Gregory Ain
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Gregory Ain (March 28, 1908 – January 9, 1988) was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modernism to lower- and medium-cost housing.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1908, Ain attended the University of Southern California School of Architecture in 1927–28. After finishing his studies, he worked for Rudolf Schindler and Richard Neutra, where his mixed feelings about his Beaux Arts training at USC took further root as he developed a largely modernist architectural vocabulary.
Working on his own commissions from 1935 forward, Ain's first built projects, the Charles Edwards Residence and the first Anselem Ernst House, reflect Schindler's influence strongly. Ain's best-known effort, Dunsmuir Flats, designed in 1937, brought in Neutra's influence in greater measure, but also displayed Ain's own ideas, limiting building costs while combining both privacy and exterior light. With his public stature increasing significantly, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1940, allowing him to focus on efforts that led to larger projects at the end of World War II, including Park Planned Homes, the Mar Vista Housing Development, and the Avenel Housing Project.
From 1963 to 1967, Ain served as the Dean of the Pennsylvania State University School of Architecture. He died in 1988.
[edit] Buildings
- 1936: Charles Edwards House, Los Angeles, California
- 1937: Ernst House, Los Angeles, California
- 1937: Byler House, Mt. Washington, Los Angeles, California
- 1937-1939: Dunsmuir Flats, Los Angeles, California
- 1938: Brownfield Medical Building, Los Angeles, California
- 1938: Beckman House, Los Angeles, California
- 1938: First Kun House, West Hollywood, California
- 1939: Daniel House, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
- 1939: Hay House, Studio City, Los Angeles, California
- 1939: Tierman House, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
- 1939: Vorkapich Garden House, Beverly Hills, California
- 1941: Ain House, West Hollywood, California
- 1941: Orans House, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
- 1946: Park Planned Homes, Altadena, California
- 1947-1948: Mar Vista Housing Development, Mar Vista, Los Angeles, California
- 1948: Avenel Housing Group, Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
- 1948: Hollywood Guilds and Unions Office Building, Los Angeles, California
- 1948: Miller House, Beverly Hills, California
- 1948: Community Homes, Reseda, Los Angeles, California
- 1949: Schairer Hoouse, Los Angeles, California
- 1950: Beckman House, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California
- 1950: Hurschler House, Pasadena, California
- 1950: MOMA Exhibition House, New York City
- 1950: Second Kun House, West Hollywood, California
- 1962-1963: Second Anselem Ernst Residence, San Diego, California
[edit] Bibliography
- Gregory Ain, Harriette Von Breton, Lauren Weiss, David Gebhard, and Lauren Weiss Bricker. The Architecture of Gregory Ain: The Play Between the Rational and High Art (Santa Monica, California: Hennessey & Ingalls, 1997) ISBN 0-940512-06-8
- Anthony Denzer. "Gregory Ain and the Social Politics of Housing Design," Ph.D. dissertation, UCLA, June 2005.
