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Leo Marmol on Restoration

Which is harder? Creating a new classic or restoring an old one? Leo Marmol of Marmol Radziner discusses staying consistent with the original architect’s intent while acknowledging changing technologies and lifestyles.

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Leo Marmol, with partner Ron Radziner, has restored some of California’s most spectacular modernist homes—including those by Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, A. Quincy Jones, Rudolf M. Schindler, and Buff, Straub, and Hensman. Dwell spoke with Marmol about the particular challenges that arise when restoring architectural icons.
 

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The Elliot house by R. M. Schindler.

How does a restoration differ from a renovation?

A restoration assumes you have a structure of historic significance—of which there are differing levels. You can have significance just because George Washington slept there, all the way up to a very important piece that somehow changed the way we understand architecture today. Within that there’s a big world, and the approach to the restoration will depend on where on that broad spectrum of significance you lie. The first order of business is to develop your restoration philosophy, and again it will reflect a thorough understanding of what your historical significance is. With the client, architect, and historians (if they are involved), you collectively decide what your goals are and the general approach you will take. That philosophy guides you through the myriad decisions that have to be made along the way.

What kind of decisions do you encounter?

With the Elliot house by Rudolf Schindler, for example, the original structure had gone through a number of changes. The kitchen we found there contained no historical significance, so it was important to remove it. We redesigned a new kitchen integrating new appliances.

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A. Quincy Jones’s Katzenstein residence.

Do you have trouble bringing houses up to date tech­nologically while maintaining the qualities the original architect intended for the space?

The world of restoration does give extra flexibility to the areas of kitchens and bathrooms. They are places where our lifestyles and technologies have changed the most. The idea of integrating new appliances into the kitchen becomes a justifiable intervention. One of the issues you’re struggling against is giving a false sense of historical development. When you make changes you are often trying not to create that false sense by pretending you’re Neutra or Schindler. We’re often conscientiously trying not to do that. A Sub-Zero fridge will not create a false sense of history and it’s an obvious intervention because of new standards. That kind of integration is comfortable. We worked with a Buff, Straub, and Hensman house in Beverly Hills where we did make some alterations to the structure—and it’s clear that the alterations were not of the original. When Don Hensman visited the house, he was excited and pleased with how we understood his desires. It’s not that we tried to copy him; it’s that we tried to understand his goals and retranslate them.

What becomes the modus operandi if the details (or desires) of the original design are unclear?

Restoration is an academic process of trying to understand what was, and therefore what should be. It is painstaking research of every possible source you can identify. You’re trying to uncover as much source material as you can. You may not find everything you need, but it’s important to find everything you can. I think responsibility is a big issue; responsibility and authenticity—those are the buzzwords. You have the responsibility to be as consistent and precise as possible, and as respectful as possible of the original designers and materials. With the Elliot house, we had some historical drawings. Schindler’s documentation was not as precise as that of some of the other historical architects we’ve worked with, so his drawings just gave a loose approxi-mation of what was originally installed.

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The Lew house by Richard Neutra.

Has attaining this sort of respectful and responsible approach to “the masters” affected your own sensibilities as a designer?

We chose the restoration of modernism very specifically, and we’re very proud to be a part of the history of California modernism. We wanted to be influenced by those architects, and they’ve taught us great lessons. Of course we translate them to new ideas in a new era with new technologies and new expectations. It’s not that we’re mimicking; we’re learning and making it our own.

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