A Wing And A Foyer
June 28, 2010 12:15 PM Subscribe
Francie Rehwald said she wanted a curved, feminine-shaped house for her Malibu lot overlooking the Pacific Ocean, so architect David Hertz designed her a home built from a scrapped 747.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble
An interesting tidbit: He says they had to register the roof of the house with the Federal Aviation Administration so pilots flying overhead would not mistake it as a downed aircraft.
posted by nitsuj at 12:18 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by nitsuj at 12:18 PM on June 28, 2010
A decades-old junked jetliner will soon be the dream home of California woman. Francie Rehwald wanted something curvy, "feminine," and eco-friendly for her remote 55-acre hillside property in Malibu.
Pro tip: when your plan involves transporting a discarded airline hulk across the US by helicopter, it is not "eco-friendly." Whatever emissions savings she might hope to achieve by using recycled plane parts - and, I mean, is that even a realistic assumption? - it will probably take years to recoup the shipping emissions. To say nothing of net savings.
posted by rkent at 12:20 PM on June 28, 2010 [6 favorites]
Pro tip: when your plan involves transporting a discarded airline hulk across the US by helicopter, it is not "eco-friendly." Whatever emissions savings she might hope to achieve by using recycled plane parts - and, I mean, is that even a realistic assumption? - it will probably take years to recoup the shipping emissions. To say nothing of net savings.
posted by rkent at 12:20 PM on June 28, 2010 [6 favorites]
Yeah, this is pretty bad.
Also, can we quit calling anything that requires a helicopter to build "green?"
posted by maxwelton at 12:21 PM on June 28, 2010
Also, can we quit calling anything that requires a helicopter to build "green?"
posted by maxwelton at 12:21 PM on June 28, 2010
rkent, not to mention the amount of space she's building on just for herself (and her husband?)
There is nothing environmentalist about this. Was it masquerading as such? I must admit I didn't read very far, I just saw the house and was repulsed visually.
posted by Malice at 12:21 PM on June 28, 2010
There is nothing environmentalist about this. Was it masquerading as such? I must admit I didn't read very far, I just saw the house and was repulsed visually.
posted by Malice at 12:21 PM on June 28, 2010
You guys are jerks. I am building a 500-ft. tall statue dedicated to the concept of modesty; you would probably knock that too.
posted by Mister_A at 12:22 PM on June 28, 2010 [9 favorites]
posted by Mister_A at 12:22 PM on June 28, 2010 [9 favorites]
Is she happy with it? My first thought was that it was angular and jarring. Doesn't really shout curved or feminine to me.
posted by Babblesort at 12:23 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Babblesort at 12:23 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Why are feminine forms.. always with wings?
posted by hanoixan at 12:24 PM on June 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by hanoixan at 12:24 PM on June 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
I tried to make my house look more feminine, but my fiance told me to put my box of tampons back in the cabinet.
posted by mmmbacon at 12:25 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mmmbacon at 12:25 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Francie Rehwald wanted something curvy, "feminine," and eco-friendly for her remote 55-acre hillside property in Malibu.
In other news, various charities in the Los Angeles area are closing their doors for lack of funds. "If only we had a rich benefactor that needed ideas for what she should do with her mountain of cash," said Sister Mary Theresa Concepcion, as she was redressing the burn wounds of a homeless orphan.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:28 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
In other news, various charities in the Los Angeles area are closing their doors for lack of funds. "If only we had a rich benefactor that needed ideas for what she should do with her mountain of cash," said Sister Mary Theresa Concepcion, as she was redressing the burn wounds of a homeless orphan.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:28 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm all for recycling and being responsible for the Earth, and I even like really odd architecture.
This is just crap.
Self important, really expensive, not even good for the Earth, ugly looking crap.
posted by TooFewShoes at 12:30 PM on June 28, 2010
This is just crap.
Self important, really expensive, not even good for the Earth, ugly looking crap.
posted by TooFewShoes at 12:30 PM on June 28, 2010
maxwelton: "Also, can we quit calling anything that requires a helicopter to build "green?""
