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Diane Al Shihabi, associate professor of interior design, and Mikesch Muecke, associate professor of architecture, presented “Breathing New Life into A Los Angeles Icon” Sept. 30 at the SESAH (Southeast Society of Architectural Historians) 2021 Annual Conference in Natchez, Mississippi.

The peer-reviewed paper explored a first-time collaboration between a fourth-year architectural studio, a graduate-level interior design seminar and Saving Iconic Architecture (SIA), a preservation organization in Los Angeles, California. The collaborators and students worked on saving an iconic mid-century jewel, the Lytton Savings & Loan building, designed in 1960 by Hagman & Meyer and located at 8150 Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The building and associated property were under threat of demolition due to a proposed Frank Gehry project.

The paper and presentation were dedicated to Rocky LaFleur, a project collaborator and a member of ISU’s Interior Design Advisory Council, who together with SIA’s representative selected four student teams for display at SIA’s annual event. La Fleur died unexpectedly shortly after the project’s completion.