Cameron McNall must love the neighborhood around 4016 Tivoli in Venice, Calif.
Each day the award-winning architect-artist-sculptor-fabricator-builder and principal of Electroland, delivers one of the most remarkable floral arrangements ever to grace this hip beach community—or anywhere, for that matter.
What this bouquet lacks in scent it makes up for in grin-worthy audacity. “People tell me the house makes them smile,” says McNall in humble understatement.
Light, Strong, Long-Lasting
The 2,700-square-foot four-bedroom home is built to Los Angeles’ strict green building standards. McNall’s “smile part” is the 3,000-square-foot floral-shaped façade that adorns the structure’s public-facing sides. This paean to flower power is a structural wonder that showcases his love of architecture, art, and design.
The façade is composed of aluminum composite material (ACM), a stiff, light, and long-lasting composite metal panel that is offset 9 inches from the house’s stuccoed and glazed inner wall. The gap permits a lighting system to backlight the floral lattice after dark. The floral screen was “a really interesting design challenge because the flowers have to touch in a way that maintains structural integrity,” McNall says. The ACM panels, manufactured by Virginia-based ALPOLIC, were milled by computer numerical control.
10-Year Wait
McNall purchased the property 14 years ago, waiting for a day when his vision could be efficiently translated into reality. “I had this idea of this rather abstract façade that would be perforated in some way. I came up with a drawing of scattered flowers that I stared at for 10 years. About four years ago I was working on a project that introduced me to ACM. ACM can be easily milled, a big advantage over laser-cutting,” he says.
Beautiful Sheen
What McNall didn’t expect was the aesthetic bonus ACM delivered. “I didn’t want something glossy or matte,” McNall says. “The finish sheen is a pleasant surprise. It’s a beautiful sheen that is very environmental, reflecting its surrounding as sunlight changes. It’s a real pleasure to see.”
The coating is charcoal black—“a softened black”—selected to heighten evening backlighting. “The coating is a factory finish, so I know it’s the very best finish possible,” McNall says. The Sherwin-Williams Valflon FEVE architectural coating provides premium color consistency, adhesion, flexibility, and formability.
Multiple Applications
The marriage of the Valspar coating and ACM has benefited McNall beyond 4016 Tivoli. He recently proposed it for a public art project across the street from the $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, now under construction.
Tivoli House, as it’s sometimes called, has been spared the work of graffiti writers. McNall has a special theory why. “They respect it.” Bouquets can have that effect, even two-story ones.Learn more here.
