Co-presented by West Vancouver Art Museum and Kay Meek Arts Centre with Speaker, Alan Hess
Grosvenor Theatre
North America’s West Coast created its own unique Modern architecture in the twentieth century. From San Diego to Vancouver the region’s distinctive natural conditions, industries, and cultures inspired a spirit of experiment that attracted free thinking architects eager to try new ideas far from the influence of the eastern establishment. The results varied from city to city, but together they became a laboratory for innovation that shaped Modernism globally.
About the Speaker:
Architect and historian Alan Hess is author of twenty-one books on Modern architecture and urbanism in the twentieth century; his subjects include John Lautner, Oscar Niemeyer, Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as the Ranch House, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs. He is a Commissioner on the California State Historical Resources Commission, and serves on the boards of Preserve Orange County, Palm Springs Modernism Week, and DesignOnScreen.
He has been the architecture critic of the San Jose Mercury News, a contributor to The Architects Newspaper, grant recipient from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the Clarence Stein Foundation, and a National Arts Journalism Fellow.
He has helped to restore and landmark buildings from the Modern era, including CBS Television City, Bullock’s Pasadena, Norm’s La Cienega Coffee Shop, and the oldest remaining McDonald’s stand. Awards for his work conserving Modern architecture include the Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Docomomo/US's Award of Excellence, and the President’s Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy. His next book “The Palm Springs School 1930-1975” will be published next year by Rizzoli International.
This event is offered as a part of West Coast Modern Week. For more details about West Coast Modern Week, please visit https://westvancouverartmuseum.ca/west-coast-modern-week