Sic transit

I ran across this old street footage of eastbound Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills on YouTube recently, complete with (original or fake?) puttering soundtrack.



I wish the film had continued down the Miracle Mile and into Mid-Wilshire, Westlake, and downtown Los Angeles. (I'll have to concoct the missing footage in my dreams—no problem for a dedicated sleeper like me!)

Note the intersection of Wilshire and Robertson (at approximately 1:46 to 1:52), where this lovely corner building, its shutters deployed against the midday sun, gracefully enhances the gently curving streetscape:



Not remembering having ever seen this building on Wilshire, I did a search of Google Earth and found that the lovely Spanish-style structure was replaced at some point by this piece of vapid, featureless junk:

Sick transit, indeed.

Antigua del Mar Tile

In my previous post, I visited the home of Lorna Auerbach, owner of Antigua del Mar Tile, based in Santa Monica. As promised, here's a look at the artisanal Spanish tiles that she deals in.

A sample board with several patterns.

Antigua del Mar is a consortium of ceramic tile artists with studios throughout Spain—artists that Lorna has sought out on many trips to Andalucia and other regions of Spain.

These are handcrafted tiles, made in the same manner as those created from the 12th through 18th centuries, and using patterns that are historically authentic. Unlike industrially produced high-fire tiles, they exhibit slight variations in pattern from tile to tile, the sign of true hand-craftsmanship.

Many of the tiles she offers are documented in definitive reference books on the topic, such as Alun Graves' Tile and Tilework, published by London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Lorna used many of the handmade tiles in the design of her Pacific Palisades residence. They are especially effective in the exterior cladding of the Moorish arch windows shown in my previous post.

The tiles used in the photo above.

Spain's seven centuries of Moorish rule, from 711 until 1492 AD, resulted in an abundance of intricate geometric patterns, both rigorous and playful, figurative decoration being forbidden under Islamic law.

But aside from abstract Moorish-influenced designs, Antigua del Mar's Spanish artisans also re-create later figurative works in ceramic, such as this multi-tile plaque. Custom work is also welcome.

Followers of interior design may have noticed Lorna's recent ad in the current March-April issue of Veranda.

While the majority of the artists that Lorna works with are traditionalists, their ranks include some who are using cutting-edge technology to re-create the past. The exquisite marble tile below is cut using a computer-guided laser. The pattern is sharply defined, but variations in the material itself assure that each tile will be absolutely unique.
Contact Lorna at Antigua del Mar at 310-315-9870 or info@antiguadelmartile.com.


Many thanks again to Lorna Auerbach for her generous hospitality in producing this and the previous post.

The architecture of anxiety

Home should impart a feeling of comfort and safety, shouldn't it?

So why do contemporary architects and designers persist in creating structures that present very real threats to one's physical well-being?

Like these lethal staircases.

Lawsuit in the making.

"'Night, grandma. Careful going upstairs."

180-pounds-plus not recommended.

Or this anatomically challenging seating.

The Kidney Killer™ by Starck.

Sigmoidoscopy, anyone?

Perhaps ultimately worse than their threat of physical endangerment, these designs engender fear and anxiety, corroding emotional health and deepening our collective sense of dread. Or am I just hopelessly old-fashioned?