"You cannot bullshit with concrete." - Kulapat Yantrasast
Kulapat Yantrasast is the latest to be featured on NOWNESS' In Residence series. Set within Yantrasast's home in Venice Beach, the Thai architect and founder of wHY shares his thoughts on how to create meaningful architecture, from the "process of making" to designing with a "sense of play" and how the building can form an "engaging" relationship with its user.
Designed in 1984 for artist Lynn Norton and writer William Norton, Frank Gehry’s Norton House is known for its eccentric form and eclectic materiality. Much like his own house in Santa Monica, the Norton House is a sculptural assemblage of everyday materials. The Nortons had in fact seen Gehry’s house in 1983 and obviously approved of his experiment. So, a year later, they commissioned him to design their house on a narrow, ocean-facing plot of land on Venice Boardwalk. With the commission, Gehry continued his exploration of creating architecture with everyday materials, low costs, and sculptural forms.
These two 3-story mixed-use buildings, side-by-side reflecting each other, sit on a narrow thirty-foot lot along Ocean Front walk on world famous Venice Beach. This culturally diverse urban community is a busy commercial pedestrian area, popular with tourists and locals alike.
Architect: Kanner Architects Location: Venice Beach, California, USA Project Area: 13,000 sqf
