The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 129

leal Changes in Architecture Are Dizzying Cesar Pelli, Dean of Yale Architecture School, Tells Theories I 4i 1 mjw lgpmxm i ti'k mm mm, -r- IZizt mmmm mmmmm 1 1 IIOMES-INDUSTRY In Two Parts PART IX SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1978 m. i Mm: mrnmrn i 1 i DICK TURPIN CP. EndN ears I .1 I tt" for oom BY JOHN DREYFUSS Timet Architecture anil Dnlqn Critic Architecture is changing. Standards for judging architecture are changing. The two changes are happening with such dizzying speed that a lot of people are concerned and mystified.

Cesar Pelli, dean of Yale University's School of Architecture, recently delivered those messages to some 800 architects and students at the California Council, American Institute of Architects conference in Newport Beach. Then he snatched some theories that are swirling in the tornado of architectural change, and he put them in order. Dogma Questioned He drew a verbal picture of what's going on, and it looked like this: Until a few years ago, architects generally adhered to the functional, undecorated, monochrome "modern architecture" espoused in The Gospel of Modern Architecture according to Saints Mies van der Rohe, Gropius and Le Corbusier. But the standards set by those great modern architects gradually turned to dogma, and dogma is law for the meek. Architects, while they can be called a lot of other names, do not as a group deserve the appellation meek.

As the saints of modern architecture have died and they are about gone now their dogma was questioned: Must buildings really indicate the functions that occur within them? Does the structure of a building have to be obvious to the man in the street? Are flat roofs better than pitched roofs? Please Turn to Page 10, Col. 3 WARES FROM AROUND WORLD Some of 90 booths in New York Jewelers Exchange, to open in Los Angeles Jewelry Center. Time photo by Ben Olender WILL OPEN IN RENOVATED DOWNTOWN BUILDING Jewelers Exchange Is World's Largest Inflation, like the weather, is so talked about but there isn't much to be done about it except maybe to move over and make room for it. Everyone from President Carter to the lowliest blue collar worker knows it is the villain of our economic times but there is no magic antidote available, the President's suggested wage -price guidelines notwithstanding. The housing industry, like it or not, again will bear the immediate brunt of the federal government's efforts to slow inflation by increasing costs of borrowing money.

Traditionally, this method has been used rightly or wrongly as the quickest way to cool things off and the history of the industry's cyclical nature is familiar to all. Rates Climb The recent action by the Federal Reserve Board in pegging the discount rate at an unprecedented 9.5 an increase of 1 is having its inevitable result of sending home loan interest rates on another jump upward. The 1974 record mark of 11 is probably just around the next escrow. But buying a home is virtually the only hedge against inflation, as everyone in the world must know by now, and a paradox persists with high rates and continuing (although slower-paced) sales. Commenting on consumer demand in its newly announced 1979 construction forecast, the Commerce Department noted: "The degree to which high mortgage rates will dampen demand in 1979 seems likely to be less than in the past, since there will be little anticipation of a sub-Please Turn to Page 12, Col.

1 BT DAVID M. KINCHEN Thmt StaH WrHtr When it opens Tuesday in the Los Angeles Jewelry Center at 629 S. Hill the New York Jewelers Exchange will be the largest retail jewelry exchange in the world, according to Jack I. Salzberg, managing partner of SRS Associates, owner of the center. The opening of the exchange on the main floor and arcade level of the 12-story building marks the completion of a $2-million renovation of the downtown structure, formerly headquarters of the American Banking Assn.

The renovation began early last year and included the addition of three new automatic elevators, central heat and air conditioning, a state of the art security system, a new roof and exterior repainting. Glass store fronts have replaced old construction in corridor areas, the third, fourth and sixth floors were gutted and rebuilt and a circular corridor has been built on the third floor. The contractor was General Contractors. The opening of the Jewelry Center comes just over a month after Mayor Tom Bradley announced that the city has received a federal grant as seed money for a jewelry mart fronting Pershing Square on the west side of Hill St between 5th and 6th Sts. Developer Morton Bowman is investing $4.5 million, which, along with a $25-million loan from Bank of America, will be used to build the 20-story building.

