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Showing posts with label mid century modern architecture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mid century modern architecture. Show all posts

Unable To Sell Their Neutra Home, Vidal Sassoon & Wife Ronnie Update It Instead.



above: Ronnie and Vidal Sassoon renovated the Singleton House, built by architect Richard Neutra in 1959; this photograph replicates a classic image of the property by Julius Shulman.

In the 2011 April issue of Architectural Digest, the magazine features a home by legendary mid-century modern architect Richard Neutra. The iconic house, named the Singleton Home, has been owned by Vidal Sassoon and his wife Ronnie since 2004.



Originally built in 1959, the Bel Air home, designed to be at harmony with nature and situated on Los Angeles' Mullholland Drive, has been on the market several times. It was listed by Sotheby's in 2007 for $25 million with a subsequent price drop to $19.5 million and in 2009 the home was listed yet again by the Westside Estate Agency for $14.995 million. With no viable buyers, the master of the "bob", Vidal, and wife Ronnie opted to take the home off the market and renovate it instead.

The home as it appeared when for sale in 2007:


The Cutting Edge
Text by James Reginato/Photographed and Produced by Todd Eberle, published April 2011 in Architectural Digest

Vidal Sassoon and his wife, Ronnie, reinvigorate an iconic Richard Neutra house in the hills of Bel Air.


above: The pool terrace is furnished with teak chaise longues by Timothy Moynihan; they are modeled after a 1941 design by French modernist Charlotte Perriand. The garden stones were reportedly put in place by sculptor Isamu Noguchi when the house was built.

The relationship between hair and architecture has perhaps not been properly appreciated. But a visit with legendary stylist Vidal Sassoon and his wife, Ronnie, rectifies that.

“My whole work, beginning in the late 1950s, came from the Bauhaus,” explains Vidal, whose geometric, easy-maintenance cuts sparked a revolution in hair. “It was all about studying the bone structure of the face, to bring out the character. I hated the prettiness that was in fashion at that time.


above: The couple at home with their Shih Tzus, Lulu, left, and Yoyo.

“Architects have always been my heroes,” he adds. “I could not have been more honored than when I met Marcel Breuer and he told me he knew my work. And Rem Koolhaas said he had one of my original cutting books in his library.”

Fittingly, this conversation is taking place inside the couple’s Los Angeles home, a seminal work by modernist master Richard Neutra, which they recently restored. Known as the Singleton House, it was commissioned in the mid-’50s by industrialist Henry Singleton for a site on a spectacular peak atop Mulholland Drive. Views from the property take in the Pacific and the shiny skyscrapers of downtown, as well as the desert and San Gabriel Mountains.


above: The kitchen features a Saarinen Tulip table and chairs by Knoll and built-in cabinets by Neutra; the hanging cabinet and stool are by Jean Prouvé.

When Ronnie, like her husband a passionate architecture buff, first saw the house it was in dire shape, though the Singleton family had done their best to maintain it. After relocating in 1969, they had rented it to a series of tenants, then put it on the market in 2002, three years after Henry’s death. The 4,700-square-foot house languished unoccupied—its systems too rudimentary (there was no air-conditioning, just Neutra’s ingeniously designed cross-ventilating windows) and its bedrooms too small and dark for contemporary families—until the Sassoons purchased the sleeping beauty. They were living between London and Beverly Hills at the time and bought the home as an adventure, one they weren’t completely sure would be positive. Indeed, just two weeks after the closing, in 2004, part of the roof collapsed, and a few months later a huge chunk of the property slid into a neighbor’s yard. But Cincinnati-born Ronnie, who had worked as a fashion designer and an advertising executive before she married Vidal almost 20 years ago, was committed to the project and immersed herself in a study of Neutra’s work. She pored over images of the Singleton House taken by Julius Shulman (1910–2009), the preeminent architectural photographer of Los Angeles. “They were my bible,” she says.


above: Turning the World Upside Down (1996) by Anish Kapoor stands in a courtyard; the 1954 Loop chairs are by Willy Guhl.

Little did she know how much she’d need the visual documentation. The Sassoons discovered that, due to dry rot and modern code requirements, they would have to do extensive rebuilding. Working with contractor Scott Werker of GW Associates of L.A., they replaced damaged ceilings and poured new terrazzo floors, and they removed a number of walls in order to create larger, brighter interior spaces. They also added a master bedroom suite, which Ronnie designed with Werker and building planner Tim Campbell.


above: A gallery displays works by, from left, Étienne Hajdu, Ellsworth Kelly, and Lucio Fontana; the benches are by Perriand.

