Continuation from part1…

Recap: Installed teak cabanas and bar at the Glo Apartments in downtown LA for Myhre Group Architects in August.

Part2 involved this solid teak bar with Corian top and accompanying jumbo cabana.

This cabana was HUGE.  9ft tall!  It was nerve wracking assembling it on site and erecting the thing because it is so heavy and tall.  I had a system using 2×4s to create temporary bracing which allowed me to slide the parts closer to each other with ratchet straps in unison moving very slooooowly.  Any racking and the teak could break.

I actually had not mocked up the fabric with any of the cabana structures before I had left for LA.  Stupid yes, but I had no choice.  The fabric arrived late from Italy setting off a chain reaction of stress which led to the finished fabric elements arriving as the freight truck was arriving, leaving no time to even open the package. I flew down knowing I would have to wing it on site- nothing new there!

The first problem I encountered was that the pitch of the tensile roof was not adequate to keep water from pooling.  If you ever estimate the minimum pitch for a fabric roof- double it!  On the spot we devised an elegant solution:  pull the center up reminiscent of the Olympic Stadium in Munich!

On site we made yet more design decisions on how to thread the cable through the grommets around the corner areas.  The details on these jobs are fun to figure out and refine.  How materials come together, fasten, secure and relate to one another has to be built to built to be truly optimized.  Cant do that sitting at a computer.  Often, I feel that its these little things that are super subtle that no one would seemingly ever notice MAKE good design.

Glo baby Glo!  Just finished installing these cabanas and bar at the Glo Apartments in downtown LA for Myhre Group Architects. Interior Designers Kayce Joyce and Heather McGrath came up with the overall concept for spicing up the pool area.  They specified new colorful daybed covers, pillows, tables, chairs, and approached me with their concept for the cabanas and bar area.  I come in to execute their concept by designing how it would be built, figuring out the details, and actually building it and getting it down there.

The beams and columns are hollow 6×6 teak box beams glued up out of 3/4″ material which fit over burly 24″ galvanized steel brackets I had fabricated by Kari Merkl. I built everything in Portland, took it apart, and trucked it down to LA and reassembled it on site.  At $18.50 a board foot (1″ x 12″ x 12″) teak is extremely expensive and scary to work with.  Its stunningly beautiful though and is unparalleled for outdoor durability.  It was a pleasure to work with such premium material!

The red curtains I had a fabricated by a company in Milwaukee called Twelve500 (strange name, good people).  They are hung across 3/16″ stainless steel cable stretched between the columns.  I installed stainless steel carabiners so people could harness the curtains, if they wish.

The fasteners are all 316 grade stainless steel.  I’m pleased with how they work with the design and show how the structure is put together.  It was actually quite complicated figuring out how the different beams and columns would come together and not reveal the metal brackets underneath.

The cabanas really transformed the pool area by defining space and creating an alternating rhythm with the odd number of divisions.  The bold colors worked well to create a fun feel and lighten up the pool area.  It was a pleasure working with Heather and Kayce on this project.  We have a good relationship of trust and flexibility- 2 crucial ingredients for work and life.

The install proved to be quite an adventure with missing boxes and damaged freight.  I had to scramble to re-purchase hardware and even rebuild some teak parts at my friend Fred Shriver’s shop in Santa Barbara. At the end of the day, excuses and obstacles dont really matter.  Bottom line= I got it done.  I enjoyed the challenge of working on such a difficult and risky project. Bring it on!

*photos by Ryan Purkey and Ken Tomita