehry was recognised internationally, he was still regarded as a loose cannon, quite unbecoming for a metropolis that seemed liberal & thrived on changes. Only after reading further, things were not what they seem in actuality. LA wasn't receptive towards avantgarde public buildings at all as fund providers were conservative in their outlook towards such architecture. It's only after Frank Gehry's success with his Guggenheim in Spain that his earlier winning proposition of the Disney Music Hall was given the green light. The book also explained that Anglo population in LA now is a minority whilst people from not less than 80 ethnic background keep flocking to the resource strapped metropolis for its Utopia image; good suburbs like Santa Monica, Brentwood & popular destinations such as Venice are located on the verge of ghettos, & therefore it's hard to find some sort of order or sanity from this place. Where cities such as Chicago, New York are easily identifiable via their skylines, posters & scaffoldings are what differentiate LA from other cities in the States & formed part of the landscape. Even pollution gives LA its distintive character by glowing the city with its golden red hue. Young architects love working in this City as it's devoid of historical inclincation & that any architectural styles are not dictated by any form of constraints but then again, due to the fast paced nature of LA, the avantgarde experimentation carried out by the architects soon enough become their own victims as they simply become news of the past. Then, there were discussions about the mild temperature, City's vulnerability towards earthquake that caused the architects to explore materials & method of constructions that are deemed appropriate for LA. Whilst some architects tried to create forms that are reactive towards the chaos, some are creating orderly forms that tried to make sense of their environment. LA seemed to be running out of land, & the number of people living in garage is phenomenally high & young architects were working on how to add upon the existing properties rather than building from ground up. LA was indeed an interesting place to be & the essays compiled in this book were enjoyable to read. But majority of the book comprised of works by young architects endorsed by Frank Gehry & other contributors such as Aaron Betsky, John Chase, Leon Whiteson with elevation plans, pictures (quality could be better though) to boot. Good effort, indeed.

Rating:
Summary: A dissection of LA's architecture
Review: The book talked about young architects that were influenced &/or taught by Frank Gehry & is better known as the Gehry's Kids. Gehry commented in his essay that some of the talented ones ought to be given opportunity to leave their marks in LA but sadly enough, the young architects are only given the chance to explore in the residential market rather than in the public market. Even though Gehry was recognised internationally, he was still regarded as a loose cannon, quite unbecoming for a metropolis that seemed liberal & thrived on changes. Only after reading further, things were not what they seem in actuality. LA wasn't receptive towards avantgarde public buildings at all as fund providers were conservative in their outlook towards such architecture. It's only after Frank Gehry's success with his Guggenheim in Spain that his earlier winning proposition of the Disney Music Hall was given the green light. The book also explained that Anglo population in LA now is a minority whilst people from not less than 80 ethnic background keep flocking to the resource strapped metropolis for its Utopia image; good suburbs like Santa Monica, Brentwood & popular destinations such as Venice are located on the verge of ghettos, & therefore it's hard to find some sort of order or sanity from this place. Where cities such as Chicago, New York are easily identifiable via their skylines, posters & scaffoldings are what differentiate LA from other cities in the States & formed part of the landscape. Even pollution gives LA its distintive character by glowing the city with its golden red hue. Young architects love working in this City as it's devoid of historical inclincation & that any architectural styles are not dictated by any form of constraints but then again, due to the fast paced nature of LA, the avantgarde experimentation carried out by the architects soon enough become their own victims as they simply become news of the past. Then, there were discussions about the mild temperature, City's vulnerability towards earthquake that caused the architects to explore materials & method of constructions that are deemed appropriate for LA. Whilst some architects tried to create forms that are reactive towards the chaos, some are creating orderly forms that tried to make sense of their environment. LA seemed to be running out of land, & the number of people living in garage is phenomenally high & young architects were working on how to add upon the existing properties rather than building from ground up. LA was indeed an interesting place to be & the essays compiled in this book were enjoyable to read. But majority of the book comprised of works by young architects endorsed by Frank Gehry & other contributors such as Aaron Betsky, John Chase, Leon Whiteson with elevation plans, pictures (quality could be better though) to boot. Good effort, indeed.