HomeMy WebLinkAbout5/6/2019 Item 4, Lopes
Goodwin, Heather
From:James Lopes <jameslopes@charter.net>
Sent:Sunday, May 5,
To:Advisory Bodies
Cc:E-mail Council Website; Allan Cooper
Subject:ARC Item 4 - 1185 Monterey - Garcia
Architectural Review Commission
City of San Luis Obispo
RE: ARC Item 4 - 1185 Monterey - Garcia
Dear Commissioners:
It is perplexing that the City staff no longer provide a reasonable analysis of a project such as this, in regard to
consistency with applicable City policies and guidelines. Apologies are owed to you and the public for such uninformed
observations as in the report for this project. Perhaps we need new staff people. Now that I'm off to a good start, let
me emphasize a few points:
1. I think you know that your responsibility is to represent the residents of San Luis Obispo, using adopted policies and
guidelines as the metric for review, not your personal taste or collegial relationship with archtects or the profession in
general. Independence from any allegiance to an applicant or architect in general is required to encounter the problems
with projects, with respect first to represent and defend the defined, preferred and loved character of the San Luis
Obispo built and natural environment.
2. This project is another example of antipathy, if not disdain, for the San Luis Obispo vernacular by this
architect. Everything about the exterior is about the architect and his viewpoint about style in an artistic sense. This
project is not about contextual or historical references or even considerations. It is a thing onto itself, dedicated to this
architect's stylistic preferences. For instance:
3. Monterey Street is lined with Moderne and International style architecture, with several Victorian or Frontier style
buildings. None of this context is reflected in the architect's renderings. In fact, the opposite is portrayed; a divergence
from the local character is proposed that is completely at odds with the adopted preferences in the Community Design
Guidelines, from style, building form and articulation, and especially with colors.
4. The building is articulated vertically, while most if not all area buildings are horizontally articulated; as was the
previously approved project.
5. The building has no windows or public entrances on Toro Street. It appears as blank planes without any human scale
to speak of. It is massive on the Toro Street facade and in general on the Monterey frontage. Windows and street-
fronting entrances on Toro should be added. An example of successfully doing this was the project at Marsh and Carmel
Streets.
6. The articulation should be re-aligned to horizontal rhythms. The street level should be revised as a window shopping
and outdoor environment, with obvious bays and insets or open areas for public interaction with the space.
7. The color palette should be revised completely away from the signature white and black pairing, as it is past its prime
as a trend. Style is back to warm colors in the muted grey tones. Your commission had it right on the 1135 Santa Rosa
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project; do the same here: Modern architecture might be okay here if it is inviting and accessible to the broad public, as
in the use of a muted color selection.
I cannot emphasize enough how the staff have left the commission with no guidance, when it is their job to defend the
city's policies and guidelines and to recommend to you how to do that in your decision. I hope that you will double
down your efforts to read and interpret the City's stance on design and defend that stance to the best of your abilities.
Sincerely,
James Lopes
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