Adam Frost

These blogs are starting to sound as if I’m away a lot but (I promise I’m not) but I thought someone might be interested in these pictures.

I have marked off another couple of things I’ve wanted to do for along time. I’ve just had a short trip to San Francisco with my dear lady. It’s good to spend a bit of time together and rediscover you love and laugh at the same things. It sometimes gets a bit lost with four kids, a dog, a cat and – of course – the small matter of work (god that sounds a bit sentimental – see dear I do love you).

Anyway, back to the main reason for the blog – San Francisco, Lawrence Halprin and Frank Lloyd Wright. For the latter, I can now say that I’ve been to a FLW building and it was a little gem. It’s the old Morris gift shop on Maiden lane. This building just shows what a visionary the man was. Not only does it still look modern but it’s a shop in the middle of a lot of other shops. Why does this one stand out I hear you ask? Well, it doesn’t have a shop window – have a look at the photos. As you walk past you are drawn to a tunnel-like entrance, which is cleverly lit. Then when you enter the shop, you arrive into a good sized open space after which you are taken to the first floor by a sweeping ramp, which follows the curved walls of the building. It’s just beautiful (not sure I’ve done it justice but believe me, it’s good). 

Now - Lawrence Halprin. God rest his soul as he only passed away in October this year at the good age of 93. This man’s career spanned six decades and his landscapes are not just full of imagination and intelligent thinking. They have an ability to pull you in to explore and the one we got to explore was the Levi Plaza. It’s a great urban landscape at the foot of Telegraph Hill. The water feature was something else – your eye is drawn to a large granite boulder that water spills over into a series of concrete channels, water steps and pools. This water feature seems to sum up the way the space is used - people rushing, chatting, walking and sitting – it’s all there in one feature. The man will be missed.