(W)rapper Tower (1997-2023) in “The New City” by Eric Owen Moss Architects. Credit: Eric Owen Moss Architects.
An enlightened developer and a visionary architect partnered to transform a non-descript light-industrial tract into “The New City” -- one of the most desired hubs of creative office space in Culver City. This multi-decade endeavour is an on-going project and collaboration. The tour begins with a brief lecture about the history of The New City, also known as the Hayden Tract, the developers Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith, and is followed by an extensive self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood which features Deconstructivist icons by Eric Owen Moss Architects from the 1990s to the 2000s, as well as a rare opportunity to tour the interior of the latest addition, the (W)rapper tower completed in 2023.
The tour will be led by Sian Winship and Hannah Simonson, with a lecture by Jay Platt and a tour of the (W)rapper by EOMA Project Director, Dolan Daggett.
*This is a walking tour, please wear comfortable shoes. Participants can get to the tour starting location on their own or leave from USC Hotel with a volunteer prior to the tour and take public transit to the site.*
About the Tour Leaders
Jay Platt is the principal planner for Historic Preservation with the City of Glendale Community Development Department. He is also an adjunct associate professor in the Heritage Conservation program at USC. Over the last thirty years, Jay has served in various roles in the public, private, non-profit, and education sectors in New York City, Philadelphia, and his hometown, Los Angeles. And, most days, he's still into it! He received his undergraduate degree from UCLA and an M.S. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife Kathleen enjoy life in Eagle Rock with a couple of amusing beagles.
Dolan Daggett is Project Director at Eric Owen Moss Architects (EOMA), and leads projects through all phases of design, development, and construction. Since 2002, he has overseen EOMA's projects with long-time client Samitaur Constructs supporting a collective vision to create a New City out of a formerly derelict manufacturing zone by the strategic use of architecture. Prior to employment with EOMA, Daggett lived in Italy and has since traveled extensively to see the world's great architecture. Daggett is an advocate of a dense, vibrant city and a supporter of improved public transit, serving as the Culver City representative for MTA's Exposition Light Rail Line and, most recently, serving as the primary liaison with the MTA in the approvals and construction of the (W)rapper. Daggett is a licensed architect in the state of California and member of the AIA.
Sian Winship is an architectural historian, marketing researcher, and writer who specializes in modern architecture. Sian is Board President of Society of Architectural Historians Southern California Chapter (SAH/SCC), and also serves on the boards of the Neutra Institute for Design and Friends of Residential Treasures: LA (FORTLA).
Hannah Simonson is a senior cultural resources planner at Page & Turnbull in Los Angeles. She has worked on a range of projects from documenting the significance of the Transamerica Pyramid to developing design guidelines for Eichler neighborhoods. She received a Master of Science in Historic Preservation at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture in 2017 where her thesis, "Modern Diamong Heights: Dwell-ification and the Challenges of Preserving Modernist, Redevelopment Resources in Diamong Heights, San Francisco," was awarded the Outstanding Thesis in Historic Preservation Her personal and professional research interests include Late Modernism, Postmodernism, and redevelopment and public art. Hannah is the past president of the Docomomo US/Northern California chapter and currently serves on the board of the Docomomo US/SoCal chapter.