Ritz Bites

Can Jet Blue and JFK hurry these plans along?

What a killer plan. Way to get the architecture/preservation nerds and the foodie jet set aligned! If only they could get this super duper terminal open by next week for our use.

Blogging, Interrupted.

Shit is hectic at the Brazilian Consulate. Thankfully the chaos is ameliorated by the glorious Flynt Publications (formerly Great Western) building at Wilshire and La Cienega (1972.)

It's Pereira & Assoc. at their anomalous best. The OTT surface treatments, oval footprint, and lack of right angles diss and ditch "International Style sermonizing," as Gebhard and Winter observe.

Two words: Gold Mosaics. (No pics, sorry. You have to go see it for yourself.) It's our very own Domus Aurea right here in Los Angeles! Plus the white carport sculptures are amazing works of art. No wonder Larry Flyint chose this place as his HQ. Wouldn't you? The biggest strike against it is the horrendous "public" plaza where benches are nowhere to be found, a fact which rouses my inner Mike Davis.

And although the site fits into the context of Los Angeles 1970s shaglicious opulence, what better building to get me thinking about Brazil's national hero of Modernist architecture? Oscar Niemeyer embraced curvilinear and organic forms, and he refused to be a blind Miesian, much like this building does.

So, here's the start of what might be a semi-hiatus and what will be a fabulous adventure. I have no idea what internet access will be like in Lima, Cuzco, Buenos Aires and Rio. But travels are to be experienced, not blogged about in real time, right?

Design Detour

Props to my friend Margie for looking at another aspect of Modern Jewish aethetics. From the title that references Henry's favorite band to this fun and compelling subject matter, her piece on Jonathan Adler's brilliant Reform Temple Vases is an encouraging sign that strong interest surrounds this yet-to-be-properly-mined area. Still in all fairness, I suspect few Jewish-related topics remain truly untouched or at least un-discussed; maybe something like Nascar drivers -- if any exist.

NorthPark

No vehicle best illustrates how Dallas can be cutting edge in just about the least edgy way imaginable than the suburban shopping mall. Today I was reminded how and why the grace, design principles, and overall success of NorthPark remain undisputed.

Here the legacy of Eero Saarinen, Kevin Roche and Lawrence Halprin is felt in full effect, as well as the outstanding sensibility of discerning retailer Stanley Marcus and developer Raymond Nasher. For some reason I seem to forget Dallas has some leading big wigs with stellar taste -- the local patrons, if you will -- in the way Houston is lucky to have the de Menil family. (Could be the preponderance of McMansions and horrible stuff just about everywhere.) More material for the comprehensive analysis of Jews and architectural modernism that very much needs to be written.

In what other 20th century sealed shopping environment do pieces from the jaw-dropping art collection serve as landmarks? As in, the public restroom is right by all the Warhols. Some folks might use the adjacent Banana Republic as a point of reference instead, but it's pretty great to use this system.

I get super nostalgic watching the fountain, where Ali and I would sit for what felt like hours on end. Apparently kids are still transfixed; proves it doesn't take music and all the bells and whistles crap to attract people and provide a focal point. When landscape/site designer Halperin is good, he's damn good.

The interplay of solids and voids with light filtering in through the clerestory ribbon windows and skylights evoke the great Louis Kahn. The comfortable scale and clean geometry, along with simple materials such as polished concrete and creamy off-white brick, demonstrate how modernism can maintain its timeless appeal. Granted four decades is a paltry amount of time in the grand scheme of things, but compared to other dead mid-century retail environments and fickle public taste, the essential characteristics of this development have remained the same. Thank goodness.

Management seems to know it's all fine as is. Given the encroaching construction enveloping the original mall, however, I hope awareness of modernism in Dallas increases in order to protect the integrity of mid-century gems like NorthPark.