Tag archives: architect
Santa Barbara Museum of Art was socially gridlocked when it launched its latest exhibition, The Architecture of Collage: Marshall Brown. The comprehensive presentation includes 24 artworks, including six recent acquisitions by SBMA, loans from the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, and a private collector. In addition, an original etching […]
In the 1920s, American Santa Barbarans, enthralled with the mystique of Santa Barbara’s romantic Spanish past, set about preserving the rapidly-disappearing adobes. Ester Hammond purchased and paid for the preservation of the Hill/Carrillo Adobe, architect Louise McVhay completely renovated the Gonzalez/Ramirez adobe to reflect her vision of a romantic ranch house, and Irene and Bernhard […]
Dennis McFadden, a respected architect and member of UCSB’s Design Review Committee, has resigned from the Committee in protest over the university’s proposed Munger Hall dormitory project. As a long-time Santa Barbara architect, community resident, and fan of UCSB, I am writing to add my objections to the Munger Hall “Mega Dorm” currently proposed for […]
On the eve of Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s grand reopening of its galleries following a six-year, $50-million renovation that saw hulking construction equipment and a boarded up facade dominate its downtown space, the project’s architect, Montecito resident Bob Kupiec, recalled a story that illustrates why he leapt at the chance to spearhead the redesign […]
Quietly and without fanfare, Montecito recently welcomed a legendary architect to our village. Though long a celebrity figure for his “elegant barn” aesthetic in rustic settings like Sundance and Napa Valley, it was with delight that we caught up with Howard Backen — at his desk overlooking Coast Village Road — hand sketching a new […]
Former U.S. ambassador to Austria Susan McCaw, ex-wife of cell phone billionaire Craig McCaw, has paid $9.5 million, a hefty $2 million over the asking price, for the Erdman House, designed in 1959 by noted architect Lutah Maria Riggs. Nearly 9,000 square feet, on four eucalyptus and pine tree studded acres, the sublimely preserved midcentury […]
When we first met Paul Madsen, he was the subject of much speculation within a lower Montecito message board on Nextdoor.com. Over the summer, several community members had posted on the app that they’d observed (and had been observed by) a gentleman seated in a white SUV parked on Posilipo Lane, just past the Rosewood […]
For decades State Street has been the hope or bane of Santa Barbara’s existence. Today, the moment of truth has arrived as a groundswell of public opinion favors the Mediterranean town square model: closing State Street to traffic and opening up the street to pedestrians, retail and outdoor dining, in hopes of making the city vibrant again […]
Kudos to Kriegman The article written by Mitchell Kriegman for your March 5, 2020 issue on a new vision for downtown Santa Barbara was amazing! The in-depth background, pictures of the conceptual drawings, and relevant interviews with stakeholders all combined to well-inform the reader. Thank you for not letting the hard work that was done […]
Five years from now, Santa Barbara will mark the 100th anniversary of the earthquake of 1925 that killed thirteen people and caused 111 million in damages in today’s dollars. The quake sparked a stunning re-envisioning and rebuilding of the small town of 20,000 people laying the essential foundation of the unique city that is known […]
An old friend, New York interior designer Geoffrey Bradfield sends me his latest 295-page tome A 21st Century Palace Asia, featuring a 250,000 sq. ft. 36-bedroom home in China on 30 acres, which took four years to complete. Geoffrey, who has worked on homes with quite stratospheric budgets in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Jakarta and Japan, […]
On the subject of real estate, a 1930s Gilded Age Hot Springs Road property designed by Lutah Maria Riggs, the first licensed female architect in our Eden by the Beach, is being auctioned off. The impressive residence is set to sell without reserve to the highest bidder via leading global firm Concierge Auctions. Previously offered […]
Over the decades since he became a highly successful architect, Robert Easton has constructed custom design homes for a litany of celebrities – everyone from Barbara Streisand, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas and Michael J. Fox to Joe Cocker, Barry Manilow, Mike Love and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys – even Charo of “Cuchi-Cuchi” and […]
The president of the American Institute of Architects (AIASB), Robert Ooley, FAIA, called to see if I could attend their annual gala dinner, this year at the University Club. The Club had on its festive attire and so did the guests. The Santa Barbara Chapter is celebrating it’s 90th anniversary of service and excellence in […]
The life and accomplishments of one of the most influential but least known Santa Barbara architects will be celebrated at the Lobero Theatre on January 5. LUTAH A Passion for Architecture: A Life of Design tells the story of Lutah Maria Riggs (1896-1984), a protégé of famed architect George Washington Smith, who, among other landmark local buildings […]
