San Diego Architectural Foundation

Mission Bay Aquatic Center

San Diego History Center presents architectural historian and SDAF board member Keith York (modernsandiego.com) for an engaging, illustrated talk on Post-War architect, Sim Bruce Richards. A WPA (Works Progress Administration) artist turned Taliesin Fellowship student, Richards worked alongside Frank Lloyd Wright to learn how to marry a plot of land with the structures built on them. Completing over 200 residential projects, as well as a myriad of public buildings, Richards has made an indeliable mark on San Diego's skyline.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010
5:30pm - 7:30pm
Thornton Theatre at San Diego History Center
Casa de Balboa, Balboa Park
Cost: $10 SDHC members, $15 general
RSVP by calling 619-232-6203, ext. 129, or send an email to gabe.selak@sandiegohistory.org to register.

Cecil and Virginia Roper Residence by Loch Crane (ca. 1964), a.k.a. 'Cape May Modern'.

Two and a half years after submitting an application for historic designation, Greg Strangman’s home in Ocean Beach (above) was granted the rarified status. The two-year process is dramatically longer today than in years past. As the City of San Diego cuts resources, the citizenry must deal with such delays. The good news is, with Greg’s help, we are crafting an owner’s guide (through this series of posts) to designating a home. Read more »

Among the myriad ways to discuss, categorize, appreciate and value architecture is understanding our region’s historic sites inventory. As the number and caliber of decades-old residential, institutional and commercial buildings can decrease through remodeling and demolition, the number can also increase as the citizenry push local officials to designate local treasures as historic.

We recently sat down with local real estate developer Greg Strangman of L.W.P. Group to discuss his 5th historic building – in this case the designation of his own home, the Cecil and Virginia Roper Residence by Loch Crane (ca. 1964). The seaside getaway of lava rock, wood and glass remains intact while other similar designs by former (pre-WW2) Taliesin Fellow Crane of the same era have gone nearly extinct.
   
As an architecture enthusiast, and one who has built a career out of redeveloping San Diego’s historic fabric, Strangman pursued protection of his home for two reasons: to protect the home whenever it transfers ownership, and to take advantage of healthy property tax savings. Following historic designation, with Mills Act protection, a homeowner can enjoy tax savings up to 70%. Read more »

While some argue that the heyday of international style modernism in the 1930s failed to change European political futures, and others wonder aloud why US post-war modernity failed to usher in real social change in America, most of us agree that post-modernism answered few grand, macro-level, questions about our culture. But what is happening in Kuwait, Cairo and Dubai, all incubators for leading-edge contemporary architecture, may cause future sociologists and cultural anthropologists to take stock of design amidst real cultural upheaval. Read more »