In Los Angeles there is a new apartment on the block, designed to speak the language of Sunset Boulevard by Warren Techentin Architecture (WTARCH). With the aim to naturally embed the design into its Echo Park neighbourhood, architect Warren Techentin, principal of WTARCH lifted colours, materials and textures from the urban environment between DTLA and the Dodger Stadium.
The result is an eclectic mix of textures – no façade is the same. To the west the building presents a CNC-cut perforated aluminium rain and solar shading screen fabricated by Arktura with cut-out ‘eylids’. To the north, pink cruciform geometries and a scattering of windows puncture a black painted façade. A white façade with deep recessed balconies faces east, and a yellow façade inspired by nearby auto dealerships shaded by a cedar screen wall faces south.
The Elysian Fields Apartments comprises four separate buildings that surround an inner courtyard with a large planter of miniature fruit trees hiding a rainwater filtration system. Inside, there are 27 live/work apartments none of which are the same – each have different plans that vary from a 580 sq ft micro-unit to a 1,375 sq ft three bedroom loft, yet all have vast windows, double height spaces, balconies and private patios.
Designed to meet the demands of all types of demographic, the multi-family housing is a unique offering for Echo Park, a neighbourhood in a city sprawling with low-rise single family homes. WTARCH’s apartment building aims to replicate the same values found there – such as large open spaces, areas for pets, trees, and space to customise and experiment, yet also bring a new type of density to the area.
INFORMATION
-
We zoom in on Ontario Place, Toronto’s lake-defying 1971 modernist showpieceWe look back at Ontario Place, Toronto’s striking 1971 showpiece and modernist marvel with an uncertain future
-
‘It is a collaborative adventure, not a service provision’: Ilse Crawford on design as a tool for advancement and enhancementDesigner Ilse Crawford, founder of Studio Ilse and a revered shapeshifter in the industry, reflects on design in 2025 and finds cause for optimism
-
Meet Daniel Blumberg, the British indie rock veteran who created The Brutalist’s scoreBAFTA-nominated Blumberg has created an epic score for Brady Corbet’s film The Brutalist, in cinemas this week; listen here
-
Reflections from Los Angeles: a local writer's personal account of the LA firesArchitecture writer and local resident Michael Webb reflects on the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires and offers his personal account of the events of the last two weeks in California
-
LA Mayor Karen Bass outlines her plan for rebuilding the cityFollowing the devastating LA wildfires, which have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, the city’s mayor has outlined her plan for reconstruction
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House, a Usonian modernist Michigan gem, could be yoursFrank Lloyd Wright’s Weisblat House in Michigan is on the market – a chance to peek inside the heritage modernist home in the countryside
-
The architectural ashes of the LA firesAmidst incalculable losses for so many Angelenos we consider the architectural gems lost in the wildfires
-
Cabin House is a simple modernist retreat in the woods of North CarolinaDesigned for downsizing clients, Cabin House is a modest two-bedroom home that makes the most of its sylvan surroundings
-
A Texas ranch house blends Californian charm and Asian minimalism in a 'balance in hybridity'Pontious, a Texas ranch house designed by OWIU, is a home grounded in its owner's cultural identity, uniting Californian, Chinese and Japanese roots
-
The three lives of the Edith Farnsworth House: now, a modernist architecture icon open to allThe modernist Edith Farnsworth House has had three lives since its conception in 1951 by Mies van der Rohe; the latest is a sensitive renovation, and it's open to the public
-
A multifaceted Beverly Hills house puts the beauty of potentiality in the frameA Beverly Hills house in Trousdale, designed by Robin Donaldson, brings big ideas to the residential scale
