Phillips *08 Interviews L.A. Architects

New book: L.A. [Ten], Interviews on Los Angeles Architecture, 1970s-1990s, with Stephen Phillips *08(Lars Müller Publishers)

The editor: An architect and historian, Phillips is an associate professor of architecture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and founding director of the Cal Poly L.A. Metro Program in Architecture and Urban Design.

The book: In this collection of oral history interviews, a group of architects discuss their lives, work, and the cultural history of L.A. architecture. They were known as the “L.A. Ten” — a loosely affiliated group of architects who influenced Los Angeles architecture. Among them are Neil Denari, Ming Fung, Craig Hodgetts, Wes Jones, Eric Owen Moss, and Michael Rotondi. Phillips and others conducted the interviews.

From the introduction: “Several of these architects went on to produce some of the most notable work in 20th- and 21st-century architecture; others took less experimental paths toward more commercial success; while others virtually disappeared,” writes Phillips. They “made a very real and extremely significant contribution, not only to the history of Los Angeles architecture but also to the profession of architecture nationally and globally. … They have defined the field in so many ways and accomplished what many architects can only hope to achieve.”