discovering design
From milliondollar, custombuilt homes
to the furniture that decorates them, here
are some of the latest Los Angeles designs
ONE IN THREE HOMES BUILT IN THIS COUNTRY
exceeding a million dollars has an address somewhere
in the state of California, according to data gathered
in 2000 by the National Association of Home
Builders. No other state even came close to the collective
wealth spent on extravagant homes.Within California,
Los Angeles has emerged as one of the leaders in residential
architectural design.
Our roots and historical records tell the story of indigenous
Indian tribes living in adobe huts in preLos Angeles days, spanning
the time from the first settlers in the area to the presentday contemporary
designs that hug the canyon hills and urban townscapes.
According to Hagy Belzberg, of Belzberg Architects in Santa
Monica,” We are moving away from the copycat houses like the
Spanish style, the Tudors, and the Disneyland effect in tract homes
that take away individual identity. Now people are interested in
expressing their identity where they live.”
Belzberg, who brands his design style as “California contemporary,”d his studio in 1993.“When I was a child my mom
took us to operas and
museums. I stared at the
building space and thought
about experimenting with
space. Buildings inspired me.”
Our ideas about rooms and
activities within that space are
in flux. Belzberg believes the
trend is toward bigger rooms that are more versatile. The living
room, dining area, and kitchen are not contained in boxy
sections; they are situated instead within one grand space. Low
partitions identify zones without closing off rooms, enhancing
a structure which moves away from the boxy or cubiclelike
feeling of older home designs.
Los Angeles’ underpinnings are firmly rooted in Hollywood
glamour, a perfect medium for fine home design. As Belzberg
says, “LA is filled with celebrities. We’ve had great success with
public figures and part of that success is the discreetness we offer
by keeping the final product private.”
Home offices are becoming an important feature in home design
as well. With the continued growth in physical fitness, clients are
requesting spaces within the home to practice yoga or meditation,
along with workout zones.These spaces are a response to the rising
awareness and need for balance in people’s work and home life.
Leonardo Marmol, managing principal of Marmol, Radziner
and Associates in Los Angeles, believes everyone has a responsibility
to be as sensitive as possible to an already overloaded ecosystem.
“The issue lies in the fact that green design is becoming more critical
every day. As we continue to consume more and more of our
planet’s resources, those resources become even more precious.”
“Our general design reflects a commitment to the natural environment
around us byng up our interior spaces to the landscape,”
says Marmol.
Marmol finds the growing trend toward larger and larger homes
to be destructive to the natural environment and to a sense of quality
and beauty. “Homes should get smaller, and be more efficient,
more beautiful. In these larger residences, we sacrifice quality for
quantity and risk losing the soul of the home.”
Charles Bernstein, of M. Charles Bernstein Architects in Santa
Monica, says his architectural approach is always to focus on
harmony, balance, and the inspiration: qualities of architecture
inspiring the human spirit. “Each house reflects that intention in a
different way depending on the client’s preference, budget and particular
site selection,” says Bernstein. Homes of the future will have
more premanufactured components, look lighter, and blend more
with the immediate environment,” Bernstein says.
Trends include more flexibility in the use of space, multipurpose
spaces, moreess in plans, greater use of green materials,
and sustainable design concepts, such as greater energy efficiency
and use of nontoxic materials.
“My clients are married, young, upandcoming creative professionals
and upscale couples,” offers Bernstein. “I occasionally
design homes for pop singers, screenwriters, and actors.” But no
matter who you are, everyone’s home is a star in the city of
angels, where creativity, vision, and imagination are the reigning
forces in housing design.
— Judith A. Stock
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