Escher GuneWardena, founded in Los Angeles in 1996, reached international recognition through a range of projects: commercial spaces treated as conceptual art works; hillside residences representing poetic responses to particular site conditions; work in historic preservation including such icons as the Eames House and John Lautner's Chemosphere in Los Angeles. Their collaborations with artists such as Sharon Lockhart, Mike Kelley and Stephen Prina testify to their presence in the art world. " Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena] are, in part, scholars, artists, architectural historians, designers and architects" Don Albrecht, Curator of Architecture and Design, Museum of the City of New York.