“Guest Appearance” Interior Design Magazine
September 2006, Edie Cohen
Lago Vista Guesthouse. " No doubt that this pair of free-striped cubes is a folly... however, this guest house in a hilltop in Beverly Hills's Coldwater Canyon could easily be a full-fledged residence. Aleks Istanbullu made sure to build and detail Lago Vista, every bit as carefully as the larger residences he's designed in an around Los Angeles."
pdf >
“Loud and Clear” Interior Design Magazine
February 200, Linas Alsenas
HEAR Center " And while the building primarily serves children, Istanbullu says he chose not to pursue a conventional child-care aesthetic that too often 'looks like a toy'. The new interior is unabashedly modern but incorporates pastels and light wood to lend warmth. When director Josephine Wilson lauds the space as 'comfortable and child-friendly, with a minimum of distractions,' you can hear the pride in her voice."
pdf >
Blueprint Magazine “Book Spaces”
May 2002
Westchester Loyola Library. " Of all civic buildings, libraries have to be the most mundane. They're just the repositories for bits of paper, after all, yet they often bring out the best in architects. Aleks Istanbullu Architects; design for the Westchester-Loyola Village Branch Library in Los Angeles meets the diverse civic needs of a library yet provides a sense of intimacy for users."
pdf >
At Home: Pasadena
2007, Jill Alison Ganon + Sandy Gilis
West California Residence "The home's architects, Aleks Istanbullu, says the kitchen table is his favourite part of the house, and Catherine agrees: ' I love to sit at the table, where the light is great and you have wonderful views of the house. It is the true center of our home."
pdf >
“Expanding on Tradition with Slate and Quartzite Stone World
June 2005, Michelle Stinnard
Church of our Saviour
pdf >
“Aleks Istanbullu Loft” Los Angeles Magazine
July 2007, Diana Charkalis
Design Lofts 2007 " For loft owners looking for and innovative way to shape and define their space, Istanbullu says his idea is one anyone can implement. It's a system and it's easy and cost effective. You don't have to buy a $10,000 chair to make space look good. 'The project was not not satisfying for him as a designer, but also as an architect. 'This process is as close as I can get to having people wear my spaces."
“Profile: Church of Our Saviour Children’s Chapel” LA Architect
September/October 2004 Jesse Brink
Church of our Saviour " Doesn't a basilica - essentially an urban form, enclosed and enlivened solely by inert statuary and the slow progress of the sun across stained glass deny God's creation, substituting the plaid facsimiles of man? Open and largely unadorned, this small chapel on the campus of the Church of Our Saviour, in San Gabriel, lets that creation in, and fosters the wonder it excites."
pdf >
“From Bungalow to Loft” Great Houses on a Budget
2005, James Grayson Trulove
Lillian Way Residence "Lurking behind the walls of this modest 1,200 square-foot two bedroom house was a dramatic loft space waiting to be realized. With all of the dividing walls and the ceiling removed and a large skylight placed squarely in the center, a once dark and conventional space has been transformed into a minimalist urban retreat."
pdf >
“Soulful Digs” West Magazine
October 1, 2006 Barbara Thornburg
Church/Loft "The humble church-Santa Monica's Oldest remaining wood structure and a landmark since 1977. 'it had so much heart and soul you could feel it immediately,'..."
pdf >
“Suspended Animation” Interior Design Magazine
March 2003, Edie Cohen
Mulholland Drive Residence "Csupo's opening line to Aleks Istanbullu, a Santa Monica architect with modernist learnings: 'We're going to be dream clients. And push you to the limit, building the craziest, most artistic space you can come up with.' Could this be and architect's dream?"
pdf >
“Density Meets Lifestyle in Southern California” Multifamily Trends, Regional Spotlight: Western Design
May/June 2007 Aleks Istanbullu
AI-Architects Housing Projects "The question facing developers and their architects is how to get people who are accustomed to the very real benefits of single-family detached homes - with multiple-car garages on large landscaped lots - interested in condominiums, townhouses, or lofts in urban neighborhoods."
pdf >
“Wired Home: The Hills” Wired Magazine
January 2005
Mulholland Drive Residence "The Hinge House in Beverly Hills - owned by Rug Rats cocreator Gabor Csupo and his wife, and artist - is an audiophile's paradise,..."
pdf >
“Why Leave Home?” West Magazine, L.A Times
December 3, 2006 Barbara Thornburg
Solomon Loft
“Clean and Conscious” Info + Contract Magazine
September 2006, Sofia Galadza
Cerritos Bathouse " 'It was very much a down and dirty job.' says Aleks Istanbullu, ... Yet he managed to create this spa-like space by taking a few extra steps - namely, investing in luxurious-looking materials while also celebrating certain existing conditions, and, cleverly, eliminating the need for a mechanical system - all while within the set budget of $ 800,000."
