SOME SHULMAN ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECT BEN-AMI SHULMAN - FROM WHITE CITY OF TEL AVIV MODERNISM TO L.A. VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

SOME SHULMAN ARCHITECTURE emerged from research related to the previous project PERSPECTIVES/THE WHITE CITY, a photographic examination of the 1930's international style collection of architecture of the White City of Tel Aviv. The White City, a significant legacy of the Bauhaus diaspora of influence, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. The discovery that one of the noted 1930’s Israeli architects, Ben-Ami Shulman, whose now landmarked work, posthumously recognized by Israeli + German architectural historians, had emigrated to L.A. in 1960, led to a major project to explore his L.A. architecture. It presents Shulman’s career from Tel Aviv-L.A. with the collaboration of his son, architect Uzzi Shulman + full access to the Shulman archive. It is documented in the form of a virtual archive/website SOMESHULMANARCHITECTURE.COM. Ultimately it reveals a a provocative, ironic chapter to the history of L.A. vernacular architecture. It was exhibited at the Architecture Institute of America L.A./A.I.A.-L.A. in 2015. The project + video will be included in a future virtual survey of international vernacular architecture.