LaVerne Lantz Architectural Biography Now Available on iBooks

My updated and expanded monograph, LaVerne Lantz -- An Architectural Biography, is now available on iBooks. This is Apple's book ap, also known as Apple Books or Books. If you have an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, Mac) the ap is available for free in the ap store. Find this book by searching Michael Knorr or LaVerne Lantz. 

This monograph was originally inspired by a tour of architecture in southeastern Wisconsin by Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin, Inc. The tour, dubbed Wright and Like -- Driving Mr. Wright, was held in June of 2014 and is an annual event. The 2014 tour featured two Frank Lloyd Wright homes as well as projects by other architects who are "like" Wright. Included were five homes by a relatively unknown home designer, LaVerne Lantz. 

The current version of this "architectural biography" has been expanded with additional text as well as more photographs and drawings. 

The mid-twentieth century saw an effusion of modern architecture. Mid-Century Modern design was in the air across America when LaVerne Lantz started to become aware of architecture. After completing a few fledgeling projects, his commissions came to him by word-of-mouth referrals. He never compromised his design philosophy; as a result, every Lantz design is a clear testament to his well-developed sense of what a house should and ought to be. Every Lantz home is a confident expression of internally consistent design principles and coherent themes. Despite the high quality and integrity of LaVerne Lantz's body of work, it is largely undocumented. This monograph serves to remedy that omission in architectural history. Any fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and aficionados of Mid-Century Modern design will appreciate LaVerne Lantz's original take on the principles of organic architecture. 

Dinner Over Architecture

I had a very pleasant experience last weekend. I was invited to dinner by the new owners of a home I designed very early in my career.

The original clients, Al and Linda, were enthusiastic about architecture in general and game for the adventure of building a new home. The site, in the foothills outside of Denver, was sloping and rocky. It called for a structure nestled into the slope with windows and deck facing out toward the best views.

The experience of building must have been a good one for Al and Linda; we went on to design a second home for their family a few years later on a nearby site. Their first home was sold twice. First to a couple I never met and recently to Gary and Karen. Like Al and Linda, the new owners are archiphiles. (In fact, both their son and daughter-in-law are architects.) They were eager to meet the architect for their "new" home and that is how the dinner came about. I jumped at the invitation to join them and Al. (Unfortunately, Linda was ill and unable to join us.) Approaching the house on a beautiful Colorado evening, it looked exactly as it did when built. With one big exception: the trees that Al had planted many years ago now made the house seem like a forest retreat.

To my relief, the architecture had stood the test of time. It was one of my early works, but not so early it was amateurish. What few changes Gary and Karen had made were simple improvements in keeping with the architectural theme. The original design concept was still intact and still good.

We talked about the house, architecture in general, music, Denver's restaurant scene, and family. Dinner over architecture... a very pleasasnt experience.

The house as construction was nearing complettion. 

South deck just after Al and Linda moved in.  

A more recent photo showing tree growth.

Oscar Niemeyer ARCHITECT

Oscar Niemeyer died last week at 104 years of age. He actively practiced architecture past the age of 100, reinforcing the phenomenon that famous architects continue to work well into their later years. (I'm not sure if that is true for not-so-famous architects.) His career began in the mid-1930s, including the Brasilian pavilion for the New York World's Fair in 1939 (with Lucio Costa).

Oscar Niemeyer was instrumental in my career path. I vividly remember being aware of his spectacular work when I was about 12 years old. I wrote a homework assignment that had something to do with the president of Brasil, Juscelino Kubitschek. I don't remember anything about Kubitschek's politics or why I wrote the paper. I do remember he hired Oscar Niemeyer to design a new capitol for Brasil: Brasilia. It was carved out of the jungle in a fearlessly modern style that employed bold shapes and sensuous curves. Unlike the austere boxes of most modernists, Niemeyer was unabashedly sensuous in his approach to architecture. He likened his work to the curves of the beautiful women on Rio's Copacabana beach. He was a Brasilian modern architect, not of the prevailing "international" style. His beautiful buildings directly influenced my decision to become an architect.

