Small Architecture Firm With Big Reputation Has Designs on L.A. Area

It’s an obscure firm with a tongue-twisting name.

But the small, local office of Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects is leaving a big mark on the urban landscape of Southern California.

The New York-based firm--whose name is pronounced “erin-krants ek-stet kyun”--is involved in three projects in Hollywood, Long Beach and Pasadena that government and business leaders are counting on to reinvigorate flagging commercial districts.

“They are among the most important developments going on in Los Angeles County,” said Richard Peiser, a professor of urban planning at USC. “These are the premier urban design contracts available in the ‘90s.”

* Hollywood & Highland. The $300-million entertainment and office complex is regarded as a cornerstone to the revitalization of Hollywood. The Canadian real estate firm TrizecHahn Corp. hired Ehrenkrantz to come up with a design that would recapture Hollywood’s faded glamour. Last week, the Los Angeles City Council approved a $90-million investment in public funds for the project, which will front along Hollywood Boulevard next to the Chinese Theater.

* Queensway Bay Rainbow Harbor. Ehrenkrantz designed a new waterfront for downtown Long Beach by creating a working harbor complete with new piers, plazas and a half-mile-long esplanade. The project will be in the spotlight next month when the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific--which is situated next to the harbor--opens its doors. On the other side of the harbor, Ehrenkrantz is designing a new resort and entertainment complex next to the Queen Mary.

* Plaza Pasadena. TrizecHahn also hired Ehrenkrantz to perform some radical surgery on the failed mall in the heart of Pasadena. The architects have proposed cutting the mall into sections that would open up to surrounding streets, including Colorado Boulevard. The initial plan would also restore an important link in the Pasadena Civic Center that is now blocked by the mall.

The plan “clearly turns the mall inside out and knits it back together” with its surroundings, said Pasadena development administrator Marsha Rood. “It’s a very important project for the city. . . .”

The firm has a national reputation for working on complex urban designs and master plans--including the massive Battery Park City in New York--that take years.

The designs for the three L.A.-area projects reflect an Ehrenkrantz philosophy that places as much importance on the public spaces between structures and existing neighborhoods as on new buildings. That makes for more successful projects from a design and financial point of view by creating an environment that attracts residents and businesses, said Steven Nakada, a principal of the firm. “It does make sense to create a sense of place . . . a sense of permanence,” he said.

The firm’s designers take their cues from existing buildings and local landmarks so that their projects complement instead of clash with their surroundings. “We don’t reinvent things. We work from precedent,” said P. Vaughn Davies, an urban design expert at the firm.

The firm has also won points for its ability to navigate through government and political channels to win approval for its projects.

“They work well with public entities and neighborhood groups,” said David Malmuth, the Trizec-Hahn executive in charge of the Hollywood Highland and other projects. “You need designers that care about those [other] points of view . . . and don’t get defensive.”