Bradley said an estimated 3,125 jobs would be created or retained with the development of the mart, which will house 350 to 400 jewelry wholesaling and manufacturing firms. Salzberg stressed that his project used no public money in "any aspect of financing or development" and will mesh well with the new jewelry mart since it is only a half block away. Jewelers prefer to work closely with other jewelers, he added. "An artist who designs a ring often will send the piece to someone else for casting, get another person to set the diamonds, another person for polishing, sell it to a wholesaler in the building who then sells it to a retail store buyer," Salzberg said. "The business requires this close interplay, and the need to save time and the considerations of collective security make a jewelry center highly desirable." Security in the building is the most advanced of any jewelry building in Los Angeles, he said.

In addition, a fire and smoke detection system with nearly 200 detectors is being installed in the building. Planning and execution of the interior space renovation of the building (net rentable area) was under the direction of Peter Doumani, principal of the Polaris Group, Beverly Hills. Please Turn to Page 11, Col. 1 2ND LITTLE TOKYO MALL TO GET UNDER WAY 1 Elevator Safety Code Deadline Extensions Seen BY ALAN MALTUN Hundreds of owners and managers of high-rise buildings in Los Angeles who failed to meet the Oct. 6 deadline for compliance with new state elevator fire safety codes may be allowed time extensions.

Only 200 to 300 of the 1,000 buildings affected by the first of the new regulations have been brought up to current codes, according to Robert Bassman, chief of the Elevator and Pressure Vessel Division of the city's Department of Building and Safety. The initial phase of a series of new regulations, now in effect, calls for improvements to elevators traveling more than 75 feet. The codes were adopted by the state in October, 1975. Other new provisions not yet in effect, however, will affect elevators traveling distances as short as 25 feet. Safety Rules The improvements required by fire safety codes and related earthquake codes effective between now and 1982 are expected to cost owners tens of millions of dollars.

Included in the first group of fire safety requirements under Title 8 of the California Life and Safety Code were installation of automatic "fireman's return" systems and smoke sensors. These devices send an elevator car directly down to the ground floor without stopping. Bassman said the time extensions are not being granted automatically. Those who have received noncompliance notices will have to "show good reason" to be granted an extension by the city, which enforces the regulations for the state, he said. A company would have to provide evidence it was making an effort toward compliance such as taking out a Please Turn to Page 15, Col.

1 to the hotel's mezzanine and on the third floor, another pedestrian bridge will join the shopping mall to the hotel's New Otani garden. East West Development is headquartered in the Kajima Building, 250 E. 1st and is an associate firm of the Kajima Corp. The groundbreaking ceremony will include presentation of prizes in the naming contest, which was won by Mary M. Miya for her submission, "Weller Center." Second prize will go to Dennis Nishikawa for "Imperial Court Plaza" and third place to Cornelia B.

Ward for "Weller Promenade." "Weller" was chosen, according to Ono, because it preserves the name and heritage of the Little Tokyo community and "Court" because of the central-courtyard design. Fourth prize was awarded to Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Gomez, who entered 152 names, and Connie Cowger, with 106 entries will receive the fifth prize.

A total of more than 1,500 names were entered in the contest. First prize is two round-trip air tickets to Hawaii where the winners will be guests at the New Otani Hotel Kaimala Beach. BY TERENCE M. GREEN Tlnwi SMI Wrttw Groundbreaking ceremonies are set for Thursday for an $8-million, three-level contemporary shopping mall adjacent, to the New Otani Hotel and Garden in the heart of Little Tokyo. Mayor Tom Bradley and Takeo At-sumi, president of East West Development are scheduled to conduct the 10:30 a.m.

ceremonies marking the commencement of the Weller Court project Weller Court is the second major project of East West Development Corp. in association with the Community Redevelopment Agency, the first having been the $30-million New Otani. When completed in December, 1979, the mall will contain a total of 88,000 square feet, with 62,780 square feet of leasable area suitable for shops, restaurants and offices. Weller Court will be at the 2nd and Weller Sts. corner of the triangular block bounded by those streets and Los Angeles St.

and principally occupied by the New Otani, with which it will be connected on all three levels. The site is directly across San Pedro St. from the just-opened Japanese Village Plaza in the block bounded by San Pedro, 1st and 2nd Sts. and Central Ave. The mall's commercial levels will surround a courtyard reflected in the name which "was planned to emulate a palace courtyard and to be WELLER COURT Architectural rendering shows $8 -million, three -level shopping center planned by East West Development framed against the skyline of civic center and immediately adjacent to the New Otani Hotel and Garden in Little Tokyo.