Well also anything built on a "remote 55-acre hillside property" doesn't sound very eco-friendly. How far does she have to drive from that remote site to buy groceries?
posted by octothorpe at 12:32 PM on June 28, 2010
Well also anything built on a "remote 55-acre hillside property" doesn't sound very eco-friendly. How far does she have to drive from that remote site to buy groceries?
posted by octothorpe at 12:32 PM on June 28, 2010
Okay, cool and all, but the whole three-tiered thing just looks massively impractical. I wouldn't want to have to actually try to live in a home laid out like that. I've no problem with a 3,000 square foot home as such, but most 3,000 square foot homes only take up 1,500-2,000 square feet of real estate. This thing just sprawls, both vertically and horizontally. Also, not sure how practical the construction materials would be anywhere it routinely gets below 50F, but t
Still, the adaptive re-use of the plane is pretty cool. The only reason they had to use a chopper is probably because the property is basically inaccessible by road. You could totally truck those parts most other places.
I chalk this up as another "Potentially green idea rendered completely counter-productive by rich wankers."
posted by valkyryn at 12:32 PM on June 28, 2010
Still, the adaptive re-use of the plane is pretty cool. The only reason they had to use a chopper is probably because the property is basically inaccessible by road. You could totally truck those parts most other places.
I chalk this up as another "Potentially green idea rendered completely counter-productive by rich wankers."
posted by valkyryn at 12:32 PM on June 28, 2010
Is the huge roof area relative to the interior footage a feature of a bug? Is there some practical benefit to all that area? It seems like one could use the space to harvest sunlight and put it to some use, perhaps the generation of steam to drive turbines and other household appliances?
posted by Mister_A at 12:38 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by Mister_A at 12:38 PM on June 28, 2010
It takes a lot of energy to maintain that at temperatures North Americans like to live in.
This is actually not much of an issue in Malibu.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:38 PM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
This is actually not much of an issue in Malibu.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:38 PM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm surprised that someone whose claim to fame seems to be inheriting a car dealership (albeit a Mercedes-Benz dealership) can get 55 acres of Malibu hillside and a custom-built mansion.
posted by rocket88 at 12:42 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by rocket88 at 12:42 PM on June 28, 2010
The Edge is also trying to build a "green" Malibu mansion, and neighbors are up in arms. Even the mayor--a guy called "Zuma Jay"--has spoken out against it.
posted by mr_roboto at 12:42 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by mr_roboto at 12:42 PM on June 28, 2010
You guys are jerks. I am building a 500-ft. tall statue dedicated to the concept of modesty; you would probably knock that too.
Could we please not get into a discussion of The Fountainhead? Thanks.
posted by The Michael The at 12:44 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Could we please not get into a discussion of The Fountainhead? Thanks.
posted by The Michael The at 12:44 PM on June 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Oh, some car dealers are filthy rich. Especially with a luxury marque like MB you can pull down a tidy sum.
posted by Mister_A at 12:44 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by Mister_A at 12:44 PM on June 28, 2010
Well also anything built on a "remote 55-acre hillside property" doesn't sound very eco-friendly. How far does she have to drive from that remote site to buy groceries?
Well, there's a Ralph's that's pretty convenient to many of the hillside mansions in Malibu. I bet every single item on the shelves on the store have traveled further to get there than she'll have to picking them up. 'Remote' is a misleading descriptive anyway—if her property really is in Malibu then it's not further than a mile from PCH. (Malibu is 17 miles long along the coast and 1 mile deep.)
Anyway, yeah I don't get how the 'feminine curve' comes through in the design, phan'sies of the rich, etc, etc, etc.
posted by carsonb at 12:46 PM on June 28, 2010
Well, there's a Ralph's that's pretty convenient to many of the hillside mansions in Malibu. I bet every single item on the shelves on the store have traveled further to get there than she'll have to picking them up. 'Remote' is a misleading descriptive anyway—if her property really is in Malibu then it's not further than a mile from PCH. (Malibu is 17 miles long along the coast and 1 mile deep.)
Anyway, yeah I don't get how the 'feminine curve' comes through in the design, phan'sies of the rich, etc, etc, etc.
posted by carsonb at 12:46 PM on June 28, 2010
I actually thought this was pretty nifty.
Yes, it's an ostentatious mansion. But it's a snazzy ostentatious mansion. Which is a lot more than you can say for most ostentatious mansions.
Certainly if I lived in this ostentatious mansion, I, too, would wake every morning and sprint away from the exploded airplane while shouting AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! at the top of my lungs.
posted by ook at 1:02 PM on June 28, 2010
Yes, it's an ostentatious mansion. But it's a snazzy ostentatious mansion. Which is a lot more than you can say for most ostentatious mansions.
