Four New Books Capture Iconic California Architecture

The architectural heritage of California is rich and ongoing, featuring the work of such renowned figures as Richard Neutra and John Lautner to contemporary talents like Brant Kirkpatrick. Now, celebrating that heritage is just a book or two away: Four new tomes all packed with a bevy of photographs reveal California’s enduring legacy.

For starters, the long-overlooked photographer Marvin Rand gets his due with California Captured: Mid-Century Modern Architecture (Phaidon, $60). Rand captures the buildings of California's midcentury as subjects in themselves. "Marvin was interested in the growth of L.A. and knew it better than anyone else and that came through his pictures,” says co-author Sam Lubell who, along with Emily Bills, and Pierluigi Serraino, spent five years winnowing through some 20,000 images in Rand’s archives. In addition to residences by Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Kahn, Quincy Jones, John Lautner, and Rudolph Schindler, Rand zooms in on beginning in the fifties and straight into this century. Included are the L.A. Music Center, Santa Monica Civic Center, and LAX Theme Building.

A Craig Ellwood-designed home in Making LA Modern.
A Craig Ellwood-designed home in Making LA Modern.
Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli

In Making L.A. Modern: Craig Ellwood-Myth, Man, Designer (Rizzoli, $65), Michael Boyd of BoydDesign Consultancy zeroes in on the so-called "Cary Grant of architecture." "Yes, Craig was a former model and totally untrained but when it came to designing buildings, he was one of the most highly regarded California mid-century modern architects of his time,” says Boyd. Beginning in the 50s, Ellwood pioneered a new West Coast style of low slung spare steel-framed houses devoid of ornament. “Craig said, 'Forget timber-heavy Mediterranean style.' And went on to feminize Mies van der Rohe’s principles and reinterpret them on a residential scale," the author explains. Standouts from the selections are Ellwood’s Rosen House and the Daphne House, which floats above a moat.

William F. Cody's Glass House, as photographed by Tim Street-Porter for his latest book.
William F. Cody's Glass House, as photographed by Tim Street-Porter for his latest book.
Photo: Tim Street-Porter

And who hasn’t swooned over Palm Springs, which is packed with homes designed by the likes of Richard Neutra and John Lautner? Photographer (and AD contributor) Tim Street-Porter—who has worked on no fewer than nine Rizzoli books—was responsible for the breathtaking images and words in his newest tome Palm Springs, a Modernist Paradise (Rizzoli, $75). "The book focuses on a number of homes which have never been photographed,” says Street-Porter.

John Lautner's Elrod House in Street-Porter's book.

Street-Porterhighlughts jaw-dropping glamour like George Randolph and Rosalie Hearst’s home, which was designed by James McNaughton and incorporates elements of San Simeon’s fabled Hearst Castle, including the neoclassical colonnades, a fishpond, and statues from San Simeon. McNaughton, a TV set designer with a Peabody Award and a number of Emmy nominations to his name, conceived a Hollywood Regency exterior which opens into an atrium with a fishpond and vaulted skylight that that leads to the pool beyond. As McNaughton so deftly put it, his aim was "to revive the principles of elegant classic architecture” in a Grecian-like landscape. “All the more,” he noted, “with white columns.”

A Grant Kirkpatrick home.
A Grant Kirkpatrick home.
Photo: Courtesy of Princeton Architectural Press

When it comes to reinterpreting iconic California architectural style, Los Angeles architect Grant Kirkpatrick and his KAA Design firm are experts. The architect's soon-to-be-released California Contemporary: The Houses of Grant C. Kirkpatrick and KAA Design (Princeton Architectural Press, $55), will show a string of distinctive residences in the state. While Kirkpatrick has garnered attention with his projects for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and several Hugo Boss boutiques, today his 35-person firm focuses exclusively on custom homes. "Our homes place a premium on warmth, comfort and beauty, while expressing a lifestyle narrative rooted in the architectural traditions of the early modernists such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler, and Richard Neutra," says Kirkpatrick. "They all share the common ingredients of a warm-contemporary lifestyle: A tremendous indoor/outdoor connection, ample natural light, and timeless materials." With a clientele the likes of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Matt Damon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and the Pritzker family, it’s no wonder Kirkpatrick already has umpteen projects on his drawing board.

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