“McMansions” like this are not only ugly, they are ruining the character of neighborhoods all over the L.A. area.
If I were Architecture & Design Czarina of Los Angeles (and that includes adjacent cities like Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and West Hollywood), with complete designdictatorial power (oh, how I love that thought), here are a few things I would do:
• I would tear down all the “McMansions” and “Muddled-Terranean” horrors and force the owners to build homes that fit into the neighborhood.
Because of weak historic preservation laws, treasures such as Mary Pickford’s elegant Pickfair Estate have fallen victim to the wrecking ball.
• To prevent more “McMansion” atrocities, I would require that all homeowners and commercial property owners take a class on good design before remodeling or building a new structure. Owners need to understand historic preservation, scale, proportion and sensitive design.
• I would strengthen historic preservation laws so that we don’t continue to lose gems like Mary Pickford’s gorgeous, elegant Pickfair Estate, our many Art Deco delights, and other structures which are so important to the history of our city and our sense of place.
• I would expand the concept of “green” architecture and design to include historic preservation. After all, what is more “green” than preserving structures rather than tearing them down and replacing them, requiring new building materials? Similarly, why not recycle more antique and used furniture and refinish them?
Superba Food & Bread on Lincoln Boulevard, which is housed in what had been an 82-year-old auto body shop, is a great example of how an eyesore thoroughfare in L.A. – in this case, Lincoln Boulevard – can be transformed.
• I would restore some remodeled hotels to their original glory – case in point, the The W Hotel in Westwood, which used to be the elegant Westwood Marquis. Hotel chains like the W, with their modernist approach, are catering to what they think the Millennials want. But how to explain the packed crowds of young people at beautifully preserved hotels like the Culver? Not to mention us baby boomers who, because of our age, have a greater appreciation of history.
• I would outlaw beige and require color in interiors.
• I would obliterate La Cienega Boulevard between Venice Boulevard and the Beverly Center. All of it. Except for the See’s Candy store.
• Actually, I would raze large stretches of lots of main thoroughfares, with their ratty hotels, ugly strip malls, horrid car shops covered with barbed wire, and a messy hodgepodge of architectural “styles.” (However, I’m encouraged that some truly wonderful businesses – some of which are remodeling old structures in creative ways – are cropping up along such eyesores as Lincoln Boulevard. As Los Angeles Magazine pointed out in a recent article, “Long occupied by car washes and auto repair operations, the stretch of Lincoln Boulevard between Venice Boulevard and Rose Avenue is being transformed with indie stores and restaurants that cater to savvy crowds.”)
What would I do with these new stretches of virgin urban territory? I would leave that up to visionary architects, city planners, business owners and others who understand good design, pedestrian- and bike-friendly environments, the importance of parks and green space, and the necessity for water-preserving and environmentally healthy infrastructure.
But I’d veto any use of beige.
Eleanor Schrader is an award winning architectural and interior design historian, professor and consultant who lectures worldwide on the history of architecture, interiors, furniture, and decorative arts. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
