California Los Angeles: Swiss Explorer and

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California

Kurt soon joined an architec-

Los Angeles: Swiss Explorer and Architect Kurt Meyer

tural firm. When colleagues suggested founding their own company, he became the architect-entrepreneur he is known as today. His signature buildings

include

the San

Ber-

nardino

County

Govern-

ment

Center,

Red-

lands

Univer-

Kurt and Pamela Meyer at a book launch in New Delhi India (the pub- sity core

lisher is in India), with some old photos from the book in the back- build-

ground

ings,

"There are two kinds of archi-

Huntington Beach City Hall, the

tects," Swiss-born and ETH-edu- Air Quality Control building in

cated architect Kurt Meyer ex-

Diamond Bar and the Plaza de la

plains. "Some create sculptural Raza in Los Angeles. Deeply

monuments and others design

committed to his community, he

to serve the needs and function was Chairman of the Los Angeles

of the structure." Kurt Meyer

Redevelopment Agency under

identifies with the latter. A man Mayor Tom Bradley and Chair-

influenced by Le Corbusier, you man of the Board of the South-

detect architectural Zeitgeist.

ern California Institute of

Post WWII the young architect

Architecture [SCI-Arc]. A Fellow

immigrated to Pennsylvania,

of the American Institute of

where he found the colonial

Architects, the Swiss architect

style boring. A friend suggested continues to visit his creations,

new horizons in California.

where occupants still praise his

Meyer and his young wife jour-

design.

neyed Route 66 in an old Chevy, Kurt explains that he is now in

arriving in Santa Monica in 1949 his second lifetime. As a boy in

with a few dollars to their name. Zurich he was captivated by the

Himalaya. At age

13, he was given

a book for Christ-

mas about Tibet,

which he read in

one night. He

yearned to see

the region for

himself. In the

1970s, after the

political climate

eased, he made

his first trip to

"his" Himalaya.

He knew he

would return.

Single again, one

day he met

Pamela Deuel, a

writer. She too

San Bernardino County Government building

had toured the

Himalaya. On their

second date he gave

Pamela a visa appli-

cation for Nepal. In

1992 Kurt sold his ar-

chitectural firm; the

couple traded their

comfortable life style

for a jeep, tent and

local guide and ex-

plored the Himalayas

for the next nine years in search of lo- Kurt taking a photo of wall mural in a Nepali village

cal folk art. Invited by friendly

tions are mixed with Swiss cow

farmers they pitched their tent bells. In the garden you find a

in farmyards. One village won-

Heidi fountain.

dered if Kurt might be a deity.

Some of us may remember Kurt

Sharing Kurt's yen to explore,

Meyer as an active early member

Pamela was the ideal partner

of the Grindelwald Ski Club. A

and collaborator. They took pho- co-founder was Swiss astro-

tos and published books about

physicist Fritz Zwicky of Cal-

the artistic Tharu culture of Ne- Tech. The Swiss-American Club

pal. Kurt explains: "Art has a

of Los Angeles was born, the

different purpose in the Hima-

pre-curser of the Swiss American

laya: the meaning is in its cre-

Chamber of Commerce. Kurt

ation. The finished product is

Meyer is truly a Swiss pioneer

obso-

who has left his mark in his sec-

lete. I

ond Heimat.

call it

HILDA BIRCHMEIER, PSY.D.

`art

hzb_psyd@

without

IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MEYERS

artists.'

meyerkp@

" When

you hear

Kurt

talk, you

want to

listen.

During

Pamela with a Nepali the

woman, dress

both

in

native

mon-

soon

San Francisco: INOUT Designers Exhibit at AIA SF

months, the couple went to

Switzerland, England and the

The young Swiss design group

USA, to research and write up

INOUT, based in Lausanne,

their findings. They collected

brings an exhibit of their work

rare photographs of the Hima-

that (re)designs urban land-

laya taken around 1900 by

scapes. INOUT designers have

Englishman John Claude White. partnered with the local chapter

Writing the story behind the im- of the American Institute of

ages, the Meyers published the Architects along with swissnex

historic photos in their book: In San Francisco to bring this

the Shadow of the Himalayas:

unique exhibit to the West

Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim Coast.

(2005).

Today the couple lives in Los An- AIA San Francisco

geles, naturally in a Kurt-Meyer 130 Sutter St, Suite 600

design. Their beautiful home

San Francisco, CA 94104

radiates flair for color. Memories (Thursday, November 1, 2007

from their Himalayan explora-

5:30 pm - Vernissage)

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