1. National Congress of Brasil.

2. Museo Nacional.

3. Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasil.

4. Presidential Palace

5. Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasil. 

6. Auditorium.

7. Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasil, interior.

"I am not attracted to straight angles or to the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man. I am attracted to free-flowing, sensual curves....
Curves make up the entire Universe, the curved Universe of Einstein."

-- Oscar Niemeyer









































































































Even today, five decades later, Niemeyer's work in Brasilia appears fresh and modern. His more recent projects are as vigorous and inventive as his earlier ones.  Oscar Niemeyer deserves to be remembered as one of the great architects of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Images:
1. Marcelo Jorge Viera
2. Pub. Dom.
3. Victor Soares
4. Pub. Dom.
5. Joau Felipe
6. Jesus giez lago
7. Javier Gil

Part III: Architectural Mentors: LaVerne Lantz

LaVerne Lantz was always "clear headed" (his words) about the right (Wright) way to design a home. That meant that design decisions were based on a logical set of principals that wed architecture to nature in a practical and efficient manner. As seen in the previous post, that could result in elegantly simple designs that the average person could afford.

A curvilinear home designed and built by LaVerne Lantz. 

Somewhat surprisingly, such logical goals did not deter Lantz from exploring new building materials and non-rectilinear forms whenever presented by opportunity. Many of his projects were based on hexagonal themes, such as the second home on Moraine End built for the LaVerne and Molly Lantz family. The three-winged composition of thirty degree and sixty degree angles eventually expanded to a hexagonal guest house connected by a low-slung breezeway. The 30-60 geometry is as natural upon the landscape as a honeycomb in a beehive.
Another home was built on the same hill for adventuresome clients. It consisted of curvilinear walls with plexiglas bubble windows and an open plan with no separation between "rooms". The exterior of that project is illustrated here.
Other homes explored non-vertical exterior walls, cantilevered floors, and mitered-glass skylights. Always they used an earth-based color palette and undisguised finish materials.
This willingness to explore and experiment is, perhaps, Lantz's most important architectural legacy. His work encourages a spirit of adventure. Though anchored in the Usonian idealism of Frank Lloyd Wright, his residential designs were always original, inventive, and confident. The confidence came from his belief that "a well designed house [will] fit the site and become an integral part of the landscape as well as give the occupants a feeling of peace and contentment. Homes designed in this manner do not go out of style, but... are forever." (From The Well Designed Home by LaVerne Lantz.)

Illustration: M. Knorr

Part II: Architectural Mentors: LaVerne Lantz

Richers residence, living room elevation.

One of the most impressive designs by LaVerne Lantz is a small house that straddles a hillock in the Kettle Moraine country of southeastern Wisconsin. It is impressive for its simplicity. Like several homes by Lantz, it was featured in the Home Section of The Milwaukee Journal in an article by Oliver Witte. The photos reproduced here are from the Sunday, January 16, 1966 issue.
Though Lantz often explored the architectural possibilities of hexagonal modules and curved walls (as did Wright in his later years) he eschewed them in the Richers residence in pursuit of good architecture on a budget. The construction was supervised by Lantz and completed in four months for $21,500, including land, well, septic system, and architectural fee. Lantz accomplished this remarkable feat through four disciplined strategies:

• The plan is a rectangle that can be roofed with one scissors truss profile.
• The single truss profile is tilted at each end of the plan to create a quasi-hip roof that "returns" the eye to the ground and conceals the different angles between outside roof and inside vaulted ceiling.
• The living space is stacked over the garage and family room,  putting the basement to practical use; this also allows the important rooms to take advantage of vaulted ceilings (a concept Wright used in the Heurtly and Coonley houses early in his career). 
• Concrete block is used as a finish material inside and out, including the fireplace. Lantz devised a double block wall application to allow for insulation and a thermal break. 

