Kurt Rappaport invites us into his refreshed Beverly Hills office
Dan Brunn reinvents real-estate magnate Kurt Rappaport’s Beverly Hills office in Los Angeles

When California real-estate magnate Kurt Rappaport wanted to refresh a Beverly Hills classic, architect Dan Brunn was his go-to choice. The result was a truly collaborative project and a labour of love from both sides, as client and architect worked in sync to create a new space that blends art and architecture, luxury and minimalism, past and present.
Dan Brunn and Kurt Rappaport: a fruitful collaboration
The site was in a 'quintessential Beverly Hills' building, sat on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Canon Drive. The architect and his team at Dan Brunn Architecture (DBA), worked closely with Rappaport, who, being an avid art collector and expert in property and development, has extensive knowledge to draw on and a passion for architecture.
'Kurt is a tastemaker in life and work,' Brunn said. 'Everything here either has a provenance that carries a special meaning to him, or its an all new creation by DBA. It’s all very lush and filled with great artifacts and curiosities.'
Restoring the building to its historical glory
Brunn redesigned the building's façade, as well as interiors, and brought the structure back to its original 1930s glory – infused with the architect's own modernist architecture influences, as well as 21st-century mod-cons. And while at first, the space was meant to be redesigned and leased out, Rappaport 'fell in love' with it during the process, and decided to move his own business in instead.
The building's historic bones were brought to the forefront and allowed to shine, revealing its elegant minimalism, both in the exterior and the extensive, clean, white interiors. These are dotted with their owner's collection in art and design, spanning from a Roy Lichtenstein painting, to a hanging Alexander Calder mobile, and vintage and contemporary furniture pieces by the likes of Charles and Ray Eames, Jean Prouvé and Ron Arad.
The sequence of spaces leads from the front-of-house, public areas, towards more private ones, such as executive offices and a guest suite. Strategically placed artwork illuminates the route through and creates corners of interest, punctuating the minimalist interior, wrapped in luxurious materials.
'The entire impression of moving through the structure,' Brunn said, 'is that of a single circular band unweaving from space to space, where the overlapping experiences of work and entertainment, business and relaxation transition naturally through a sensuous flow of movement and purposeful space.'
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world
‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
Absolut is reviving Keith Haring’s 1986 poser with a vibrant limited-edition bottle
The Absolut Haring Artist-Edition bottle, released 40 years after Haring collaborated with the vodka brand, features his bold lines, electric colours and dancing figures
-
This hidden London culinary haven is a refreshing take on the steakhouse
Mr Porter, a new steakhouse, bar and lounge in central London's swish Mayfair, is a hidden haven of strong flavours and minimalist dining
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
A New Zealand house on a rugged beach exemplifies architect Tom Kundig's approach in rich, yet understated luxury
This coastal home, featured in 'Tom Kundig: Complete Houses', a new book launch in the autumn by Monacelli Press, is a perfect example of its author's approach to understated luxury. We spoke to Tom Kundig, the architect behind it
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio
-
A refreshed Rockefeller Wing reopens with a bang at The Met in New York
The Met's Michael C Rockefeller Wing gets a refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast's WHY Architecture, bringing light, air and impact to the galleries devoted to arts from Africa, Oceania and the Ancient Americas