Friday, May 27, 2011

WestSide Urban Forum Award


1200 Sweetzer got a nod from the Westside Urban Forum: The 10 Unit Condominium Building will be honored at WUF’s Awards Luncheon on June 10th.

Designed to present residents with an alternative to the typical freestanding southern California house, the project consists of 10 stacked 2-story Maisonettes with all the flexibility, functionality, aesthetic control of the California lifestyle in a vibrant, dense and much more sustainable urban setting.

We are honored to be recognized by one of the most influential peer and networking groups for developers, planners, designers, architects and community members in L.A.
We will be attending the event in memory of the late John Chase, who had been a great champion for the project during the design and approval phases in 2008.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

It Takes a Team: The poetry of Complexity

Architecture has become incredibly complex and requires a myriad of specialists to be effective and credible.

Within this context it is increasingly hard to maintain intimacy in design and a poetic relationship between the work and the public.

Our design studio excels in close-knit, integrated teamwork with select specialists to deliver innovative, intimate, professional hands-on design informed by the knowledge of a vast array of experts.



Monday, May 16, 2011

Harris & Ruble Gallery - New Exhibition


Housed in a 1937 Art Deco Building that originally housed the Agfa-Aansco Film Exchange in the early days of Hollywood, the Harris & Ruble Law Offices and Art Gallery is quickly establishing itself as Hollywood’s fashionable gallery for fine art and photography exhibitions.
AI Architects restored the building’s original detailing and spatial organization to accommodate law offices for ten attorneys, an art gallery, and an artist’s studio in 2009.

Layers of scabbed-on finishes were carefully stripped away, exposing original fenestration, ironwork, and the original columns and beams. All fenestration was freed from layers of paint, plastic, blinds, and other barriers. Windows were partially re-glazed and original frames and hardware restored.

New architectural elements were kept to a minimum, recreating a layout very similar to the original 1937 floor plans. The few new walls and low partitions were carefully inserted into the space, holding them back from the historic structure to allow the original space to re-establish itself and reverberate throughout.
Harris & Ruble Art invites to the newest exhibit:
“HOLD STILL”
photography by
Lauri Gaffin

Photographs with a whimsical sense of humor
and an irresistible attraction to beauty

The Artist’s reception takes place Saturday, May 21, 5-9 pm




Wednesday, May 11, 2011

"Preservation on the Edge"

Aleks Istanbullu and Anne Troutman’s Home on Second Street in Santa Monica will be one of three architecturally significant buildings on the “Stewardship at home” tour as part of The California Preservation Foundation’s “Preservation on the Edge” Conference.

The 1875 Carpenter Gothic Revival style Church is the oldest wood structure in Santa Monica. Moved to its present location in 1903, its first use as a residence in 1971 resulted in very few changes. Seven years ago architect Aleks Istanbullu and artist-architect Anne Troutman restored and renovated the landmark building as their home and art studio.

The four day conference (May 15 - 18, 2011) takes place in and around Santa Monica and includes lectures, workshops, and exclusive tours and events exploring the future of preservation and its essential role in sustainability, economic development, and community character.

It will offer a wealth of information and is open to  Architects, Building Officials, LEED Accredited Professionals, Planners, Landscape Architects, Historians, Engineers, Educators, Contractors, Historic Property Owners and anyone interested in protecting California’s rich and diverse heritage.

For a full schedule and ticket information go to:

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Lago Vista wins Bronze in International Design Awards (TM)





The Lago Vista Guesthouse won a Bronze Medal and honorable mention in the Architecture Category of the 2010 International Design Awards!
“This retreat at the top of a densely vegetated canyon creates a “Place for contemplation” and a full guesthouse with bedroom, bath and kitchen.
Referencing the color and movement of the canyon grasses with a bold and whimsical graphic pattern, the building presents itself alternately as a striking feature or nestled subtly into the landscape, engaging its natural surroundings in sculptural expression.
Divided into two pure volumes, the space belies its 855 SF floor plan. The interior is a play of views through and across each space, creating surprising spaciousness and connections between the guest rooms in the lower volume, the library/retreat cube, in- and outside. The spaces engage the sky and the canyon in unexpected ways, including a glass corner with a view over a lily pond and the garden below.
Deep window recesses and floor-to-ceiling casework create a peaceful room with soft natural light and views of the canyon - an ideal place for study, repose and connecting with nature.”

Congratulations to the project team!

The Awards Presentation takes place
May 15th, 2011  5-8 pm
at dtank studio, 7635 San Fernando Rd, Bldg 8C Burbank, CA 91505





Wednesday, May 4, 2011

U of A decides to move into Plaza Centro

Our Plaza Centro Masterplan moves into the next round with University of Arizona’s announcement of a new Student Housing project on top of the Plaza Centro Garage (currently under construction and scheduled to open in August 2011)

This partnership is particularly exciting because it fulfils one of the main urban design intents of the masterplan: When AI Architects completed the first phase of plan for the revitalization of Tucson’s Historic Downtown Entertainment District in August 2009, thousands of Tucson residents celebrated the much anticipated opening of the 4th Avenue underpass as downtowns new main artery:

“The last couple of years, downtown has been going through a renaissance and is becoming the urban center that it once was,” [...] “The new Fourth Avenue underpass creates a boulevard from downtown to the university. That’s big.”    AZ Daily Star 8/13/09


The partnership with U of A was welcomed with even greater enthusiasm:

“The Modern Streetcar serves almost as a campus extension into the downtown area, with students, faculty members and visitors being able to move back and forth within minutes, and without the need for a car and all of the challenges it presents.[...] “Today’s announcement of hundreds of new UA residential units in the downtown is a big step toward implementing [our shared] vision. It will also help build the downtown economy and reduce the demand for mini-dorm housing in neighborhoods near the central campus.” Tucson Weekly, 4/13/2011
read the full article here












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