Upper level floor plan.

Master bedroom mitered glass corner and six foot roof overhang.

The Richers residence is a brilliant example of good architecture responding to a limited budget. By economizing is some areas, Lantz was able to provide richness in others. Natural cedar is used for window frames and trim. A feeling of spaciousness is accomplished with extended lines of sight and high ceilings. Windows ring the entire house, including floor-to-ceiling mitered glass windows at all four corners. Radiant heat warms the house.

Wall of glass (including mitered glass corners) and vaulted ceiling in living room.

Concrete block fireplace dividing dining and living areas.

Mrs. Richers in the kitchen with her son Marshall.

In a testament to the efficacy of Lantz's design, the owner, Paul Richers, is quoted in the Journal article:
"The thing that determines whether a house succeeds of fails is whether it makes a truthful statement about the people who live in it. I think a sensitive person could look around this house and make a judgement about us that I wouldn't mind."

A "look through" connects the kitchen with the entry area.

For me, the Richers residence is a design I often come back to in my mind. I was a kid in high school when I first visited it. Its simplicity, honesty, and directness left an indelible impression.

Journal photos: John Ahlhauser

Architecture in Downtown LA - Part III

You Can't Fight City Hall

The most prominent building in downtown Los Angeles used to be the city hall. Gleaming white against the sky (at 454 feet), it has stood as a powerful symbol of the city since 1928. The structure has appeared innumerable times in movies and TV.  It has been destroyed in several disaster movies and was a stand-in for The Daily Planet in the 1950s television series The Adventures of Superman.

Los Angeles city hall.

Prior to 1964, concerns about seismic design made it impossible for any building in Los Angles to exceed the height of city hall. With changes in engineering technology and public policy, it is dwarfed today by the U.S. Bank Tower (73 stories), Aon Center (64 floors) and many other banal office blocks. (At present, there are 509 high-rises in the city of Los Angeles.)

One might think that the city hall would be a weak relic amidst powerful downtown towers twice its height. The surprising thing is that it still dominates the part of downtown in which it stands. Set back in a landscaped buffer from the streets that surround it, starkly white against the sky, and rigidly art deco in profile: this building makes a big impression. The city hall is distanced a few blocks from the massive towers of "new downtown." It is not buried in Manhattanesque redevelopment and, for this reason, stands as proudly as it must have in 1928. For architecture buffs it is a worthy historic site.

Travel by Train

In fact, there are several survivors of old Los Angles that still grace the downtown district. A previous blog entry mentioned the well-preserved Bradley Building. There is also the original and venerable Catholic church, La Iglesia de Nuestra Senora Reina de los Angeles, founded in 1814 and rebuilt in 1861. (Not to be confused with the architectural massif of Our Lady of the Angels.)  However, the crown of old buildings in downtown Los Angeles must rest on Union Station. Opened in May 1939, it is small compared to central stations in other major cities. It is, nevertheless, a grand example of transportation architecture. Today it is a hub for long-distance trains and for the city's commuter rail system.

Union Station.

The Future of Downtown LA

Well-preserved and still employed in its original purpose, Union Station is a fitting emblem for Los Angeles. Its Spanish-revival architecture recalls local history. The crowds in its great hall indicate a re-energized central city. This building is a perfect place to conclude our series on downtown Los Angeles. There could be plenty more to examine: Disney concert hall by Frank Gehry, the towers of new downtown, various condo restorations on Spring Street. However, Union Station is a positive note on which to close. It symbolizes the old and new coming together. It offers hope that no longer is Los Angeles "72 suburbs in search of a city," as Dorothy Parker famously quipped. It is, instead, a city striving to create a center for its far-flung suburbs. At first, in my little investigation of downtown LA, I ambled down Broadway and thought nothing has changed after decades of decrepitude. But one need only walk a little longer and a little further to discover that the core is still alive and there is hope for a fully viable center for the sprawl that is Los Angeles.

