California Cool
Modernism reborn
Text and photos by Russell Abraham (Images Publishing, 251 pages, $50)
Russell Abraham has been photographing California architecture for over 30 years. His newly released California Cool: Modernism Reborn features 20 of California’s leading modernist architects in an elegant, 250 page coffee table book.
Although based in the Bay Area, photographer and writer Russell Abraham said he has always been fond of Southern California architecture.
“Honestly, I just found more interesting projects in So-Cal,” Abraham said. “I don’t think most people who live here realize that they live in one of the cultural centers on the planet. At one point, I think I had eight or nine beach houses and I didn’t want this to be a beach house book so I had to edit it. I was fortunate to be able to include the work of a broad swath of California’s best architects. The book is a testament in words and pictures to the enduring style of modernism that found a home in California in the 1950s and is experiencing an amazing rebirth.”
Over the years, Abraham had photographed many Southern California projects for a wide range of clients. On one assignment he discovered the work of Pat Killen of Studio 9one2 in Hermosa Beach. (Killen recently moved his offices to Manhattan Beach) In Abraham’s eyes, Killen is the quintessential beachfront modernist: clever, colorful and very Californian. His designs are filled with color, humor and a strong sense of optimism that is part of the Southland’s DNA. “He was one of the most fun and engaged architects I worked with on this book,” said Abraham.
A second beach city architected featured in California Cool is Dean Nota, of Hermosa Beach. Abraham was referred to Nota by Stephen Kanner, founder of the Museum of Architecture and Design.
Dean Nota is something of an aesthetic polar opposite of Killen, Abraham said. His work is lean, disciplined and challenging. Nota’s projects are seminal. He is a quiet trend setter for modern design internationally. His beach town homes find their way into architectural annals around the world.
California Cool, Modernism Reborn can be found locally at Pages in Manhattan beach, in bookstores that specialize in art and architecture and on line at Amazon.com and Borders.com.
Beachside fun
Pat Killen
(Excerpted from California Cool: Modernism Reborn by Russell Abraham)
Pat Killen’s buildings are handsome, well crafted and iconic. They integrate geometric forms in ways that are daring, playful and very Southern Californian.
His mixed use, commercial/residential project at 139 Hermosa Avenue is neighbor to a tobacco shop, a Laundromat a sushi bar and several of cafes. The zoning allowed for one commercial space downstairs and one residential unit above. Killen’s task was to create an eye-catching façade on a busy street corner in a commercial district that serves both residential and commercial uses. His solution was a blue mosaic-clad tube that stretches the entire length of the property. The tube intersects a phthalo-green plinth clad in solid stucco panels with aluminum expansion channels. Each end of the tube is capped with aluminum fascia and a custom deck screen. Killen said the most expensive item was the screen, which needed to be custom fabricated.
To enter the condo unit, one climbs a narrow stair, where one is greeted by a long corridor brightly lit by opaque, south-facing windows. Killen didn’t like the rooftop views of the adjacent commercial buildings. In the center of the main stairwell is a large, rectilinear casework piece that cantilevers playfully into space, allowing cutouts and counters for books and objets d’art. Climbing the stairs from the second-floor entry hall puts one in the main living space, an open-plan layout. Killen is not shy about built-ins. The fireplace surround is a large piece of casework canted at a 30-degree angle from the wall and framing a huge, flat-screen TV. Adjacent to the fireplace is a cantilevered bench that sits comfortably under a window with a partial view of the beach and ocean. The condo unit’s two levels provide more than enough room for a small family and a few extra rooms for the owner’s design studio.
Most of the unit faces west with ocean views while the first-floor office faces the east.
In a sea of eclectic buildings, derelict structures and trendy cafes, 139 Hermosa Avenue makes a definitive and welcome statement of modernity, regionalism, and humor that symbolizes the Southern lifestyle.
‘Postage Stamp’ Lot
Dean Nota
(Excerpted from California Cool: Modernism Reborn by Russell Abraham)
Dean Nota’s House 414 in Manhattan Beach is a small house covering almost the entirety of its 30-foot by 45-foot lot. Nota loves working with difficult sites. Vehicular access is limited to an alley where House 413 sits on a half lot. With space at a premium, Nota opted to use the top story as one large open living space and the second story for the master bedroom. The first story was reserved for parking and a guest bedroom and bath. An open-frame steel staircase that runs up the left side of the building is illuminated by a large glass-block wall and an oversized skylight on top that cants at 10 degrees. The large skylight and wraparound clerestories on the top floor bathe the main living space in sunlight most of the day. The main bedroom is divided from the circulation corridor by translucent sliding glass panels that provide ample illumination while maintaining privacy. The canted bay is clad in 33-centimeter-wide stainless-steel shingles that add a bit of shine and reflectance to the otherwise neutral gray stucco exterior. As with most of Nota’s buildings, House 413 is designed from the inside out. The only visible exterior façade faces an alley of mostly dull rear sides of compact beachside houses. A translucent glass entry and garage door and a sparkling stainless steel-clad upper bay give the street some cheer. Nota’s work is deceptively subtle in its simplicity. House 413 makes a quiet yet definitive statement in a very eclectic architectural environment.
Dean Nota was in the founding class at SCI-Arc, the legendary school of architecture in Santa Monica, and has remained close to its founders and the school. He worked for Ray Kappe for a number of years and served as a member of SCI-Arc’s faculty. His work has featured almost exclusively in the beach towns that dot the coastline south of Los Angeles. Starting in the mid 1980s, Nota designed modern beach houses that turned people’s heads and provided the impetus for a small design revolution in Southern California beach towns. Working with a palate of simple forms, glass blocks, and steel-rail detailing, he created a style that has been widely imitated throughout the region. B