LIVE AND WORK: MODERN HOMES AND OFFICES: THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE OF SHUBIN + DONALDSON

by Thom Mayne

Live + Work is a visually immersive monograph of the work of Shubin and Donaldson Architects, whose creative commercial spaces and high-end residential projects draw on the complex vernaculars of Southern California's cultures and traditions. Organized around the organic process of practice, the complex genealogy of projects, and the flow of influence, this monograph examines the contemporary conditions by which we live and work, and how those terms are increasingly blended. Visuals of the select projects are supplemented with drawings, sketches, diagrams, interviews, and essays by Thom Mayne and Joseph Giovannini.

252 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 2010

About the author

Thom Mayne is an American architect. He is based in Los Angeles. In 1972, Mayne helped found the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where he is a trustee and the coordinator of the Design of Cities postgraduate program. Since then he has held teaching positions at SCI-Arc, the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is principal of Morphosis Architects, an architectural firm based in Culver City, California and New York City, New York. Mayne received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in March 2005.

Reviews

[Blog on Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Architects Russell Shubin and Robin Donaldson launched their firm in 1990. From offices in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, they have built an architectural practice known for designing innovative work environments, primarily for creative companies, and Modernist homes that balance an energetic flow of space with retreat-like serenity. In Live + Work, the first retrospective book of their body of work, the overlap between places to conduct commerce and places to dwell is explored, noting what the architects see as a shift toward people “making living and workplace choices that facilitate creative lifestyles.”
Published by ORO editions, Live + Work features 23 projects spanning the years 1998 to 2009. The handsome monograph is predominantly pictorial, letting images unaccompanied by text for the first 195 pages of the 252-page volume narrate the journey through environments that highlight Shubin + Donaldson Architects’ distinctive intersections of space, movement, light, and texture. The visually immersive format is refreshing, complementing the experience of discovering the architects’ expressive work without summarized descriptions that might limit one’s perceptions.

The text section opens with a foreword by architect Thom Mayne, founder of Morphosis (where Donaldson started his career). Mayne writes, “At home with the ephemeral the found, the ad hoc, the messiness of reality Shubin + Donaldson’s work transmits a distinct immediacy that emerges from the spontaneity of the creative process.” An in-depth essay from architecture writer Joseph Giovannini follows, and Shubin and Donaldson’s insights are featured in a 30-page section titled “Form Follows Intention.” In that section, understanding the projects through the architects’ own words rather than via editorial narrations feels fresh and lively. Particularly interesting were the interviews that emphasized process and design philosophy, and ones that featured first-hand commentary from clients.

“Form Follows Intention” is also the title of a pop-up exhibition of models, drawings, and photographs that will coincide with a Live + Work book signing and author event at the Edward Cella Art + Architecture gallery (6018 Wilshire Blvd., LA, CA, 90036) taking place on Saturday, April 17 from 6-8PM. Shubin and Donaldson will talk at 7PM