Michael Maltzan
Writing in the New York Times in 2010, Nicolai Ouroussoff says: “Like almost every other American architect who came to prominence in the recent gilded age, Michael Maltzan built his reputation with commissions for prestigious museums and luxury private houses [...]. Yet Mr. Maltzan may be the only architect of his stature with significant experience in a far less glamorous field: providing shelter and other accommodation for his city’s poor”. (February 18, 2010) Our FREESPACE manifesto refers to buildings themselves finding ways of sharing and engaging with people over time, long after the architect has left the scene, where architecture has an active as well as a passive life. In Maltzan’s Star Apartments, which house long-term homeless people, the FREESPACE component creates a world where individuals can find the space to experience a new view of themselves, a space where a new community can evolve. Existing single storey buildings at street level are modified and incorporated. On the roof of these retained street buildings, 102 apartments hover. The space between forms an invented freespace opportunity for the new community. Confirming Maltzan’s belief that good design is part of the healing, this project enriches people’s lives, as well as the city of Los Angeles.