Union Station central waiting room.

Photos:
All by MJK.

Architecture in Downtown LA - Part II

1. Figueroa Hotel.

My explorations of downtown Los Angeles took me past the Figueroa Hotel, 939 Figueroa Street. Surrounded by parking lots, it is a lonely survivor from old Los Angeles. Built in 1925, it is lavishly Moorish in a movie-set sort of way. It looks like a place that would be fun to stay in, however, on-line reviews on various travel sites are tepid at best. Do your own research if the place looks tempting.

2. Lobby, Figueroa Hotel.

If you are looking for more serious historic architecture downtown, the Bradbury building is the place to check out. It is impeccably maintained and fully occupied, a rarity on Broadway. I made a pilgrimage to this site when I was in architecture school. It is admired by architecture buffs for its light-flooded atrium, fine iron work, and forward-thinking interiors. This is advanced architecture for the year it was built, 1893. In the meantime, film buffs became aware of the building through its frequent use in movies and TV. Most memorably, the building is the setting for several scenes in the dystopian cult classic Blade Runner with Harrison Ford.

3. Bradbury building at 304 Broadway.

Local architect Sumner Hunt was first hired to design the building. He was unable to fulfil the lofty aspirations of the developer, Lewis L. Bradbury. The commission then fell to Hunt's draftsman, George Wyman who is credited as author of the building.

4. Bradbury building entrance.

5. Bradbury building atrium.

6. Historic American Buildings photograph.

The main floor of the Bradbury building is open to the public without charge.

Photo credits:
1. MJK
2. MJK
3. MJK
4. MJK
5. MJK
 6. Historic American Buildings Survey

Architecture in Downtown LA - Part I

One can visit Los Angeles and never go downtown. Other attractions beckon louder. The beaches, Rodeo Drive, Hollywood, the Sunset strip. Looking for architecture, you're more likely to ferret-out Gehry in Venice, Wright in the hills, and the Greene brothers in Pasadena. What reasons are there to go downtown? Well, I attended a conference sponsored by Dwell magazine at the downtown Marriott and was forced to go downtown for the first time in decades. I carved out some free time to revisit old sites and see what was new and what, if anything, had changed. The self-guided walking tour was full of discoveries.

1. One of many forlorn theaters.

My first impression was that nothing has changed. That was because I walked down Broadway and found the same derelict theaters, discount stores, and joyerias ("se venda oro!") that have dominated the street as long as anyone can remember. It was unchanged and uninviting. Sure, there were obvious attempts to revitalize downtown with new anchors at its extremities.  There are the cultural icons of the Chandler Pavilion and Disney Concert Hall on the north. On the south side of downtown are Staples Center, the convention hall, and L.A. Live. This includes the Ritz Carlton and Marriott hotels. Like plates on a dumbbell, these are weighty ends to downtown, but the stuff in between is light in juxtaposition to these renewal efforts. However -- and this is a strong however -- there are signs of new life. Go a block off  Broadway to Spring Street and find many old financial buildings reborn as lofts. Sprinkled on the edges of the district are new contemporary loft-style buildings as well. Downtown L.A. is tentatively participating in the urban renaissance that has swept many inner cities. Trendy shops and restaurants have not have followed, yet. But that may happen with a little more time. It is still a dicey proposition. Between the lofts are handsome, but abandoned, buildings that teeter between life and death. Some sport marquees that plead for a cameo in a movie, re-mindful of the would-be starlets that parade their assets on Sunset Boulevard a few miles up town.

