William Pereira - modernism on a massive scale
Manage episode 309095714 series 3026996
The Transamerica building in San Francisco, Los Angeles International Airport, Pepperdine University, UCSD's Geisel Library, even master planning the city of Irvine, William Pereira’s buildings are littered all over California. A career embedded in the mid-20th century at a very special moment in history - the creation of a suburban metropolis in one of the most modern cities in the world.
In this 45-minute podcast, Alan Hess returns to the Soul of California and discusses the variety of buildings which defined Southern California mid-century (min. 7), Pereira's background in Hollywood and his garnering of an Oscar (min. 10), Irvine’s masterplan (min 15-25), his legacy and the LA County Museum of Art (min. 29-40) and closes with his favourite building. He makes a convincing case for Pereira's legacy, comparing him to other "forgotten architects" (Green Brothers for the Craftsman style and Rudolph Schindler) who were all but forgotten after their deaths, but have since been elevated to the Pantheon of architecture.
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