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On the spot

Santa Monica

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Santa Monica Beach, photo by the author

During our Field Trip we stayed in a Hostel in Santa Monica which was a good chance for us to explore this city by feet. As I informed myself before, this is a place where many active, laid-back and healthy people live.

Santa Monica Beach, photo by the author

In the morning before our official appointments we had the chance to enjoy the beautiful sunrise at the beach. Luckily the beach was less than 5 minutes by feet away from the place we stayed at. Most of the people we saw were jogging at the beach sometimes also in bigger groups. For people who don’t like to walk, there were also bikes that you can rent for a reasonable fee.

Santa Monica Beach, photo by the author

The Santa Monica Pier was also not crowded in morning which was probably a good chance to take pictures. It is definitely a sight that you should visit even though the Pacific Park is not as big as a regular amusement park.

Santa Monica Pier, photo by the author

Although we only had the chance to take a look at this city in the morning and in the evening because of our busy schedule, we saw that this is a very popular destination for many different people. Furthermore the city is also a place for street artists and performers in general. In the evening there were street performers who caught the attention of the public.

Moreover it is also important to mention that the cost of living is a lot higher in Santa Monica than in Germany which would explain the high number of homeless people around the city.

Next there are also many famous buildings in Santa Monica that we got to see like the open-air shopping center Santa Monica Place and Gehry Residence by Frank O Gehry, the City of Santa Monica Parking Structure #6 by Behnische Architekten and Studio Jantzen, the Ocean Ave. Towers by William Krisel and many more.

Lien Liane Nguyen

On the spot

Frank O. Gehry , Binoculars Building, 2001, 340 Main Street, Venice, Los Angeles

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Binoculars Building, photo by the author

On our Frank Gehry day, right after going to the private Gehry Residence, we luckily got to see the iconic Binoculars Building with two adjacent buildings, that are used as office space on each side. The building is located in the Venice neighbourhood of Los Angeles. It is a building that you cannot overlook when you are driving by it. On that day, we were the only tourists to take a closer look at the building while other people casually were walking by. After we had parked on the side of the road across the street we took the chance to observe the exterior of this building to take pictures. From the other side of the street it was a lot easier to take picturesshoot of the whole complex.

Binoculars Building, photo by the author

The centerpiece is the entrance with a pair of matte black binoculars which is symmetrical compared to the other parts of this building since we are not used to see something that we use daily in this size. In my opinion it is not easy to guess that there is a parking lot behind the entrance from afar. It is a creative entrance that looks surreal in person as well as in pictures. The shape and size of this building, makes it an eyecatcher that you can instantly recognize.

Binoculars Building, photo by the author

On the right side of the binoculars is a brown and green building which is asymetrical. It doesn’t have any similarities to the other buildings. To me it looks like something it is randomly built together, which is not really done yet. Most of the beams look disarranged which make these look like branches of a tree but at the same time like antique columns which give support or serve decorative purposes. The building that we are seeing in these pictures, make it seem like it is reddish brown and green. Since the paint of this building looks like it is not evenly distributed, it gives the building something natural. As I got closer to the right part of the building, I noticed that the reason for it is assumedly corten steel or rust, which spread and gave it a green colour.

Binoculars Building, photo by the author

Whereas on the left side I would confirm that the white building does look like a ship or even yacht. It is slightly curved and the first storey only has long cabin like reflecting window panes. The other stories have balconies that are also similar to those of ships and yachts.

Binoculars Building, photo by the author

Behind the binoculars we can see a brick wall which is not as noticeable on the pictures, which I found in the internet before our trip. This is probably an office, music room or lounge. It is possible to look through the windows as you are nearing the gigantic Binoculars. Unfortunately we didn’t get the chance to enter the building.

Binoculars Building, photo by the author

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Abstracts, Allgemein

Frank O. Gehry , Binoculars Building, 2001, 340 Main Street, Venice, Los Angeles

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Located in the Venice neighboorhood of Los Angeles, is the Binoculars Building which is a commercial office building.

