The intersection of Santa Monica and La Brea is a convergence of old and new, both in its architecture and purpose. A blend of early 20th century production studios and a burgeoning tech corridor, the neighborhood character is in a constant state of flux. This rapid densification spreading throughout Hollywood and Mid-City, is replacing once black-topped parking lots with creative offices, mixed-use housing complexes, and retail developments. In the midst of all these changes, sits California’s first cement mixing plant, founded in 1923, an industrial relic that still churns out enough concrete to accommodate this flurry of activity.
LOHA’s newest commercial project, Sycamore953 resides within this convergence. An eight-story creative office building that rises and cantilevers above the surrounding area, creating an iconic presence in this part of the city. The concrete and class structure, inspired by the neighboring cement plant, is a hybrid of creative offices, ground floor retail, and parking to serve the surrounding area. Topping the pedestal of parking and retail, are three stories of creative offices that house the Sirius XM broadcasting company, one of the nation's largest online radio producers.
The building’s form twists and steps to create terraces and ledges for landscaping as well as to direct 360 degree views outwards towards the nearby Hollywood Hills, Downtown Los Angeles, and the surrounding basin. By maintaining a consistent floor-to-ceiling height for the lower garage levels, the office floors twist and pull apart, becoming incrementally taller from floor to floor, to further elevate the offices to maximize views. The façades externalize this floor to floor relationship while helping to control the effects of sunlight through overhangs, and creating cohesiveness through the rhythmic sequencing of vertical fins.
The flexibility that characterizes the building's twisting form, also carries into the building’s exterior and interior programming. The parking, for instance, which commands the building’s pedestal, is designed to be expandable as the need for office and retail space grows. More specifically, parking can be converted a level at a time into office space with minimal impact. Ultimately, the building is designed to evolve over time, and to accommodate the shifting needs of a neighborhood in flux, and looks forward to the future.
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