Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy

This 2002 public music complex in Rome was a must-visit for me a few years ago. Designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano, half of the team who created the Pompidou in Paris, also recently opened a modern-art wing for LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), the Parco della Musica is three beetle-like concert halls surrounding an ampitheatre reminiscent of Greco-Roman performance spaces.

                                                                                    
                                                                                    The three separate halls and outdoor theatre are joined by a continuous lobby and various rehearsal rooms and recording studios. Red brick is used in tribute to Rome's ancient structures and in contrast to the grey metal hall roofs and adjoining modern glass and steel structure which consists of a restaurant and bookstore. 

    

 

Walking through the foyer, one will come across a luminous route with 20 neon compositions, made by Tuscan artist Maurizio Nannucci. Since the mid 1960's Nannucci has devoted himself to exploring relations between language, writing & visual images, and in 1967 began to create neon "writings", adding another dimension of meaning to his work. These permanent pieces have been created exclusively for the Auditorium Parco della Musica. 

Greg discovers neon art by Maurizio Nannucci



Hotel Lautner, Desert Hot Springs

       We bid adieu to Modernism Week 2011 in Palm Springs:

 

Probably my favorite modernist SoCal architect is John Lautner. His designs in the greater Los Angeles area from the 1940s on represent some of the best in contemporary design - dramatic, visionary, far ahead of their time. His buildings have lent their inherent drama to feature films such as "Diamonds Are Forever", "Less Than Zero", "Body Double", and "The Big Lebowski", among others.

In the 1940s, a film producer commissioned Lautner to design a desert oasis near Palm Springs. Lautner produced an intimate escape of 4 interconnected rooms, each with an interior glass wall looking onto a private desert garden, sheltered by the connecting wall of the next guest room. Stepping up from the lowered main space is your own private patio, perfect for sunning and dining. Each unit is complete with its' own small kitchen and breakfast bar. The ingenious concept of a slanted roof gave each unit shelter from the harsh Desert Hot Springs winds and sun, while filtering in natural light through multiple glass panels and clerestory windows. Pools were originally planned to complete the retreat but were never built.

An interior designer and furniture designer recently purchased the Hotel Lautner and after much restoration this desert gem is now reopened, with future plans to complete Lautner's original concept of including pools,

plus an outdoor lounge and a clubhouse. But the project seems to be much about giving guests the opportunity to experience Lautner's work up close and personal. As the website notes, "Lautner’s residences have long been documented and photographed but seldom open to the public. This hotel will allow long time admirers and future admirers the opportunity to 'live' in a Lautner environment and to feel the unique experience of his design style."

http://www.hotellautner.com/

Wexler Steel Homes

                                                                              Welcome to Modernism Week in Palm Springs!

In the early 1960's, architect Don Wexler devised a pre-fab home design of steel and concrete slab, which he felt was perfect for the harsh Palm Springs desert environment. The sleekly modern houses were to be built as an entire neighborhood plan, each could be built in about 2 days, but only seven were completed when steel prices rose too high. Most of the houses have been beautifully preserved and restored and are listed as Class 1 historical sites. PS Modern Tours exalts the treasure trove of mid-century modern design in Palm Springs: http://www.yelp.com/biz/ps-modern-tours-palm-springs