New Multi-Level Building Proposal Ends Neutra Neighbor Battle

The battle between developers and preservationists in Westwood regarding a new building near a famed apartment complex is over.

According to The Architect's Newspaper, the Westwood Design Review Board has approved a design by Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects for an apartment complex across the street from the Strathmore Apartments designed by modernist architect Richard Neutra.

LOHA's design, a stepped and textured building, is the second set of plans set for the site at 11024 Strathmore Drive. The first never got the thumbs up from the Design Review Board, which claimed the building wasn't in step with the area's North Village Specific Plan, the Architect's Newspaper reported. The Los Angeles Planning Commission did approve it, however, which lead a preservationist group to fight the plan in court. The L.A. Superior court's findings were for the group and the hunt for a new plan was on.

LOHA won a design competition with a set of two multi-level buildings Curbed Los Angeles describes as stepping down the street and clad in colorful metal panels.