Ultrafication Manhattan Beach: Absence of limits
Though widely praised for its design, by architect Grant Kirkpatrick, complaints about the size of this three-lot home in the 200 block of The Strand led the Manhattan Beach City Council in 2008 to limit lot mergers to the square footage of two average lots. Photo “I tell my clients to think about their home in five years, when the current trend has passed.” — Architect Dean Nota (Second of three parts.) Pat Killen said of his first visit to the South Bay in 1980, “It was like, what happened? I mean, is there a fence here that says you can’t practice architecture south of LAX?” The 26-year-old had just arrived in California with a degree in architecture, fresh from Kent State. A decade earlier, architectural critic Reyner Banham made a similar observation about what passed for architecture at the beach. He labeled it “Surfurbia.” Shortly after that first visit, Killen began to explore the architectural potential of the beach cities’ narrow, ocean view lots with his design for the Sherin House on the Manhattan Beach Strand. “It took its cues from the nearby lifeguard towers. Its 78 degree windows and canted ‘fin wall’ running through the middle of its face were bold and…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com