2. On Broadway.

3. Derelict deco.

A big-time contribution to the possible salvation of downtown Los Angeles cannot be ignored: the new metro system. Actually, it is not all that new. Comprising five lines and 79 miles of track, the bulk of the system debuted in the 1990s. Today Metro Rail carries a ridership of 350,000 daily weekday boardings. To my mind, this is what makes downtown L.A. ultimately viable. I have visited the city many times since the rails were inaugurated, but had no idea how extensive it is. From downtown you can easily get to Hollywood, Long Beach, Pasadena, and elsewhere. It would even be possible to make a viable tourist trip to L.A. without ever renting a car (surprise!) and it is possible to live downtown without feeling isolated. In my explorations I used the downtown subway lines several times. It was cheap and clean.

4. The five lines of Metro Rail.

As it turns out, my first impression of today's downtown was wrong. Broadway may be it shabby, but there are signs of renewal and hope pressing in. My previous blog entry explored one new work of architecture in downtown L.A.: the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The next few entries will explore more architecture in downtown Los Angeles. In sum, they make downtown a not-so-bad place to visit and a possible place to actually live. Stay tuned.

5. Auditioning for a role.

Photo credits:

<sup>1. MJK
2. MJK
3. MJK
4. RickyCourtney
5. MJK</sup>

A Visit With Lloyd Wright

1. Lloyd Wright's home -- almost unphotographable
behind the thick vegetation.

2. Sowden residence from the same period.

Architecture feeds the brain and is sustenance for the soul. When I was just out of architectural school, I took a road trip with my friend, Greg Walke, to find some of that nourishment. We traveled west in Greg's tan MG convertible to see iconic examples of mid-century modern architecture. One afternoon we stopped to visit Lloyd Wright, the talented, but overshadowed, son of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was an old man at the time and looked just like his father. (But a full twelve inches taller!) He graciously received us in his Doheny Drive home, on the boundary between Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. Despite the August heat, Lloyd Wright lit the living room fireplace to demonstrate how his design employed natural convection to coax warm air out of the house.  He opened a glass wall onto a patio shaded by the branches of an enormous ginkgo tree. The ginkgo sheltered the entire house and the fireplace drew in this cooler air to exhaust it up the flue. No artificial air conditioning. Wright was very proud of the organic qualities of the room.  His home was like an enchanted cave, designed and built in the in the 1920s.  And we were entranced by his stories.

“Why are you boys here?” he asked. We told him we were in California to see some of the great works of twentieth century architecture. (Much of it authored by him.)

3.  Sowden house today. (Extensively remodeled.)

Of course, Wright had already pegged us as eager neophytes, seeking wisdom from one of the masters.

“Ah, yes,” he said. “You’re here to eat architecture.” We knew immediately what he meant, sharing a mutual understanding. Great architecture provides sustenance; it nourishes the spirit as food does the body.

4. Another Wright design from the same period. (Derby house, 1926.)

I learned years later that we were not the first guests charmed by Wright in this manner. It was practiced theater for him. The novelist Anais Nin wrote of meeting Lloyd Wright for the first time in his Doheny Drive home. He lit the same fireplace and talked about the natural ventilation through the house, filtered by the cool of  the prized Gingko tree. He expostulated about organic architecture in the same way. At least he was consistent. The lesson I took with me was the importance of architectural input in everyday life. It is healthy to “eat” good architecture.

5. Ramon Navarro house, from the 1920s.

Note: Since it is almost impossible to get a good picture of  the Doheny Drive house, the accompanying pictures show Hollywood-area  projects by Lloyd Wright from the same decade.  His architecture during this period was monolithic, closed, and fortress-like.  They are all located on busy streets, which partially explains this.  However, he was also supervising his father's local projects during the 1920s: among them, the Ennis house and the Barnsdall house. They all had similar characteristics.   This was a brief period in the elder Wright's career when his projects -- mostly located in the Hollywood Hills -- resemble Mayan temples.  Lloyd Wright's later work became much looser and more transparent, including his  famous "Glass Chapel" in Palos Verdes from 1951.  (See blog entry March 4, 2010.)

Credits:

1. Minnaert

2. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Historic American Buildings Survey

3. Los Angeles

4. la photo

5. la photo