Building Respect

Orange County hasn't been known for its architecture. But a new book by the American Institute of Architects Orange County just might change that.

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Plaza Tower PHOTO Courtesy of RMA Photography Inc.

When it comes to architecture, Orange County is like
the late, great comedian Rodney Dangerfield:
We get no respect.

Critics seem content to whitewash the county as simply the home of mass-produced suburbia. And Disneyland.

But those who take a closer look will find buildings by highly influential practitioners like Richard Meier, Frank Gehry and Cesar Pelli. (Although admittedly, these “starchitects” may not have dropped their career-defining projects in Orange County. As Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines – so they should go as far as possible from home to build their first buildings.”)

Last year, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), a national professional association, polled 1,800 adults to find “America’s 150 favorite structures.” Only one OC structure made the list. Nope, not Disneyland. It was the Crystal Cathedral at number 65. Granted, there are a lot of nice structures out there, but a lone representative from the nation’s fifth most populous county? Ouch.

Now the Orange County chapter of the AIA has offered a list of its own: the 75 most significant structures in Orange County, as voted on by its 1,300 members. To be published this month in photo book form and available through the chapter office, the list demonstrates the county’s often-overlooked structural diversity.

The list’s top vote getters include sentimental local favorites like the Balboa

Balboa Pavilion Photo Courtesy of First American Corporation

Pavilion and Rudolph Schinder’s Lovell Beach House, an internationally recognized work of Modern architecture.

Disneyland, another top choice, demonstrates the malleable meaning of the term “significant,” intentionally chosen by the list’s coordinators to encourage diverse choices. Though few architects would consider Sleeping Beauty’s Castle a great building, it’s hard to overlook Disneyland’s significance in the county’s development.

Not surprisingly, the list includes big-name projects like Pelli’s Plaza Tower. It also features stylistic touchstones like Michael Graves’ San Juan Capistrano Library, an acclaimed example of the eclectic, referential postmodern movement. Homegrown architects are also recognized. The prolific George Bissell, who has worked in the county since the 1960s, had a hand in designing seven items on the list, including Lido Village and Irvine Meadows Recreation Center.

San Juan Capistrano Library Photo Courtesy of Will Hare Photography

In addition to architects, the list recognizes the patrons who make much of their work possible – developers like Donald Bren and Henry Segerstrom, who have the deep pockets and broad vision to draw great architects to the county.

One of OC’s greatest patrons isn’t even a developer by trade. Pastor and televangelist Dr. Robert H. Schuller has hired a succession of great architects – Richard Neutra, Philip Johnson and Richard Meier – to erect his Crystal Cathedral Ministries. The resulting Garden Grove Community Church, Crystal Cathedral and Center for Possibility Thinking are a microcosm of 20th century architecture.

Beyond buildings, the list also features significant spaces like the late Isamu Noguchi’s California Scenario sculpture garden; concepts like William Pereira’s Fashion Island master plan (part of his original, county-defining Irvine Ranch master plan); and even feats of sheer engineering, like the monumental U.S. Marine Corps Blimp Hangars in Tustin.

As with any highly subjective, pseudo-scientific survey, omissions and head-scratching choices abound. With a few notable exceptions, like the historic Myford Irvine residence and the radical Price Residence (both in Corona del Mar), the list is largely lacking single-family residential architecture.

There is also a slew of nice, though seemingly insignificant, places: offices, schools, a car dealership, etc. This is probably due to methodology. The initial survey included all past recipients of the AIAOC’s annual design awards. Therefore, a certain number of self-congratulatory, insidery choices are a given.

In the end, the list is a beginning; a start at recognizing significance – and occasional greatness – amidst the diffuse mediocrity

Crystal Cathedral Photo Courtesy of Costea Photography Inc.

that indeed accounts for much of the county’s built environment.

“If you look past the majority of the work, there are a significant number of projects that are worthy of a double-take,” says architect Jim Wirick, a partner at the firm LPA and chairman of the AIAOC committee that produced the list. “For those who are interested in the field of art and architecture, we live in a pretty rich environment.”

Especially if we take the time to celebrate not just the extraordinary, but some “everyday” projects as well. “There are those jewels that have their place in architectural history,” says Brian Pratt of Bauer and Wiley Architects, and last year’s AIAOC president. “And then there are those that are by the OC architect quietly doing his or her job, doing a great project, that maybe nobody will ever see unless you acknowledge it this way.”

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