GUMP
- one who is foolish enough to investigate beyond a determined curriculum.
JULIE EIZENBERG
Julie Eizenberg (left) and Hank Koning (right);
http://www.residentialarchitect.com/architects/koning-eizenberg-architecture.aspx
JULIE EIZENBERG Each semester begins following a familiar format: an accomplished architect stands before us to inspire and motivate our malleable minds. These speakers herald grand concepts, exquisitely cast material palettes and even prophecies of our industry’s future. Julie Eizenberg’s presence earlier this month was refreshingly unique. She spoke of admittedly unacademic architectural considerations that demonstrated her humanist sensitivities and that reveled in the often messy struggles of realizing architecture. We are compelled to share our brief research of Julie and her firm in hopes of perpetuating a conversation around her methodologies. 3 JULIE EIZENBERG
Julie and her firm’s founding partner, Hank Koning, continue to be deeply influenced by the unique techniques and trends of their surroundings.
MetropolisMag.com, “The Right Touch” by Christopher Hawthorne
While clearly influenced by these trends of Los Angeles architecture of the twentieth century, Koning Eizenberg any sort of dogmatic adherence to them.
“ Despite the Australian roots of its founders,
there is something quintessentially Southern Californian about the firm’s sensibility. Or maybe it’s because of those roots: Los Angeles architecture has always thrived by making a place for ambitious, eccentric, and forward-looking émigrés from all over, whether it was Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra from Vienna or Frank Gehry, born Frank Goldberg, from Toronto. Certainly, Koning and Eizenberg’s taste for combining frugality and verve in the same project, and for juxtaposing serious architectural ideas with informality and references to Pop Art, flows directly out of a singularly L.A. tradition. Their work— which ranges from single-family residential projects to affordable housing to commissions from cultural, civic, and nonprofit clients—wraps joy, smarts, improvisational flair, and resourcefulness together in the same colorful package. Like much of the meaningful architecture in this city, it stakes out a happily anti-perfectionist stance, finding its meaning in the gaps between abstract goals and achievable ones. ”
“ The through-line in their work is that they are
not bringing preconceived notions to bear. It’s really about seeing what’s needed at a certain point in time, the specific constraints and forces arrayed in front of them, and how they can respond. ” - Mark Robbins, Dean of Syracuse University Architecture School
Children are at play in the interior of Koning Eizenberg’s Children’s Museum in Pittsburgh.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TVMOiVhwEZc/SmO0bFDdM1I/ AAAAAAAAAgY/2ONcLkKNIGM/s1600/koningeizenberg_p3.4.jpg
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“ Disorder attracts Hank Koning and Julie Ei-
zenberg... For the architects, designing for kids means engaging them, not controlling them. Instead of structures that thwart vandals and assuage insurance inspectors, buildings that encourage messy vitality are their specialty. In the museum, as well as a handful of other commissions for schools, parks, and community centers, the architects demonstrate a healthy disrespect for authority. They believe that if buildings are to succeed as social spaces, they must be armatures for discovery: not dictating specific responses but providing opportunities for the widest range of experiences. “
“ These artful, upbeat buildings belie the social
and economic forces often stacked against them. Yet KEA’s relentless reinventions—of materials, forms, assemblies, and business partnerships— are paying off.
‘Ten years ago the question was how to get housing providers to see there’s value in what architects can do. That’s well-proven at this point. Now the deal is how to get to the sweet spot of aligning design and budget. Some cities allow you to do it smarter than others, but it’s still tough to get the right values integrated with code.’ Whether it’s cross-breezes, colorful window graphics, or the inclusion of hands-on gardens that foster social trust, KEA’s buildings have the power to change everyday lives. The prospect clearly energizes Eizenberg. “Multifamily and mixed-use housing represents a stimulating set of ideas,” she says. “The people running these organizations all believe architecture is the key to social change. There is a lot afoot.’ “
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Koning Eizenberg’s Children’s Museum in Pittsburgh clearly demonstrates their approach to usage designations, or lack thereof. MetropolisMag.com, “Project Play” by Andrew Blum
Residential Architect, “Koning Eizenberg Architecture” by Cheryl Weber, LEED AP
KEIHLY MOORE Since starting the urban design program, I’ve paid much
Keihly is currently in the Masters in Urban Design and the Masters of Architecture programs at UNC Charlotte. She is also the 2012 recipient of the AIA Charlotte Traveling Fellowship Award.
