Judges' Comments
- The jury unanimously admired the composition and complexity of this design, noting that it was a deft blending of materials, colors, patterns, and texture. They felt the architecture had the right touch of urban grit for its context and they were impressed with how the elevated outdoor terrace brought relief to the building and created a unique environment along the street.
Project Data:
Completion Date: 4/1/2017
Square Footage: 187726
Building Use: Designed and built as for-rent residential. Purchased, current use is extended-stay hotel.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Project Description:
Defying the trend of monolithic, flat, 7-story, mixed-use, stucco boxes in the rapidly-redeveloping South Park neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, this project instead engages its context with it form, its program, and its materiality.
Rather than hiding the main outdoor recreational area within an internal courtyard, the project massing opens it up to the urban fabric of the city sharing part of the main courtyard experience with the city itself. In addition, its other community amenity spaces articulate its façade reinforcing its connection to the context. Exterior curtains support the metaphor that the exterior plaza space is the community’s true “living room.” On the top level of the corner, the massing peels away providing for a rooftop terrace on the backside of the feature building sign, which is reminiscent of the iconic Hollywood sign, giving residents and their guests a unique perch within the city to experience.
Retail space lines Olympic Blvd. with the residential leasing office and main lobby along Olive St. near the corner. The remainder of the ground level façade along Olive St. is filled with loft-type units bringing residential patios down to the street and concealing two levels of parking behind. Instead of filling the upper levels of the corner with “premium” units, the main indoor residential amenity space is located there with an exterior balcony that flies out past the retail space below offering yet another one-of-a-kind perspective of the city.
While most buildings of this typology – Type 3 wood-framed construction over Type 1 concrete podium construction – are clad primarily in stucco with small punched openings for articulation, the project’s exterior skin is a quilted composition of metal cladding in varying profile, exposure, and color. The building is wood-framed above the podium, not concrete or steel moment frames, so extra care and coordination were required to execute the dynamic pattern of materials and fenestration.
Before it opened as for-rent residential, the project caught the eye of the current ownership. They are the global leader in corporate housing and were looking for a flagship location to launch an upscale extended-stay destination appealing to a new class of executives who demand an extremely high-quality environment for project work in Los Angeles.
Located blocks away from the Staples Center and LA Live, the project embraces its neighborhood with bold gestures not seen in most of its fellow mixed-use neighbors.
With a Walk Score of 95, a Transit Score of 100 and a Bike Score of 82, this project is an example of how architectural design contributes to modern living.
C.O.T.E. | Committee on the Environment
Submitted By: |
KTGY Architecture + Planning |
Design Architect: |
KTGY Architecture + Planning |
Associate Architect or Firm: |
|
Landscape Architect: |
MJS Design Group |
Owner / Developer: |
Original Owner/Developer: Lennar Multifamily Communities Current Owner: Oakwood Worldwide |
Engineer: |
Structural Engineer: DCI Engineering Civil: PSOMAS Mechanical & Plumbing: IDS Group |
General Contractor: |
Driver URBAN |
Consultant: |
Interior Designer | Residential Units: Hibner Design Group, Inc. Interior Designer | Amenity & Common Spaces: Gensler |
Photographer: |
Photographer: Darren Bradley Photographer: Les Nakashima/Nextimage3d |
Olympic & Olive
Category
Residential Planned Development
Winner Status
- Honor Award