Well, that was fun! OMC and I spent a delightful 17 hours in the Southland (of which only about 1.5 were in traffic) with jetsetters Messrs L- & G-. It was like a mini anniversary trip for us: LA was the first trip we took together all those years ago last week. We saw the sun set over the ocean in Santa Monica, a random woman stand up in a restaurant to sing You'll Never Walk Alone, absolutely no celebrities, and Hummers. Lots of Hummers. Including a stretch Hummer limousine so large it couldn't make a turn without stopping all traffic on Sunset on a Saturday night while the driver made a series of increasingly absurd 3-point turns.
But the most spectacular sight was of course the wondrous Disney Hall, which we (sort of ridiculously) were visiting for the first time. We went just to check out the exterior of the building, since Dianne Reeves was in the hall during our visit.
The many superlatives that have been lavished on this place are indeed warranted—lucky you, LA. We'd been ogling the pix since its opening in October 2003, but walking around it was an even grander experience than I anticipated. We honestly can't stop talking about it. M. L-, having been the prior evening to hear Andsnes, led us straight to the amphitheatres and narrow walkways discreetly cradled in the curves of the building. Walking down the path in the photo on the right was similar to the experience of going around Serra's Torqued Ellipses: disorienting, monumental, fascinating, and totally fun! (I regret that I didn't bring my camera, though with the poor lighting I doubt I would have captured anything significant anyway. But click here for some kick-ass photos of the place from construction through completion.)
And then, improbably, there's that fountain. Amid an equally improbable garden. We ascended a staircase from street level, surrounded by gleaming steel, and emerged in Eden in full bloom in the middle of January (PDF fact sheet). With a deliriously fragrant pink snowball tree from Madagascar! It's just outrageous.
And it's all centered around a 22'-wide fountain in the shape of a rose, made out of 8000 tiles created by artists hand-smashing 200 Delft vases (PDF fact sheet):
What a joyous thing to have in your city. And to think, the property used to hold a banal parking lot. (Nothing against parking lots, of course; SF could certainly use more of them! But you see my point.) Generally speaking I am no fan of LA, but hearing some music in that hall has now become an imperative... Maybe Lorraine in May?
...and to think that the concert hall almost didn't get built. (NOTE: i don't remember the exact figures, but these are ballpark to give you an idea of the architectural drama that unfolded. I also haven't thought about what happened for a LONG time, so some of the facts might be mixed up, but most of it is correct, to my knowledge.) Here's the story: Mrs. Disney donates $50M to build the concert hall designed by frank Gehry, with other parties matching the funds for a total of $100M. They start construction by digging down about 10-12 stories to do building foundation work and create a multi-level underground parking garage. This is harder than anticipated, skyrocketing costs. They proceed to construct the underground garage, when it is done, evaluate the project. Cost of the project to date: $100M. % of building above ground: 0%. Mrs. Disney is flabbergasted - the have spent all the money, and all they have to show for it is an UNDERGROUND PARKING GARAGE. She threatens to withdraw the money. In the LA architectural community, a "Save the Gehry's Disney Hall" campaign gets underway, raising money, etc. Meanwhile, Frank Gehry plays politics, and changes the original design of curved masonry panels to the lighter, and hopefully cheaper titanium skin already proven in Bilbao (Gehry's other major curved masonry skin building is the American Center in Paris which, surprise, turned out to be a financial disaster, bankrupting the American Center, forcing them to sell the building almost new.) A lot of manouvering, design changes, panel discussions, and campaigning later, Gehry gets the go-ahead to proceed work. In the meantime, the underground garage had been operational and making money. After a couple of years in construction doldrums, the concert hall is finished, and an incredible music hall is born in the city of LA (albeit via a difficult delivery and an architectural C-Section.)
Posted by: FC | Feb 02, 2005 at 05:08 AM