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Mod, Mod Ahmanson Hall



11/24/09

"The Sixties Turn 50: It's a Mod, Mod, Mod City" brought more than 400 visitors to see outstanding 1960s architecture sponsored by the L.A. Conservancy, the largest historic preservation organization in the U.S. Among the six main sites on the November 8 tour was Otis' Ahmanson Hall, built in 1964. Otis moved into the historic buiding in 1997, and transformed it from its original use as IBM's Aerospace Headquarters. The seven-story precast concrete structure is perforated by 2160 slit windows that mimic a computer punch card, celebrating a technological innovation of the time. As the IBM campaign declared, "Man can't get to outer space without computers." Architect Eliot Noyes worked closely with IBM for twenty years, designing corporate headquarters as well as the Selectric typewriter. Otis' renovation left the exterior intact, and opened up the interior spaces to create collaborative work spaces for faculty and students.

ahmanson

ali studio