OPENINGS The Bluffs Condominium development in Orcutt priced from $52,900 to $60,500. Story on Page 17, Col. 1 Canyon Crest Villas West Covina condominium complex priced from $60,900 to $81,950. Story on Page 30, Col. 1.

El Palomar Single-family dwellings in Santa Barbara priced from $155,000 to $170,000, Story on Page 23, Col. 1 Sunnyside San Dimas community of single-family homes priced from $74,950 to $82,950. Story on Page 16, Col. 4 See Pages 4 and 9 for additional residential openings. a community gathering spot," according to Nagahisa Ono, vice president of East West Development.

The ground level focal point of the open-air courtyard will be a crescent-shaped pool and waterfall centered by a stage, with a step-stream reaching across the court. The exterior will be a beige veneer contrasted with charcoal glass. A glass outdoor elevator will overlook the courtyard, where tile walkways, colorful canopies and ficus trees will complement the landscaping. Further atmosphere will be added by bright parasols for outdoor eating on the terraces. Architect of Weller Court is Kajima Associates and the general contractor is Kajima International Inc.

The street level is planned for retail specialty shops, the second level for more shops and international restaurants and the third, level for Japanese restaurants and offices. An underground, split-level parking facility will contain 114 spaces. Ground-floor access to the New Otani Hotel and Garden will be by way of the coffee shop. On the second floor, Weller Court will connect to the New Otani by a pedestrian bridge Today's 42-page real estate section appears in two parts and is the largest in more than 10 years. Mammoth Koll Complex Rising Largest Commercial Office Unit in Orange County x- v.

I gled corners, a reflective glass exterior and two-story entryways accented by vertical masonry walls, the architectural firm of Langdon Wilson pointed out. Lobby designs in both towers include wood, glass, masonry and inlaid brick accented by direct and recessed lighting. Parking spaces for 1,500 vehicles will be provided. The center, which will include restaurants, convention facilities and hotels, is landscaped with trees, lakes, trails and miles of walkways. Cold-well Banker Commercial Brokerage Newport Beach office is handling leasing of the 1.6 million square feet of leasable space in the entire $100-million Koll Center Newport project.

BY DIANA SHERMAN Koll Center Financial Plaza, a $25-million, structure consisting of connecting twin 10-story buildings, will be the largest commercial office complex in Orange County upon completion in May, according to Everett Davis, president of the 177-acre master-planned Koll Co. project. The $23-million towers, located at the intersection of MacArthur and Jamboree Blvds. and Campus Drive, Newport Beach, will be joined by a connecting two-story lobby and second floor with 34,707 square feet of contiguous leasable space. "It will have the utmost in prestige location and tenants will have magnificent panoramas of.

mountains, greenery and ocean," Davis said. Stanley Brockhoff, Koll Co. senior vice president-construction, described the building as responsive to energy conservation through the design of an efficient building envelope and the installation of the most effective mechanical and electrical systems. "Every effort has been made to conserve energy by utilizing a management system which will control demands and kilowatt hour consumption," Brockhoff said. The plaza will feature high-speed elevators, efficient lighting modules and drapes which will maintain consistent room temperatures, contributing to energy savings.

The rectangular towers offer the design features of two 45-degree-an- Newport Baach project is slated for completion in May. Design, by Langdon Wilson architectural firm, features energy conservation. MIRRORED FACE Model of Koll Center Financial Plaza, 379,000 -square -foot structure consisting of connecting twin 10-story buildings..