more attention to public space. In fact, these days, public space is always on my mind. In Julie Eizenberg’s lecture on the first day of class, I was delighted to see Julie, as an architect, speak frequently about public space; something I fear is lost in many architecture centered conversations. I’ll highlight a few of the thoughts that stuck with me from her lecture with the hopes that these thoughts will enter into your own design work. Ultimately, one of our roles as designers is to be place makers. She spoke about public space as experience, more than a collection of activities. She advocated for layers and intersections, while still keeping a layer of informality. How can we design into space the opportunity for things to happen? Prescriptive places, places that are designed purposely for a specific use or clientele, are not designed to flex. Flexibility is one of the most important characteristics of a successful public space. Recall the last time you walked through an active public space and something was happening there that hadn’t been there before, whether it was a festival, a market, or new people to watch. Next time you walk through, notice the designed informality that allows these various activities to occur. Another concept that caught my fancy was that of the East Asian idea of borrowed landscapes. In a project in Seattle, Eizenberg “borrowed” the distant mountain landscape to use in her competition idea construction. She used design elements to frame the distant view, allowing the distant surroundings to ground the immediate place. This is a reminder to be cognizant of the place you’re in, thinking beyond lot lines. Always be aware of what’s around you. While I write about Julie, I am also filtering concepts that have become part of my thesis work. One of the most important rules is to layer, encourage overlaps, combine functions and purposes. I’m focusing on turning green infrastructure into public infrastructure, so that the duties of each can perform. More on this soon.
JULIE EIZENBERG 6
RELATED ARCHITECTS RICHARD NEUTRA Neutra shares Koning Eizenberg’s personal approach to architecture and L.A. background but generally focused on higher income single family residential projects instead of civic and lower income projects.
Kaufmann Desert House;
http://www.stardustmoderndesign.com/2012/11/richard-neutra-kaufmann-house.html
MICHAEL MALTZAN Maltzan also practices in Los Angeles with several public housing projects to-date; he differs in his demonstrated comfort simultaneously designing for MoMA, the National Mall, and Skid Row. Maltzan also places more emphasis on form.
New Carver Apartments;
http://www.designscene.net/2010/04/carver-apartments-by-michael-maltzan.html
RURAL STUDIO Rural Studio demonstrates a similar consciousness of costeffective and approachable architecture but at a more extreme level. This educational studio at Auburn University designs and constructs homes and community buildings for residents of rural West Alabama. Hale County Animal Shelter;
http://www.architectmagazine.com/educational-projects/the-new-rural-studio.aspx
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CONTRIBUTORS GUMP RECORD publishes a collection of Emily Dallmeyer investigations by architectural learners, for “Research through Making” architectural learners. We pride ourselves in our commitment to discussions of research Dakota Pahel-Short and experimentation instead of serving “Form is Form” as a a venue for self-promotion. Over the Will Philemon course of the Spring 2013 semester, eight “Design & Construction” contributors will seek and publish examinations of seven extraordinary topics. In Evan Danchenka the first half of this semester, these contribCharles Kane utors will throughly research and explain David King & Anna Stokes the history and theories of their topics. Keihly Moore This research will then be applied in the second half of the semester for their own Blake Montieth experimentation and demonstration. Their Editor progress will be recorded and reported throughout the semester to architectural learners in the UNC Charlotte School of Architecture and beyond.
gumprecord.org
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