Pulling into the Hotel Bel-Air, you can’t miss the fleet of Escalades awaiting us…

It was there where we had a chance to talk with architect (and LA local) Zoltan Pali, the principal of Studio Pali Fekete Architects in Culver City. Turns out that he too is an LA native, with a love of Topanga Canyon! During his keynote talk it was great to hear that working on the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts was more meaningful than you would first expect. As a kid, he fondly remembers going to the historic Beverly Hills post office it once was!

Hopping into our Escalades, we alternated driving and passengering to get the full experience of what these SUVs can do.

First stop, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills designed by Studio Pali Fekete Architects. It just opened in fall of 2013.

You can’t miss its merging of modern facades with the historic 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office. They even turned the windows where you bought stamps into ticket booths.

Here’s a look into the 500-seat theater from the stage.

Some fun details that caught our eye… the way the concrete mixes with the grass is reminiscent of the High Line. And it was fascinating to go back stage!

Next up, and undeniably the most exiting part of the tour - the Sheats Goldstein residence in Beverly Hills by John Lautner. You’ve seen this house in everything from The Big Lebowski to Snoop Dogg and Pharrell’s video for “Let’s Get Blown,” and even in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Bandits.

The view!

The Brutalist pool and living room area…

Picturesque moments everywhere you turn. It’s all especially stunning in the glow of the magic sunset hour.

Amazing to see the scale model of the house nestled into the hillside…

Here’s the tour group hanging on to the docent’s every word… It was also incredible to later get a peek inside the private nightclub bring constructed below the tennis court while we were on site.

Some lovely design details that grabbed us…

Our final stop, as the sun nearly disappeared, was the North Faring residence in Holmby Hills, designed by Quinn Architects London. We were greeted by the ELRs parked (and plugged in) out front.

This 15,250 sq ft villa was finished earlier this year and is still looking for a new resident. The tour group loved that Jay-Z and Beyonce tried it out for a few weeks, but passed on it.

More fun details - Inspiring art! A NOTCOT first, we had to put booties on (and take them off and put them on…) as we walked through the house.

The hand rails for the stairs were definitely the most interesting design feature - they appeared to be cut out of the marble wall!

In the darkness, every room of the house lights up like a doll house - you certainly get quite a view from the pool of just about everything happening within.

And just like that, the day flew by, and we hopped back in our Cadillac Escalades and caravanned back to the Hotel Bel-Air with a new perspective on some of the architectural wonders tucked away in the hills of Los Angeles. Thanks, Cadillac!