Design and Architecture
Bonaventure's architect, changing Culver City
The Westin Bonaventure Hotel defined 1970s Los Angeles. DnA remembers its creator, John Portman. Tech and entertainment companies are descending on Culver City. We’ll hear about the big changes coming to the one-time “Heart of Screenland” -- and meet two young developers who believe in brick-and-mortar retail.
By Frances Anderton • • 28m ListenPhoto: Culver Studios in Culver City, the new home of Amazon Studios.
In this episode
3 storiesRemembering John Portman, architect of Bonaventure Hotel
John Portman, the architect and developer of gleaming hotels and office buildings that defined the future back in the 1960s and 70s, died this past Friday at age 93. Angelenos will best know him as the architect of the iconic Westin Bonaventure Hotel, completed in 1976. The hotel was part of the wholesale redevelopment of Bunker Hill, and its design -- four cylinders of shiny brown glass and flying see-through elevators -- was in the spirit of the car-based planning of the area with elevated pedways and entrances via underground parking structures. Initially heralded for helping revitalize downtowns, Portman’s buildings came to be criticized by a new generation of planners for their lack of connection to the streets around them. But the futurism of the Bonaventure Hotel made it a constant source of inspiration for movie-makers. DnA talks to the LA Conservancy’s Cindy Olnick, who grew up in Georgia and recalls the thrill of his Peachtree Center district. Ken Bernstein, manager of the City of LA’s Office of Historic Resources and Principal City Planner, reflects on the Bonaventure’s impact on his appreciation of Los Angeles architecture. Craig Hodgetts, architect and keen student of futurism, talks about how Portman channeled the popular science and culture of the time -- and why he had to become a developer to create his visionary buildings.
Read the story9 minCulver City, the "Heart of Screenland," comes alive again
An architectural rendering of Ivy Station Complex, at the intersections of Venice, Washington and National Boulevards just adjacent to the Metro Expo Line. Image courtesy KFA.
Read the story9 minPlatform's developers want to reinvent the mall
At the intersections of Venice, Washington and National Boulevards just adjacent to the Metro Expo Line is a bite-size mall called Platform that is emblematic of the changes taking place in Culver City. The four-acre complex of boutiques and fancy eateries, opened in 2016 and developed by David Fishbein and Joseph Miller of Runyon Group, is not anchored by a Macy’s or Nordstroms. It sits on the site of a car dealership that was once owned by Miller’s family. Now it is aimed at train riders as much as drivers. Boutique stores like Shades of Grey, Rabbit Ladders, Aesop and Tom Dixon are there; along with Sweetgreen, Loqui, Blue Bottle and a Soulcycle. The mix is kept dynamic with pop-ups and street fairs. And people are encouraged to hang out in outdoor seating areas amidst luscious greenery by design firm Elysian Landscapes. As online delivery services suck the life from malls and main street retail, Fishbein and Miller say brick and mortar can still work -- if you do it differently, with carefully selected one-off stores and experiences that make it worth getting off the couch. Platform is the start of a bigger complex. Runyon Group has started construction on a much larger building just west of Platform. They were creative consultants and leasing agents at the new ROW DTLA, on the site of the onetime L.A. Terminal Market. DnA talks to David Fishbein and Joseph Miller about what drew the pair to development, why they believe they can make main street retail work, and how Platform reflects a changing Culver City.
Read the story10 min
