Forgotten Modern reveals the work of the innovative architects building homes in California from 1940 to the 1970s. With innovative examples of what now exemplifies typical California architecture, the author, Alan Hess, and photographer, Alan Weintraub, focus on examples of early mid-century modern, variations on minimalism, and organic architecture. Some of the architects included in the book are Jack Hilmer, William Krisel, Beverly David Thorne, A.E. Morris, Fred and Lois Langhorst, and Charles Warren Callister. Though these names may not be recognizable to most, the images of the homes they designed will certainly be reminiscent and have a certain familiarity. The furniture and design details that furnish the homes will certainly elicit fond memories and also serve as a reminder of their influence on later designs. This concept is explored in the author’s conclusion. A fairly easy to read non-fiction book and a great source of images to muse over! Books on domestic architecture in California are a great source for design ideas in your own home, and there are many more in the library’s collection.
Leslie C. Brand and his home El Miradero (now Brand Library) is included in Sam Watters’ two-volume publication Houses of Los Angeles, 1885-1935. These volumes profile 75 of the most original residences by leading architects and landscape designers in and around Los Angeles. Illustrated with over 800 archival images these books are part of Acanthus Press’ series Urban Domestic Architecture, examining great American residential buildings of early 20th century. El Miradero is featured in volume one, 1885-1919, and Leslie C. Brand is in the company of other city founders including Henry E. Huntington, Arthur Letts, and William Andrews Clark Jr. Volume two, 1920-1935, includes movie stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, Harold Lloyd and Frances Marion along with other Hollywood celebrities.
The Los Angeles Times covered the release of these books with an article on Oct. 4, 2007. "Houses of Los Angeles documents many of the great heartbreak homes—magnificent architecture and gardens built to blend with extraordinary natural settings, all destroyed by developers, city governments and an assortment of tycoons." — Los Angeles Times. Not all of the homes included in the volumes have been destroyed, as Brand Library is a testament to a surviving treasure!
The book’s author Sam Watters did much of his research for El Miradero by using archival materials at the Brand Library and also the Special Collections Room at Glendale Central Library. Watters was educated at Yale University, the University of Marseilles, and the Royal Herbarium at Kew. He currently teaches at the architecture school of the University of Southern California.
Watters will present a lecture on Houses of Los Angeles, Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 1:00pm in the Brand Library Recital Hall. This event is free and open to the public!
Philosopher Alain de Botton is a modern-day Montaigne, whose accessible and thought-provoking writings combine serious scholarship with anecdotal insights based on personal experience. Whether writing about love, travel, or literature his work consistently makes difficult philosophical themes accessible to a wide audience.
In his newest book, The Architecture of Happiness, de Botton trains his lively intellect and wit on the subject of architecture and its influence in our lives. He poses the question What is a beautiful building? and discusses the nature of beauty in architecture, and how it is related to the well-being and general contentment of the individual and society. We are reminded that architecture affects us every day, even though in the course of our daily lives it often goes unnoticed. Exploring how humans have related to architecture through the ages de Botton guides us from the 19th century through modernism, providing insights into the meaning of style. Numerous black-and-white photographs accompany the text.
With this entertaining and stimulating work, de Botton aims to change the way we think about our homes, streets, and ourselves. The great strength of his book is that it encourages us to open our eyes and really look at, and think about, the buildings in which we live and work.
If you enjoy this book, check out the many other titles in Brand Library’s collection that address the psychological aspects of architecture!
I was first introduced to this book while reading an issue of Vanity Fair -- not your usual source for book reviews but occasionally they do brief mentionings of art themed books. (I also found out about Picasso & Lump via Vanity Fair). Modernist Paradise : Niemeyer House, Boyd Collection (Rizzoli, 2007) is a feast of modern art, architecture, furniture, objects, and interior design through almost 300 colored illustrations. The reader is invited into Michael and Gabrielle Boyd’s home -- the only North American residential design by Oscar Niemeyer (1907- ). The Boyds rescued this home, in Santa Monica, from demolition and completely restored it and it now also houses their extraordinary 20th century furniture, art and book collections. The Boyds could have turned this masterpiece into a museum attraction but instead they live in modernist paradise! The images of these modern masterpieces echo the characteristics of modernist design -- open plans, clean lines and strong construction -- and have the feel of looking at a movie set or flash back to a time that so briefly existed. If you can tear yourself away from the exceptional photographs by Tim Street Porter there is an introduction by Michael Webb and essays by Michael and Gabrielle Boyd. The featured designers include Gerrit Rietveld, Jean Prouvé, Marcel Breuer and Arne Jacobsen but fans of Rudolph Schindler, Charles and Ray Eames, and Jean Arp will not be disappointed. And for the librarian in all of us this beautiful book also includes an excellent index with the artists’ names in bold -- you could not ask for more!All of the artists names mentioned above and in bold are linked to other titles that can be found at Brand Library.