Certainly if I lived in this ostentatious mansion, I, too, would wake every morning and sprint away from the exploded airplane while shouting AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! at the top of my lungs.
posted by ook at 1:02 PM on June 28, 2010
I really, really want to like this.
posted by backseatpilot at 1:12 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by backseatpilot at 1:12 PM on June 28, 2010
3000 SF of awful is only unusual in Malibu because it is relatively small. Most of what is there is the kind of awful to which we've become immune, or at least inured. I'm surprised that someone can still shock me. There is no part of plane that can make a good building. Can this be a rule for all designers?
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 1:16 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 1:16 PM on June 28, 2010
Is it not weird that someone whose careers involve film (cars, trucks, temporary constructions, planes), clothes model (sweatshops, chemicals, industrial waste), and surfboards (toxic waste, epoxy, fibreglass) is complaining about ecological impact of housing in his area?
And we'll not even mention politics (hot air adding to global warming).
posted by Samizdata at 1:16 PM on June 28, 2010
And we'll not even mention politics (hot air adding to global warming).
posted by Samizdata at 1:16 PM on June 28, 2010
I bet every time they host a party, their guests are going to have sex in their tiny bathroom.
posted by special-k at 1:17 PM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by special-k at 1:17 PM on June 28, 2010 [3 favorites]
(And, if I lived there, the first thing I would do in the morning, after the bed dumped me on the conveyor belt, would be the autoshower...)
posted by Samizdata at 1:18 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by Samizdata at 1:18 PM on June 28, 2010
For a big, high-profile architectural project, those are some seriously ugly 3D renders.
posted by echo target at 1:18 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by echo target at 1:18 PM on June 28, 2010
Even the mayor--a guy called "Zuma Jay"--has spoken out against it.
I heard the Chief of Police is a fucking fascist.
posted by BeerFilter at 1:55 PM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
I heard the Chief of Police is a fucking fascist.
posted by BeerFilter at 1:55 PM on June 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
Hertz, who founded Studio of Environmental Architecture....
You'd probably have to be an architect, or at least an architecture nerd, to understand quite how pompous and grandiose a name that is for his company, but obviously not an architect to recognise how ridiculous and disingenuous this is as a work of 'environmental architecture.'
Karma, or at least irony, dictates that at least one of the people involved will perish in a plane crash
posted by Flashman at 2:02 PM on June 28, 2010
You'd probably have to be an architect, or at least an architecture nerd, to understand quite how pompous and grandiose a name that is for his company, but obviously not an architect to recognise how ridiculous and disingenuous this is as a work of 'environmental architecture.'
Karma, or at least irony, dictates that at least one of the people involved will perish in a plane crash
posted by Flashman at 2:02 PM on June 28, 2010
Stay out of Malibu, Rehwald.
posted by nestor_makhno at 2:22 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by nestor_makhno at 2:22 PM on June 28, 2010
Makes me curious what other things you could do with a junked 747 that would be more eco-friendly.
Can you take it apart and re-use the metal for things that aren't houses?
Would it be a good idea to make an underwater reef out of it? (I know they do that with some concrete and metal. But not sure how they control for leaching of chemicals.)
posted by SaharaRose at 2:27 PM on June 28, 2010
Can you take it apart and re-use the metal for things that aren't houses?
Would it be a good idea to make an underwater reef out of it? (I know they do that with some concrete and metal. But not sure how they control for leaching of chemicals.)
posted by SaharaRose at 2:27 PM on June 28, 2010
from an organic CSA in Vermont. or from the LOST Island.
mmmmm, electromagnetic tomatoes .....
posted by mannequito at 2:45 PM on June 28, 2010
mmmmm, electromagnetic tomatoes .....
posted by mannequito at 2:45 PM on June 28, 2010
San Francisco's late, lamented Caribbean Zone was a much better use of a repurposed plane. The cocktail lounge was a "crashed" Martin 404 that was one of the Doobie Liners (tour planes for the Doobie Brothers).
posted by kirkaracha at 2:59 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by kirkaracha at 2:59 PM on June 28, 2010
You could build like a million cans of Zima out of it.
posted by Mister_A at 7:20 PM on June 28, 2010
posted by Mister_A at 7:20 PM on June 28, 2010
It's a bit shit, innit?
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 6:30 AM on June 29, 2010
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 6:30 AM on June 29, 2010
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