Binoculars Building
By YaGeek (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Binoculars_Building.jpg
It was designed by Frank O. Gehry a Canadian-born American architect who is residing in Los Angeles, in collaboration with his longtime friends Claes Oldenburg and his wife Coosje van Bruggen. The couple who Gehry collaborated with are famous for their large-scale projects in which they turn everyday objects in huge sculptures. They first made a small model for an academic project in Italy in the form of binoculars but it was built in Gehry’s office instead.

This building was constructed in 1991 until 2001 for the advertising agency Chiat/Day as one of its headquarters and was originally called the Chiat/Day Building.

Materials such as steel, concrete and cement plaster and gypsum plaster in the inside were used for this building.

The black standing pair of binoculars are only one part of a three-part complex of buildings. Gehry designed two different buildings for this project, one is boat-like and the other one is tree-like. We can see that the building on the left side does look like a piece of a white colored yacht with long cabin windows. The building on the right gives the appearance of trees because of the brown color and branches like roof pillars.

Since you can’t gain inside access to the building without having connections, you can still see how this kind of architecture is definitely an eye-catcher. The massive binoculars which are normally considered as an everyday object ties the complex together as a third structure. It turns into an unique and spectacular work space, which functions as pedestrian entrance and car gate as we can already see in videos which are posted online. You can drive through the center of the binoculars in order to get into an underground parking garage.

Today TBWA\Chiat\Day moved out of this building and the public relations group “Ketchum Inc.“ was renting a part of this building. Nowadays this place is more known for its current tenant, as one of many Google buildings.

Lien Liane Nguyen

Abstracts, Allgemein

Santa Monica

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Foto: © JCS / Wikimedia Commons / , via Wikimedia Commons

Santa Monica is a renowned beach city in Los Angeles with a mediterranean climate. During our field trip at the end of March we can mainly expect to have moderately warm weather. We will stay at the „Hostelling International Los Angeles in Santa Monica“, which is situated in downtown Santa Monica and only a few blocks from the beach.

Aside from the beach, the famous Santa Monica Pier which used to be the western end of Route 66, at the end of Colorado Avenue contains an aquarium and a little amusement park with a red and yellow ferris wheel, a roller coaster, a historic carousel and more.

Movies, TV series and music videos that have been set in the Santa Monica Pier as well as the beach, show that this place is one of Southern California’s most popular filming locations. Some movies already gave us a slight insight in the lively, expensive atmosphere of this city. In combination with free time activities, Santa Monica offers shops, cafes, restaurants, farmer markets, theatres, cultural events and entertainment which attracts a wide variety of locals as well as tourists.

In order to explore the city we will not have to rely on a car too much to get around, since the city is rather small. Public transportation such as the „Big Blue Bus“ also provide bus service to the westside of the Los Angeles basin if you don’t have a car. Furthermore it might be more convenient to rent bicycles to get to the car-free 3rd Street Promenade where you can go shopping.

Another option is the 26-Mile Bike Path that parallels Santa Monica Beach and that might give you the chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery. The Santa Monica Yacht Harbor Sign at the entrance of the Pier and the sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier which marks the end of the legendary American highway, have become an additional must-visit place to take obligatory pictures or selfies for many travelers.

Route 66 – End of the Trail -Santa Monica
from Prayitno, Los Angeles, USA (ROUTE 66) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) oder CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

During our trip we are going to take the chance to take a look at the architecture of a Googie-styled restaurant called “Swingers Diners“ and o have dinner there at the same time.

Furthermore another place in Santa Monica, that we’re going to visit is the world-renowned Gehry Residence which was redesigned to its owners liking. It was bought by Frank Owen Gehry and his wife Berta Gehry and looks like a house that is still under construction.

If you want to explore other beach towns which are nearby, you can go to Malibu, Venice, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades and many other places with different attractions.

Lien Liane Nguyen