THE A+D MUSEUM: Move to DTLA’s Art District

08/09/2016 | Grace Lennon |

The A+D Architecture and Design Museum, the only museum in Los Angeles where continuous exhibits of architecture and design are on view, has moved from Museum Row to a new home in Downtown L.A. The new A+D location is an 8,000-square-foot, one-story brick building located on East Fourth Street at Colyton Street and serves as a showcase for the work of important regional, national and international designers, providing a forum for contemporary issues in architecture, urbanism and design that are helping to shape the city. This warehouse-turned-museum is in DTLA’s burgeoning Arts District, one block from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and located amid galleries, design studios, restaurants and cutting-edge retail stores.

A car parked in a parking lot

Exterior of A+D Museum

EXHIBIT SPACE
Currently on exhibit at the A+D Museum is “Fast Forward: The Architecture of William F. Cody." Cody was an influential, desert-modern architect working in Palm Springs during the peak of the Modern Architecture Movement. He designed almost anything Palm Springs allowed him to: houses, cluster housing, churches, offices, restaurants, schools, hotels and club houses. His projects illustrated the simplicity of form and natural light, as well as large windows displaying a smooth connection between interior and exterior.

William Cody Residence; Sketch and Photographs

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS
Cody’s eccentric projects, along with his relatively early death in 1978 at age 62, meant his work hasn’t been elevated and explored like his peers. The exhibit aims to realign Cody’s place in the region's architectural history and to commemorate his legacy, reviving some of his lost Mid-century Modern designs through photographs, renderings and objects made by students of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

William Cody Residence; Sketch and Photographs

Structural Model of Shamel House

ART AS FOUNDATION

Unfortunately, many of Cody’s Mid-century Modern designs have gone the way of the wrecking ball. However, his color renderings, sketches and photos of long-lost structures are as stunning and beautiful as any piece of fine art. One student who helped with the exhibit even created a “Cody” font similar to the old comic strip typography that Cody was known to like.

Collection of Paintings and Drawings by William Cody

Cody Font

AS OF NOW SHOP
As of Now, located within the A+D Museum, is the vision of longtime friends and retailers Brad Cook and Melissa Ritchie. Its location in the burgeoning Arts District in Downtown L.A. is the perfect setting for all the up-and-coming and well-established local designers who are featured. As of Now is the go-to place to find unique home goods, jewelry, accessories and gifts, all of which are chosen with care and curated to embody the spirit of the West Coast.