DESIGN PASADENA 2009
Where Williams Walked PASADENA ARCHITECT JAMES V. COANE LEAVES AN INVISIBLE FOOTPRINT ON HIS RENOVATION OF A 1928 SPANISH COLONIAL ESTATE DESIGNED BY LOS ANGELES’ RENOWNED ARCHITECT TO THE STARS. BY KATIE KLAPPER PHOTOS BY BROOKE ABERCROMBIE AND IRMINA KOBYLKO
Motorcourt and entry
MUCH TO HIS WIFE’S CHAGRIN, ARCHITECT JAMES V. COANE BASKS IN SATISFACTION WHEN SOMEONE SEES HIS WORK AND ASKS, “BUT WHAT DID YOU DO HERE?” The question arises frequently, as much of the Pasadena-based architect’s practice consists of renovations and additions to residences by “golden age” architectural masters, including Wallace Neff, Sylvanus Marston and Paul Williams. A visit to a Williams Spanish Colonial estate nestled in the oakladen Pasadena foothills inspires the query once again. Located all around the four-acre property — which includes a 7,500-square-foot main house, numerous outbuildings, gardens, water features and recreational areas — Coane’s additions are virtually indistinguishable from the 1928 original designed by Los Angeles’ famed architect to the stars. Coane (jvca.com) didn’t set out to be a specialist in historic renovation and, indeed, he continues to work in all styles, including cutting-edge contemporary. But the arc of his practice — built exclusively on relationships — has led him deep into Pasadena’s traditional neighborhoods, where some 70 percent of his work has been concentrated since he established his own office in 1994. His path was set during his student days at Cal Poly Pomona, when he rented a Tudor apartment in a Pasadena courtyard complex. Coane loved exploring nearby neighborhoods with all their stylistic variety and the history classes that helped him put them in perspective. He still relishes the research phase of each project, happily delving into libraries, bookstores and old photographs for inspiration. But Coane is no doctrinaire reconstructionist. As he notes, “These places don’t have to be museums.” He recognizes what attracts his clients to Paul Williams — his mastery of siting, gracious spatial rhythms, a variety of intimate spaces and inventive, tasteful details. “People don’t change,” he says. “The desirable things remain the same. Everyone wants easy access to the outdoors, a place to sit in the shade, to watch their kids swim and play, maybe have a cocktail nearby.” At this property, Coane has accommodated not one, but two different clients. For the previous owner, he renovated the master suite, updated a few baths and added a naturalistic stream to the grounds. The current renovation, begun in 2004, has been more extensive, including interior design for the entire house, more work on the master suite and upstairs library, a complete reworking of the guest house and adjacent grounds and the addition of numerous recreational facilities, including a wine cave and outdoor living room. Throughout, Paul Williams’ original design provided the template for additions and updates. Referencing Williams’ precedents, Coane evokes an earlier era through the liberal use of beamed ceilings, groin vaults, arcades, Italian tile and walnut paneling. Taking his cue from the owner’s direction that the renovation be “not noticeable,” Coane nevertheless has added all the comforts a contemporary family would want. Hidden in the coffered ceilings of the living room are stereo speakers, and wide-screen televisions are deftly disguised within “medieval” chests made to the architect’s specifications. Always referring to the main residence, Coane has replicated many of its features around the property, tracing the shape of a corbel here and duplicating a chimney there or a three-panel, embossed wood door. Floral detailing in Williams’ cast-iron stairwell inspired “historic” light fixtures and lanterns —CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
10 ~ APRIL 2009 ~ ARROYO
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