Downtown LA has a history of great architecture. There are so many buildings that have been sitting empty for years. Many of these great buildings house data equipment, 12 stories or more of servers. Fortunately much of the adornment of these old buildings still remain. As the revitalization downtown happens more and more of these beautiful buildings are coming to life again. As a self proclaimed lover of modern design I have to ask myself why I am constantly designing such stark spaces when I am always drawn to decoration and adornment. In fact, when choosing an apartment downtown LA I often made judgements about whether a building had enough character...which meant..what's the decor like. Does it have crown moulding in the lobby, marble in the hallways or some grand staircase that seemed straight out of a movie? We ended up signing a lease in a building from 1910 with all of the things I just mentioned. It's fascinating to see how design has evolved and how we have slowly moved away from decoration. Whether it's because of cost or stylistic preferences I think it's interesting to look back and see where we were and how relevant certain design elements still are. I wonder when we look back at what architects and designers are pumping out will we say "wow that is so timeless" or will we just quickly dismiss design moves as trends not to be repeated. Here are some samples of timeless adornment from my neighborhood.
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