Although the Sassoons made use of Neutra’s original materials and vocabulary to an astonishing degree, the changes were considered sacrilege by some design purists. Ronnie, however, is unapologetic: “Unless the house is a museum, or you only spend a few weeks a year there, you just can’t live this way today. And given how valuable the land is, the house would have been torn down.”


above: The living room is an album of modern classics, including Visiteur armchairs by Prouvé, a Perriand cocktail table, and, over the fireplace, Alexander Calder’s Escutcheon (1954).

When the renovations were complete, the couple turned to decorator Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, a close friend, for advice on the interiors, particularly upholstered pieces and textiles. “Ronnie and Vidal both have such an amazing eye,” says Lawrence-Bullard. “They bought great midcentury French and Italian furniture, including important pieces by Charlotte Perriand and Gio Ponti.” The Sassoons happily decamped from Beverly Hills (“It’s just a shopping mall now,” scoffs Vidal) and moved up to Mulholland. “It’s still the Wild, Wild West up here,” he notes. “We have bobcats and mountain lions.”


above: Yoyo poses on a fur-throw-covered platform bed, which is original to the house; the armchair is vintage Osvaldo Borsani, and the sculpture is a 1964 piece by Harry Bertoia. Serge Mouille sconces flank Concetto Spaziale, a 1963 Fontana painting.

Though he just celebrated his 83rd birthday, Vidal radiates the energy and agility of a man decades younger. His extraordinary life is the subject of the recent feature documentary Vidal Sassoon: The Movie, which tells the story of his rise from East London orphan to hair-care god. Remarkable footage, particularly from the ’60s, illustrates the epic cultural changes of that decade.


above: Ronnie designed the terrazzo tub in the master bath. The 1950s stool is by Perriand, and the chair is an Erwine and Estelle Laverne design; the towels are by Pratesi.

“It was total euphoria,” he recalls. “And Ronnie brought back some of that with this house.” He glances her way, only to see her brush off the compliment. “It’s true, darling,” he insists.
Images and text courtesy of Architectural Digest

The redfin details of the house

CA Boom Show in New Venue This Year


CA Boom Design Show #6 - 2009

The CA Boom Show (www.caboomshow.com) 2009 takes place Friday, June 26 through Sunday, June 28 in the former Robinsons flagship department store on the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards in Beverly Hills, Calif.

A mix of contemporary & modern design incubating companies and products making their debuts, the show draws both the design trade and design savvy consumer. CA Boom combines everything relating to modern design under one roof, includes shuttle tours to never-before seen, stunning architecture in the Los Angeles area.

Exhibit Admission is $20 per day in advance or $25 at the door, which includes panel discussions. Sunday’s “The Homes of the Hollywood Hills” tour costs $75 and includes exhibit hall admission.

A Stahl House Fundraising tour includes special twilight tours of the famous Stahl House (Case Study House #22), and takes place on Friday and Saturday from the exhibit hall for $65. Each ticket contributes to the historic home’s preservation.


above: Julius Shulman's famous photo of the Stahl house

Sunday’s “Homes of Beverly Hills” tour costs $75 and includes exhibit hall admission. Special twilight tours of the famous Stahl House (Case Study House #22), and takes place on Friday and Saturday from the exhibit hall for $65, which includes a $25 contribution to the historic home’s preservation.

The Stahl House by Pierre Koenig:



Other homes on tour at CA Boom:




New Venue: Former Robinsons Flagship Department Store - Beverly Hills, CA (9900 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210)

2009 Dates:
Friday June 26 to June 28

The show has grown exponentially in its complexity and “hipness,” combining everything relating to modern design under one roof, including shuttle tours to never-before seen, stunning architecture in the Los Angeles area. This season’s impressive line-up will feature domestic and international designers, furniture and home manufacturers and architects.

Who attends CA Boom?
* 58% Design Trade / 42% Design Savvy Consumers
* Architects, Interior Designers & Hospitality Designers
* Residential & Commercial Developers
* Contemporary Gift & Furnishing Retailers
* Lifestyle & Design Trade Media
* Entrepreneurs
* Savvy Design Consumers

ArchiTech's Future Perfect: Mid-Century Modern Design Drawings



above: Henry P. Glass, Wacker Plaza Lobby - View From Entrance
Pencil on tracing paper, 1955, 16 x 21 inche
s

ArchiTech is a historically comprehensive commercial gallery of architectural art, in Chicago's River North gallery district. Their recent show, Future Perfect: Mid-Century Modern Design Drawings opened January 9 and ends this weekend on May 30, 2009.



The majority of the works in the exhibition are those of late Chicagoan architect and designer, Henry P. Glass (for which the gallery also serves as the representative of the estate) but the show also includes a few works by Vincent Raney, Bertrand Goldberg and R.G. Martelet.

David Jameson, the gallery owner, describes the exhibit as follows:
Mid 20th Century Modernism's most flamboyant designers. Industrial and architectural drawings from post-war to post-moon landing.

