Work to convert the former Westside Pavilion Macy's department store in West Los Angeles to a mixed-use commercial campus recently completed. The development repurposes about 240,000 sf of shuttered retail space into an open, creative office campus with new commercial leasing opportunities.
“Adaptive reuse of the former Westside Pavilion Macy’s preserves an urban fabric that a generation of Angelenos associate with the memories of time spent with family and friends at the mall,” said Sejal Sonani, principal and managing director at HLW, which provided architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture services. “West End is also an impressive case study on repurposing underperforming and abandoned malls throughout the country.”
Located next to the former Westside Pavilion that was transformed into a 584,000 sf Google office campus, the development bolsters a new transit-oriented job center near the Westwood/Rancho Park Expo light rail station. The project included seismic upgrades, a glass curtain wall system, extensive landscaped courtyard areas, and a new 1,000-car parking structure.
While maintaining the architectural style and integrity of the existing structure, the design divided the building into two sections with a 52-foot-wide courtyard extending north to south to the parking structure, adding open lobbies and generous balconies to connect the two halves, and creating a seamless indoor-outdoor connection. The ground plane was pushed down one level below the street, creating a light-filled courtyard at the lower plaza level. The building’s façade, previously sealed to the exterior, was retrofitted with floor-to-ceiling glass furthering the visual connection between the interiors and the property’s surroundings.
“Boasting an abundance of outdoor space, better integration of the building into the urban fabric, and adding to the pedestrian-friendly character of the rapidly changing neighborhood, West End has been transformed and blended into the infrastructure of Greater Los Angeles, incorporating wellness and biophilic design elements into the site for the first time in its history,” the release says. “Once leased, West End's new tenant(s) will enjoy a proximity to places to work, shop, and dine, as well as the adjacent Google campus.”
On the building team:
Owner and/or developer: GPI Companies
Design architect: HLW
Architect of record: HLW
MEP engineer: AMA Consulting Engineers
Structural engineer: Saiful Bouquet
General contractor/construction manager: Del Amo Construction
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | Mar 13, 2015
Dubai announces mega waterfront development Aladdin City
Planned on 4,000 acres in the Dubai Creek area, the towers will be covered in gold lattice and connected via air-conditioned bridges.
High-rise Construction | Mar 11, 2015
Must see: Firm proposes skyscraper with a ‘twist’ in downtown Tulsa
Tulsa, Okla.-based architecture practice Kinslow, Keith & Todd released renderings of a skyscraper concept that takes the shape of a tornado.
Modular Building | Mar 10, 2015
Must see: 57-story modular skyscraper was completed in 19 days
After erecting the mega prefab tower in Changsha, China, modular builder BSB stated, “three floors in a day is China’s new normal.”
Transit Facilities | Mar 4, 2015
5+design looks to mountains for Chinese transport hub design
The complex, Diamond Hill, will feature sloping rooflines and a mountain-like silhouette inspired by traditional Chinese landscape paintings.
Sponsored | | Mar 3, 2015
New York’s Fulton Center relies on TGP for light-flooded, underground transit hub
Fire-rated curtain wall systems filled this subterranean hub with natural light.
Sponsored | Shopping Centers | Feb 26, 2015
A color-changing gateway for Altara Center
Valspar works with developers to complete a multicolored shopping center façade in Honduras.
Industrial Facilities | Feb 24, 2015
Starchitecture meets agriculture: OMA unveils design for Kentucky community farming facility
The $460 million Food Port project will define a new model for the relationship between consumer and producer.
Office Buildings | Feb 18, 2015
Commercial real estate developers optimistic, but concerned about taxes, jobs outlook
The outlook for the commercial real estate industry remains strong despite growing concerns over sluggish job creation and higher taxes, according to a new survey of commercial real estate professionals by NAIOP.
Mixed-Use | Feb 13, 2015
First Look: Sacramento Planning Commission approves mixed-use tower by the new Kings arena
The project, named Downtown Plaza Tower, will have 16 stories and will include a public lobby, retail and office space, 250 hotel rooms, and residences at the top of the tower.
Mixed-Use | Feb 11, 2015
Developer plans to turn Eero Saarinen's Bell Labs HQ into New Urbanist town center
Designed by Eero Saarinen in the late 1950s, the two-million-sf, steel-and-glass building was one of the best-funded and successful corporate research laboratories in the world.
