Brenda A. Levin is a Los Angeles-based architect and advocate for

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. A Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

), her major projects include the restoration of iconic L.A. landmarks like the

Bradbury Building The Bradbury Building is an architectural landmark in downtown Los Angeles, California, United States. Built in 1893, the five-story office building is best known for its extraordinary skylit atrium of access walkways, stairs and elevators, an ...

, the

Griffith Observatory Griffith Observatory is an observatory in Los Angeles, California on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the sout ...

, the

Wiltern Theatre The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a ...

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, Grand Central Market, and

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

. Levin was born in New Jersey. She studied graphic design at

Carnegie Mellon Carnegie may refer to: People * Carnegie (surname), including a list of people with the name * Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie *Carnegie Building (Troy, New York), on the campus of Rensselaer Polyt ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, and architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1976 and worked for architect

John Lautner John Edward Lautner (16 July 1911 – 24 October 1994) was an American architect. Following an apprenticeship in the mid-1930s with the Taliesin Fellowship led by Frank Lloyd Wright, Lautner opened his own practice in 1938, where he worked for th ...

for two years. Her first project in Los Angeles, through the firm Group Arcon, was the renovation of the

James Oviatt Building The James Oviatt Building, commonly referred to as The Oviatt Building, is an Art Deco highrise in Downtown Los Angeles located on Olive Street, half a block south of 6th St. and Pershing Square. In 1983, the Oviatt Building was listed in the Na ...

on Olive Street after it was purchased by developer Wayne Ratkovich. This was the first of many projects with Ratkovich that included the Wiltern theater, the Chapman Market, the Fine Arts Building, and the Hercules Campus. She opened her firm, Levin & Associates, in 1980.

Awards

In 2015, Levin & Associates was among the team to receive a Presidential Honoree by the AIA Los Angeles. The team was recognized for Building Team of the Year: The Hercules Campus at

Playa Vista, Los Angeles Playa Vista is a neighborhood in the Westside area of Los Angeles, California. The area was the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft Company from 1941 to 1985 and the site of the construction of the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" aircraft. The ...

. Other team members included: The Ratkovich Company, Nabih Youssef & Associates, ARC Engineering, Galvin Preservation Associates EPT Design, Spectra Company, and Ross Project Management. Additional awards include: * 2014 recipient of the Los Angeles Parks Foundation's Rose Award * 2010 recipient of the Gold Medal Presidential Award from AIA Los Angeles. * 2008 12th Parkinson Spirit of Urbanism Award, University of Southern California's (USC) School of Architecture's Architectural Guild

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Brenda Living people Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni New York University alumni American women architects Architects from California Year of birth missing (living people)