Utopian visions were nothing new to America's architects and designers after World War II. However, triggered by an explosion of affordable real estate and hopeful consumerism, manufacturers of the post-war era followed an entirely different design approach. This new philosophy of sensuous shapes envisioned furniture, lamps and radios as almost living beings that could run out to the buyers' car.

Henry P. Glass was perfectly suited to this new visual language. Freed from his Nazi prison camp, he began his design career in America with drawings that practically walked off the paper and into production.

Television and tourism helped transform the new reality away from wartime into the future and that's where we wanted to live. Bertrand Goldberg created theaters, hospitals and apartment buildings that could have come from colonies on the Moon.

In the era when a man's vehicle could resemble his rocket ship to get there, Ron Martelet drew speedboats that could transform into their own transport trailers. His Jet-Skis of the 60s looked to be straight out of "Goldfinger."

What began as atomic nightmares transformed into space age dreams in "Techni"-colors that were no longer army drab but instead, pink, aqua and hues never before classified. Mid-Century Modernism was something completely different.

Here are some drawings from the gallery exhibit. Please click on the images to enlarge:


above: Henry P. Glass, Kling Studios Lobby
Pencil on tracing paper, 1946, 18 x 23 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, Kling Studios Director's Office
Pencil on tracing paper, 1946, 18 x 23 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, Hotel Flamboyant Typical Cottage,
Graphite on Paper, 1949, 21 x 42 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, Hotel Flamboyant
dimensions unknown


above: Henry P. Glass, Design for Hairpin Chair
Pastel and ink on toned paper, Circa 1940s, 9 1/2 x 15 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, DH1 Laminated Plywood Chair
Prismacolor on paper collage, 1966, 10 1/4 x 12 inches


above: 1958 Chair, Graphite on tracing paper, 1958
11 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, Night Table Lamp
Graphite on tracing paper, Circa 1949, 16 x 13 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, Desk Lamp
Graphite on tracing paper, Circa 1949, 16 x 13 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, Swingline Desk and Armchair
Pastel and colored pencil on tracing paper, 1949, 16 x 13 inches


above: Henry P. Glass, Eastern Knitters Sales Room
Watercolor and collage on toned paper with shaped mat, 1946, 20 1/2 x 30 inches


above: Vincent Raney, Detail of Theatre for Los Banos
Pencil on drafting linen, 1947, 15 x 16 inches


above: R.G. Martelet, Detail of Design B (Boat/Trailer Combination)
Prismacolor and chalk on toned paper, 1961, 16 x 30 inches


above: Bertrand Goldberg, Architect; Henry Gould, Delineator, San Diego Theater, La Jolla Marker on artist's board, 1969, 12 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches

click here to see more of David's notes on the Exhibition:


above: ArchiTech Gallery Owner David Jameson, photo by Jay King

ArchiTech Gallery

730 North Franklin Street
suite 200
Chicago, IL, USA
60654

A Look Inside The Moleskine Glass House Sketchbook



The Glass House Moleskine® sketchbook features sketches by 29 architects, designers, and artists inspired by the home, quotes by Philip Johnson, and blank pages for notes or sketching. A limited edition notebook, the proceeds from it go to support the preservation and maintenance of Johnson's famous architectural masterpiece, The Glass House (shown above).



This sketchbook is inspired by the site’s unique power of place, its role as a source of inspiration for architects, designers and artists, and the desire for visitors to pause, look closely, and document their observations as part of their site experience. In this spirit, the Glass House has launched a partnership with Moleskine®, the signature tool for creative minds, to produce a custom sketchbook.

The centerpiece of the notebook is Stephen Doyle's 3D glass house:



and here are the rest of the sketches:






















Participants include: Yves Béhar, Michael Bell, Deborah Berke, James Biber, Mattia Bonetti, Constantin Boym, Seymour Chwast, Stephen Doyle, Steven Ehrlich, Rafael Esquer, Alexander Gorlin, Steven Holl, Christopher Huan, Rainer Judd, Maira Kalman, Chip Kidd, LOT-EK | Giuseppe Lignano and Ada Tolla, Mark McInturff, Richard Meier, Toshiko Mori, Michael Morris, Fred Noyes, Gaetano Pesce, Ron Radziner, Jens Risom, Yoshiko Sato, Denyse Schmidt, Alison Spear, Joseph Tanney



To order a copy of the sketchbook, call 203.594.9884, ext.1

Moleskine site
Moleskine® Stories site

The Philip Johnson Glass House (General Information)
Want to donate to preserve The Glass House? Join the Corporate Design Circle here.
Help preserve great architecture! Visit www.PreservationNation.org


Please donate

C'mon people, it's only a dollar.