By Ron Radziner
I once met a man in a book club named Brown Green and, filled with envy, I thought, "What is in a name... or color?" If my name were the color of trunk and canopy, might I feel a stronger connection to all things living? Although my fate is not to walk through life with a moniker like Brown Green, I have designed a number of buildings that are brown-green, grey-green and green-black. As I look around the streets of LA, I notice that I am not the only one painting small domestic corners of the universe the color of bark and leaves. So what is the significance of this neighborhood spatter of woody hues?
I believe that the grassy fields are creeping over the white cubes of Eisenman, Gwathmey, Hejduk and Meier for a reason. No longer do we want our Platonic ideals to exist in opposition to nature. It is time to cozy up with our Mother and live as a part of the garden rather than apart from it. So let us dip our brushes in mud and paint as if home and garden are no longer two, but one. The time is now to herald the slow passing of White and the rise of Green Brown and Black.
Vienna Way Residence, Venice, CA. Photo: Jack Coyier
Desert House, Desert Hot Springs, CA. Photo: David Glomb
6th Street Residence, Santa Monica, CA. Photo: Marmol Radziner
Storefront, Venice, CA. Photo: Marmol Radziner