Time to look back at the findings so far at the start of day 4 of the DOCOMOMO Student Workshop…

Working at Watt Hall, USC School of Architecture students and tutors are still impressed by the site visit to Neutra’s Hall of Records, the topic of the workshop. Once behind the laptop, looking at historic plans, images, journal articles and trade catalogs, the building comes more and more to live! Comparing the current with the historic situation gives great insights in the intended and lived architecture of this Modern building!

The louvres and in particular the difference between the south and north side variants speak to everyone’s attention. All are made out of aluminum, reflecting the sun to not hinder the people working in the building and of course reducing the cooling load. The huge south-side-louvres are (where?) even solar-powered! Documentation and traces onsite reveal that all louvres were produced by the Los Angeles based Lemlar Corporation.

Using a 3d model of the building, drawings, sketches and photos, not only the physical building conception was analyzed, also its historic and current use as well as the spatial configuration were discussed. Based on a rough value assessment, even the limits and possibilities for conversion to affordable housing were put on the table already.

More to come, working towards a final presentation at noon on Tuesday March 17, Watt Hall, Upper Rosendin Gallery.