EP.17 / Marcelo Spina and Georgina Huljich on Victory Wellness and Adaptive Reuse Projects
Today, I’m joined by Marcelo Spina and Georgina Huljich, the co-founders of Patterns, to discuss their latest project – The Victory Wellness Center in North Hollywood. The project involves the conversion of a former supermarket building originally built in the 1940s, into a contemporary medical office building. In our conversation, we dive into the how they approached the existing building, the challenges and opportunities of building in Los Angeles versus other cities, and the evolving landscape of architectural education.
Georgina and Marcelo highlight how their upbringing in Rosario, Argentina shaped their perspective on architecture and the arts. Drawing inspiration from the city's renowned arts and music scene and the extensive public education system in Argentina, they developed a distinctive viewpoint on the practice of architecture. They emphasize the importance of educating the public about the impact of architecture on their communities and share their experiences as teachers at UCLA and SCI-Arc.
We also discuss Georgina and Marcelo's initial approach to the Victory Wellness Center project and how they were able to create a project that thoughtfully incorporates the original structure, while also breaking from it through a series of cuts, subgrade courtyards and a new floor directly beneath the bowstring truss.
About Marcelo Spina and Georgina Huljich
Georgina Huljich is an Associate Professor at UCLA Architecture and Urban Design and an alumni of the M.Arch.I program, having graduated with distinction in 2003. She has been a Visiting Professor at Yale, UPenn; UC Berkeley, TIT in Tokyo and Di Tella University in Buenos Aires. Georgina has been a member of the Board for CAP UCLA since 2015 and has served on National Juries for the Rome Prize and AIA Awards. She is the recipient of many awards, the most notable being the prestigious US Artists Fellowship in 2013; an endowment that recognizes America’s most accomplished and innovative artists.
Georgina is Director of P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S, together with Marcelo Spina. P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S has gained international recognition as one of the most intriguing and progressive firms working in architecture today, with completed projects in the U.S., South America and Asia. Their work has been exhibited worldwide, most notably at the Venice Biennale in Italy, The Chicago Biennial, the Art Institute of Chicago, The San Francisco MOMA, The Vienna MAK Museum, where it is also part of the permanent collections.
Huljich has previously worked for the Guggenheim Museum, the architectural firm Dean/Wolf architects in New York, and as a project designer at Morphosis in Los Angeles. She was the 2005-06 Maybeck Fellow at UC Berkeley.
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Born in Rosario, Argentina, Marcelo Spina is an internationally renowned architect and educator. Along with Georgina Huljich, he is a Principal of P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S, an award-winning innovation-driven architectural practice based in Los Angeles with a worldwide presence.
Mr. Spina received his B.Arch from the National University of Rosario, Argentina, and an M.Arch from Columbia University, New York. Since 2001, he has been design faculty at SCI-Arc and has been a Visiting Professor at Yale, Syracuse, Harvard, Berkeley and Di Tella, among others. Awards include Architect of the Year (3rd Prize), Architectural League’s Emerging Voices, “Arch is” AIA LA Chapter, USA Artists Fellowship, and various AIA National and Local awards.
He is the co-author of Embedded (ACDCU, 2010), Material Beyond Materials (SCI-Arc Press 2012) and the forthcoming Mute Icons (Princeton 2016) and co-curator of Matters of Sensation at Artists Space. Spina’s work has been published and exhibited widely and he has given more than 100 lectures around the world.
Topics Covered
The influence Rosario, Argentina has on their practice
Differences and similarities of practicing architecture in Argentina and the U.S.
The countries where they see the most exciting potential from young designers
Thoughts on how to create a successful architecture lecture
The key differences between SCI-Arc and UCLA
Marcelo and Georgina's initial adaptive reuse approach to the Victory Wellness project
What parts of the project Marcelo and Georgina are most proud of
The opportunities LA presents to innovate and experiment with design
Marcelo and Georgina's perspective on what is LA's greatest contribution to architecture
Why LA continues to inspire them
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