Gregory Ain
| Gregory Ain | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 28, 1908 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Died | January 9, 1988 |
Gregory Ain (March 28, 1908 – January 9, 1988) was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium-cost housing.
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Biography[edit]
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1908, Ain was raised in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. For a short time during his childhood, the Ain family lived at Llano del Rio, an experimental collective farming colony in the Antelope Valley of California
He was inspired to become an architect after visiting the Schindler House as a teenager. He attended the University of Southern California School of Architecture in 1927–28, but dropped out after feeling limited by the school's Beaux Arts training.
His primary influences were Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra. He worked for Neutra from 1930 to 1935, along with fellow apprentice Harwell Hamilton Harris, and contributed to Neutra's major projects of that period.
Beginning in 1935, Ain cultivated a practice designing modest houses for working-class clients. In these projects he wanted to address "the common architectural problems of common people," which prompted flexible floor plans and open kitchens.
Ain was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1940 to study prefabricated housing. During World War II, Ain was Chief Engineer for Charles and Ray Eames in the development of their well-known plywood chairs.
After the war, in Ain's most productive period, he formed a partnership with Joseph Johnson and Alfred Day in order to design large housing tracts. His major projects of this period included Park Planned Homes, Avenel Homes, Mar Vista Housing, and Community Homes. He collaborated with landscape architect Garrett Eckbo on each of these projects. They were an expression of Mid-century modern design. Ain also practiced in a "loose partnership" with James Garrott, and they built a small office building together on Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake neighborhood.
These projects attracted the attention of Philip Johnson, the curator of architecture at the Museum of Modern Art, who engaged Ain to build a house in the museum's garden in 1950. At the same time, Ain was perceived as a communist, and the growing "Red Scare" caused him to lose several opportunities, including participation in the Case Study Program.
Ain also taught architecture at USC after the war. Then, from 1963 to 1967, he served as the Dean of the Pennsylvania State University School of Architecture. He died in 1988.
A media project, The Bauhaus Ranch (aka 1000 Sq. ft.) documenting Ain's life, is currently in production and is directed by award winning American director, Christiane Robbins.
Buildings[edit]
- 1936: Edwards House, Los Angeles, California
- 1937: Ernst House, Los Angeles, California
- 1937: Byler House, Mt. Washington (Los Angeles), California
- 1937-39: Dunsmuir Flats,[1] Los Angeles, California
- 1938: Brownfield Medical Building, Los Angeles, California (later destroyed)
- 1938: Beckman House,[2] Los Angeles, California
- 1939: Daniel House, Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California
- 1939: Margaret and Harry Hay House, North Hollywood, California
- 1939: Tierman House, Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California
- 1939: Vorkapich Garden House, for Slavko Vorkapich, Beverly Hills, California (later destroyed)
- 1941: Ain House, Hollywood, California
- 1941: Orans House, Silver Lake (Los Angeles), California
- 1946: Park Planned Homes, Altadena, California
- 1947-48: Mar Vista Housing, Mar Vista (Los Angeles), California
- designated as a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone by the city of Los Angeles in 2003.[3]
- 1948: Avenel Homes (cooperative), Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
- listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[4]
- 1948: Hollywood Guilds and Unions Office Building, Los Angeles, California (later destroyed)
- 1948: Miller House, Beverly Hills, California
- 1948: Community Homes[5] (cooperative), Reseda (Los Angeles), California (unbuilt)
- 1949: Ain & Garrott Office, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
- 1949: Schairer House, Los Angeles, California
- 1950: Beckman House II, Sherman Oaks, California
- 1950: Hurschler House, Pasadena, California (later destroyed)
- 1950: MOMA Exhibition House,[6] New York City (later destroyed)
- 1951: Ben Margolis House,[7] Los Angeles, California
- 1951: Mesner House, Sherman Oaks, California
- 1962-63: Ernst House II, Vista, California
- 1963: Kaye House, Tarzana, California
- 1967: Ginoza House, State College, Pennsylvania
Awards and honors[edit]
- Guggenheim Fellowship, 1940
- American Institute of Architects College of Fellows (FAIA)
References[edit]
- ^ Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument Application, 2009
- ^ Thornburg, Barbara (August 23, 2008), "Modern architecture mixes with traditional furnishings in Los Angeles house", Los Angeles Times
- ^ Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract Historical Preservation Overlay Zone (City of Los Angeles)
- ^ NRHP nomination, 2004
- ^ Denzer, Anthony (Fall 2005). "Community Homes: Race, Politics and Architecture in Postwar Los Angeles". Southern California Quarterly 87 (3): 269–285.
- ^ "Museum of Modern Art press release". 1950.
- ^ Goldin, Greg (August 18, 2011), "Ben Margolis and Gregory Ain: A meeting of radical minds", Los Angeles Times
Bibliography[edit]
- Denzer, Anthony (2008). Gregory Ain: The Modern Home as Social Commentary. Rizzoli Publications. ISBN 0-8478-3062-4.
- McCoy, Esther (1984). The Second Generation. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 0-87905-119-1.
- Gebhard, David; Harriette Von Breton and Lauren Weiss Bricker (1980). The Architecture of Gregory Ain: The Play Between the Rational and High Art. University of California, Santa Barbara.
External links[edit]
- Kaplan, Sam Hall (January 24, 1988), "Ain's Contributions Remembered", Los Angeles Times
- www.marvistatract.org - Gregory Ain Mar Vista Tract Web Site
- Gregory Ain Model Home Redo & Add On
- LA Obscura: Ain Projects
- Modern San Diego biography
- Gregory Ain - Mar Vista Residence (1948). Recreation in "Second Life"
- Gregory Ain Mar Vista Home - flickr set
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