pdf >
“A Dramatic Look, Cubed” Los Angeles Times
1998, Barbara Thornburg
Lago Vista Residence "Istanbullu sees the patterned green shell as symbolizing blades of grass swaying in the wind. 'I wanted to make a manmade object evocative of nature.' the architects says. 'The looseness of the house... the way ot feathers away in the landscape comes from my desire to make it part of the outdoors.' "
“In Living Color” Los Angeles Times Magazine
July 27, 2003 Images Publishing Group
Mulholland Drive Residence
pdf >
“Speaking Volumes” Architecture Magazine
April 2004, Jamie Reynolds
"...Aleks Istanbullu could be accused of downplaying the finished product: "It's basically a box of books," he says... his eponymous Santa Monica firm has done more than comfortably meet the program: they've inserted straightforward formal elements to improve but not overpower the facility's function."
pdf >
” The Loft Re-Imagined” Los Angeles Times
April 19, 2007
Biscuit Lofts "For loft owners looking for an innovative way to shape and define their space, It's a system and it's easy and cost effective. You don't need that much to pull it off. You don't have to buy a $10,000 chair to make the space look good. 'This process is as close as I can get to having people wear my spaces." - Aleks Istanbullu
pdf >
“Semi-Suburban Living” LA Downtown News
June 30, 2008, Richard Guzman
Bixel + Fith Courtyard Housing "I think it's a wonderful alternative to Downtown living. You have the skyline of Downtown, you can walk to work, you can have all the amenities of Downtown, yet you don't actually live in Downtown."
pdf >
“The Building of America: Gold Medal Winner, Building Team” Real Estate & Construction Review
September 24, 2008, Amy Bell
Biscuit Lofts
pdf >
Dialogues & Interventions
Armory Center for the Arts Exhibition 2006
Church of our Saviour " The chapel's altar is touched by a reflection of golden light from the south clerestory window. Hanging lamps cast drifting light ocer the ceiling, an evocation of heaven. Outside, a reading circle of stone surrounds a large pepper tree in the meadow. It is marked by twelve boulders, a reference both to the twelve stones left as a memorial after crossing the Jordan and to the twelve Apostles. This is the place where the children learn about their faith."
pdf >
“Small Firm Advantage: Practice Model as Business Strategy” Marketer Magazine
June 2007, Aleks Istanbullu
AI-Architects Firm Marketing Profile " As I prepared to leave to Los Angeles office of Skidmore Owings & Merrill to start my own practice in 1986, my preimse was to establish what I conceived of as a "Chicago-style" generalist practice."
pdf >
“House of the Issue” Architects Newspaper
September 24, 2008, Alissa Walker
Lago Vista Guesthouse "Gazing at the electric-green cube he designed, which appears to hover atop a vibrantly-landscaped hill overlooking Coldwater Canyon, architect Aleks Istanbullu said, "It's not bout a big architectural gesture, it's more about respect." Istanbullu wanted the house to blend seamlessly into sit, functioning more like an element of the terraced gardens."
pdf >
Design 360: Concept and Design Magazine
2006
Malibu Meadows Residence + Mulholland Drive Residence "Striving for resonance of various design elements Aleks Istanbullu Architects is like the conductor on the stage, performing a harmonious symphony of architecture."
pdf >
“Lofty Intention” Etlhad Inflight Magazine
November 2008, Jessica Gliddon
Aleks Istanbullu Architects Loft Projects. " ' Lofts attract users because of their promise of flexibility and the desire of users to shape their environments and be a part of an 'open' community,' Istanbullu says, 'Larger expanses of space mixed with oversized windows and minimal finishes make us feel like we are part of a more efficient and open environment as opposed to partitioned and closed society."
pdf >
“The New Community Condo” Architects Newspaper
January 27, 2010, Michael Webb.
1200 Sweetzer Maisonettes. "Istanbullu, who has designed upscale residence in the Hollywood Hills, has brought that same emphasis on quality to a cluster of ten maisonettes on the flats."
Hauser
April 2009, Barbara Thornburg
Lago Vista "In Beverly Hills, the pavilion-like house that architects Aleks Istanbullu built as a retreat and guest apartment gives its owners the freedom they longed for a magnificent canyon view. The Markovitses don't think of it as a typical addition, "It's more and element in the garden," Dorrie says, like a fun piece of sculpture that makes us smile."
pdf >
Living West
2009, Sam Lubell, editor
Lago Vista "Techincally a freestanding addition to a ranch house on a winding hilltop street in Beverly Hills, this project feels like a tropical retreat."
Diseñart
2009
Lago Vista "Above the vibrant landscape that dominates Coldwater Canyon in Beverly Hills, Aleks Istanbullu Architects composed a guesthouse that seems to take root in the earth to merge itself into the leafy vegetation of the area. The green cube of simple lines surrenders to nature inly to accentuate the character of the landscape with greater clarity..."
pdf >