EIZENBERG, JULIE

EIZENBERG, JULIE (1964– ), U.S. architect; president and founder of the architectural firm Koning Eizenberg Architects, Inc., a California corporation established in 1981 and based in Santa Monica. The vice president is Hendrick Koning. This husband-and-wife team is known in the U.S. and Australia for its imaginative, site-specific, and people-oriented approach. Both principals hold degrees in architecture from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and the University of California, Los Angeles. The firm has a reputation for its creative thinking. The postmodern approach to design results in buildings with clear, clean, straight lines applied to a variety of commercial, retail, hotel, and residential premises. The firm is also known for designing affordable housing, schools, and community buildings. Its long list of honors includes awards for such buildings as the Simone Hotel, the first new single-room occupancy to be built in Los Angeles in 30 years. This hotel, built in the "skid row" neighborhood, won the National AIA Honor Award in 1994 for providing subtle changes in the usual plans for low-cost housing. They planned especially for the safety, comfort, and dignity of the occupants. Good lighting in the rooms, kitchen, and lounges provided a cheerful atmosphere. The firm also won the national competition in 2001 for the design of two new schools for the Chicago Public Schools and for the Pittsburgh Children's Museum expansion in 2000. Julie Eizenberg has lectured widely in the United States and Australia. She was the William Henry Bishop Visiting Professor at Yale University in 2004. Later projects in Los Angeles include the downtown LA Standard, 5th Street Family Housing, P.S. 1 Elementary School expansion, RAD Clothing, the Avalon Hotel, and the 25th Street Studio. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: W.J. Mitchel, A. Betsky, and J. Eizenberg, Koning Eizenberg Buildings (1996). (Betty R. Rubenstein (2nd ed.)