Our goal in designing this LEED Gold apartment building near Wilshire Boulevard was to engage the neighborhood and celebrate the iconoclastic spirit of Los Angeles.The block was a formerly drab area, dwarfed by bulky office buildings to the South. The triangulated site fronts a large parking lot across the street, and the building’s prominent corner at the Bundy and Goshen intersection is a locus of stalled commuting cars. We deepened the unique sense of place, Southern California, by pooling of ecologies from around the site, specifically its nearby Pacific Ocean, 3.5 miles West, its predominant sunshine, and it lofty palm trees that border the site itself.
We reflected these contextual elements in the two exposedNorth and East elevations. Firstly, subtly curved floor plates at the façade on Bundy, and at the glass rails, mimic the tidal currents of the ocean; so do the alternating frosted-white low-iron glass and deep blue-hued glass at the balcony rails. Aluminum vertical struts mimic the tall palms. The assembly of undulating formstogether with vibrating colorful stucco, glass, fiber cement, and aluminum helps to forge a dynamic connection with the street. The Bundy façade seems to subtly morph as one walks or rides past it. Forging further engagement with the street are the ample balcony spaces that expand the interior with their large 4-panel sliding doors. Vinyl doors met the budget restraints while also providing greater insulation, adding to the sustainability. Color was our budget-conscious tool to provide a sense of drama.
The empty rectangular spaces created byaluminum struts correspond with the rectangular niches of saturated stucco, thereby linking in in our minds hollow spaces and color. Color is used as a truly architectural element and not just a coating—it helps sculpt space.Finally, a living wall at the rear courtyard reintroduces the same colored cavities; here they are deepened to provide seats for loungers and habitats for plants.
