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 province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Peñas de Aya, small mountain range in Oiartzun, Gipuzkoa * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ...

), 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, and ...

, 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 sou ...

, the Wiltern Theatre,

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

, Grand Central Market, and

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

. 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 **Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist * Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie * ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and architecture at the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urba ...

. She moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1976 and worked for architect John Lautner 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 N ...

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 list of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood in the Westside (Los Angeles County), Westside area of Los Angeles, California, United States. The area was Hughes Airport (California), the headquarters of Hughe ...

. 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)