Steven Ehrlich (Contemporary World Architects)

Architecture, like any profession, involves the mastery of a systematic body of knowledge and skills, acquired through study, reflection, and repetition. But to truly succeed architecture must also achieve a cultural and aesthetic synthesis that enriches our existence through its art. This volume surveys 19 projects by Santa Monica architect Steven Ehrlich. Like the city of Los Angeles itself, Ehrlich's architecture embraces change and is constantly evolving. Ehrlich subscribes to a comprehensible culture of Modernism, in which tradition and innovation are intricately dependent upon one another, with innovation stemming from tradition and tradition based on reinterpretation. A dynamic tension runs through Ehrlich's architecture, both residential and public, a counterpoint between solid, primitive surfaces and mass juxtaposed with high-tech materials. For example, the Shatto Recreation Center, with its single sweep of galvanized metal roof over an "Aztec" concrete block box, echoes the indigenous structures Ehrlich admired in Africa as it proclaims his interest in the future.