Los Angeles is known for its single-family residences. From Julius Shulman’s iconic photo of the Stahl Residence/Case Study House #22 to his image of the Kaufman Residence in Palm Springs, Southern California Modernism of the 20th Century is virtually synonymous with the single-family home.
Twenty-first century Los Angeles must evolve. It must embrace multi-family residential development. So, what can we learn from the region’s Mid-Century Modern apartments that we can use to advance contemporary multi-family residential design?
Join the Neutra Institute for Survival Through Design (NISTD) for a thoughtful panel discussion broadcasted via Zoom from the historic Neutra Office Building in Silver Lake. Dr. Raymond Richard Neutra, son of Richard J. Neutra and President of the NISTD, will discuss his father’s important ideas about biorealism as applied to multi-family residential projects. He will be joined by Michael Webb, author of the book, Building Community: New Apartment Architecture Los Angeles (Thames and Hudson, 2017). Webb will explore the different type of multi-family complexes and how they foster a lifestyle quite different from that of the much-mythologized single family home. Finally, Larry Scarpa, FAIA and principal of Brooks Scarpa, will discuss his firm’s contemporary projects in multi-family housing, which ideas from the past are applicable to the future, and how LEED certification is a factor in today’s designs.
Participants will explore ways to advocate for human-centered design, promote respect for the much-maligned apartment building in Los Angeles, and how innovative institutions like the NISTD are using their stewardship of multi-family residential projects to create dialogue. A new FORT: LA Trail on multi-family residential housing will also be announced.
Following ten-minute presentations by each panelist, moderator Sian Winship, will lead the participants in discussion and facilitate Q&A from the virtual audience.
Mythbusting: The Legacy of Mid-Century Apartment Design and the Multi-Family Residences of Tomorrow. Free. The event is co-sponsored by FORT: LA, Friends of Residential Treasures. Go to https://neutra.org/event/mythbusting-the-legacy-of-mid-century-apartment-design-and-the-multi-family-residences-of-tomorrow/ and email to reserve a place. Use the word "Mythbusting" in the title.
