Frank Gehry's Danzinger Studio: A Cubist Compound In Hancock Park

Via Curbed LA: If you're prone to bumping into sharp corners, be careful here. Frank Gehry designed this Hancock Park cubist compound in 1964 as a commercial space. In a 2004 interview with the BBC, Gehry remembers the negative reaction that local architects had to his cubist studio: "the local architects came out against it publicly. They would say funny things about it. I don't know why... [they said] it was not honest, it was contrived." Despite the criticism, the Danziger studio was later recognized as a significant piece showcasing Gehry's evolution as an architect. Curbed LA quotes An Architectural Guidebook To Los Ángeles: "Though restrained compared to his current work, the Danziger Studio building indicates how he was moving from the world of traditional architecture to sculpture as architecture. Minimal architecture at its best."

In 2008 it was updated and re-conceptualized as a dual live-work space by the studio of Glenn Williams Architect. The residential part has two bedrooms and one bathroom in a two-story building. It's joined by a central courtyard to the work studio, which has a reception area, several offices, and a bathroom. The home is being sold by director Philip Noyce, who has directed Angelina Jolie twice in films Salt and The Bone Collector. He has also directed Harrison Ford twice, for the films Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games.

Photos by Kathlene Persoff, courtesy of the official listing with Timothy Enright of The Enright Company.

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Comments

[moose and squirrel]

01:22 AM on 11/19/2010

i like all the spaces except for the kitchen and master suite.  very nice patio.

[Flat Harrold]

10:32 AM on 11/17/2010

Cool exterior facade; nice interior court; gorgeous built-ins. So why does it seem unfinished?

[clearpepsi]

09:15 PM on 11/13/2010

looks a lot like a retail space, that pic. #4 looks like a receptionist's desk, it's pretty on some level (I like minimalism) but those high ceilings are very 80's and distort sound so it would be hard space to feel cozy in...

[tman const]

01:55 AM on 11/12/2010

I personally built a bunch of stuff in that GREAT place!

[DomainDiva]

09:13 AM on 11/12/2010

So many places to work and create!! Perfect..I gotta have it!!!
Beautiful job. I love your craftsmanship.

[delta7777]

07:57 PM on 11/11/2010

.
looks like a very simple, practical, minimalist bare-bones live-work space.
Less = more philosophy--should be extremely comfortable for someone
who does not like clutter. Wonderful spaces for display of art, etc.

for a space that was designed as a commercial space, undoubtedly with cost as
a major consideration, it is quite outstanding, and certainly has held up well.

[ghost geezer]

06:57 PM on 11/11/2010

It's relatively unpretentious and sensible. That said, there remains a treadmill
in the modular juggling of so many rectangles that makes this style almost nostalgic.
There was a time when this was new, and that was a long, long time ago. There is
a question in all such buildings that addresses the discipline of architecture itself.
There is strong evidence that "originality" has run its course is several other branches
of the fine arts, certainly mine, art music, aka "composition." When I look at Dwell,
I see both marvelous Apollonian modernity and reruns of the mid 20th Century.
Same buildings, double vision. So, here. And are we invited implicitly to comment
rudely in a gallery which is really a show room for the rich? One takes one's chances
in displaying on HPOST. The hoi polloi might speak.

[thebigbike]

08:45 PM on 11/11/2010

Your comments are to the point, and appreciated,

(signed)

one of the polloi

[ddemos]

05:14 PM on 11/11/2010

wow...expecting something much more special...

[termgirl]

03:41 PM on 11/11/2010

Interestng place.
Love the skylights.
I think it could use an outdoor water feature, but. with kids there, I can see why there isn't.

[marshen]

03:37 PM on 11/11/2010

All the early cube houses are so great. Simple in design, simple in materials. Gehry is still doing similar structures like this in Europe but not in this country.

[katemail00]

03:36 PM on 11/11/2010

I wasn't really loving the pics until I saw the facade. How cool would it be to live in a house that looks like a cement fortress. I am totally feeling it now. popletters.com

[Lakesideboy]

03:27 PM on 11/11/2010

I agree with the other architect critics. This house is not honest I tell you, not honest.

[ghost geezer]

07:03 PM on 11/11/2010

Why not? I thought it was. But I didn't squint. I don't see anything dishonest
about spatial manipulations that are based on rectangles, and at first glance
space and circulation looked just fine to me. As I said, I didn't squint, don't have
a floor plan to study completely the circulation scheme, central to the integrity
of this, any building. What it is not to me is original. And to be fair to the architect,
a man known for his extremely fanciful excursions, he certainly knew that as well.
He was looking for a modest solution that would not disgrace him, I would think,
and this solution does for me fill that bill.

So, again, instruct us. Calling a building dishonest is harsh and requires qualification
if the accusation is not to be just broad stroke smearing. And, yes, this is a serious
forum.

[ghost geezer]

07:14 PM on 11/11/2010

Also, as I rescan the thread, I do not see your "other architect critics." Who
are they? Well, there is the "know nothing" snipe about the emporer's new
architect. Tell you what, fellow snobs. This man is talented enough to hold
our attention, and I wouldn't personally want to have to compete with him.

[arch lover]

03:24 PM on 11/11/2010

Clean lines. Beautful photography.

[Douglas90723]

03:13 PM on 11/11/2010

I'd call this, Gehry on the sober side. Ordinary, clean,.functional modern.

[situationcritical]

02:12 PM on 11/11/2010

Love the lines...too much wood, not enough glass.

[simontherm]

01:52 PM on 11/11/2010

Frank Gehry, the Emperor's New Architect.

[deven61]

02:30 PM on 11/11/2010

Funny.

[thebigbike]

08:47 PM on 11/11/2010

True in a range of implications