Athena's Crib, Los Angeles, CA
![11_AthenasCrib_Finish02_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbmtEIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--d2f77b49cd4138d4baeff05181b9cbcb90c21bdb/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Finish02_Web.jpg)
Athena's Crib is a simple free-standing garden structure which was commissioned for a hillside site overlooking downtown Los Angeles. It was designed to support some existing olive trees which were in danger of collapsing. It also provides a structure to accommodate a variety of uses, including sitting, sleeping, socializing and fitness training.
The working title Athena's Crib is inspired by Greek mythology: Athena, according to legend, created the olive tree on the Acropolis in a battle with Poseidon. Athena’s subsequent victory established her as goddess of the cities. While the scale and proportion of the structure places it somewhere between a building and a piece of furniture, it is given an enlarged presence by the wood columns, which form a type of portico. As the columns help support the trees, the trees in turn form a "green pediment," ornamenting the structure and shading the space below.
![11_AthenasCrib_Model01_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbm9EIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--1d52839992afd75adf0ad7b78b83ee9e9678f163/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Model01_Web.jpg)
![11_AthenasCrib_Model02_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbnNEIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--009c15eca7a2517ae17f05142adb43812fef6880/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Model02_Web.jpg)
![11_AthenasCrib_Construction01_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbndEIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--b0a7c442c7e5da7ec784a8c657e7c414f29066dc/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Construction01_Web.jpg)
![11_AthenasCrib_Construction02_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbjBEIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--dafd01cc1f67b0e0f71f179f96dd6643ab5888d0/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Construction02_Web.jpg)
![11_AthenasCrib_Construction03_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbjREIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--9b7be19fd2a27db330a4d1afcbba20e536eed464/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Construction03_Web.jpg)
![11_AthenasCrib_Finish01_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBbjhEIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--8b721ccd50a6337846cd11d87d313e8dac6e2e42/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Finish01_Web.jpg)
![11_AthenasCrib_Finish03_Web.jpg](https://toloarchitecture.com/rails/active_storage/representations/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBb0FEIiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--fdb383e4e27842e310bed80ea95d7eade3aa5358/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdCam9MY21WemFYcGxTU0lLUGpJMU5qQUdPZ1pGVkE9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoidmFyaWF0aW9uIn19--85e6527f184279243d7498f9329b0e047511df7f/11_AthenasCrib_Finish03_Web.jpg)
Status: Built
Year: 1996
Project Team: Peter Tolkin
Construction: Scott Enge
Photographer: Peter Tolkin