Architect Mia Lehrer + Associates to design the First and Broadway Park

Architect Mia Lehrer + Associates to design the First and Broadway Park

The city in early June selected Los Angeles-based landscape architect Mia Lehrer + Associates to design the First and Broadway Park. The project is now in the final design process. The firm’s vision features a large hardscape plaza as its heart, rather than the flat grass seen in the adjacent Grand Park.

The new park would be anchored by a two-level structure on the northwest corner of the property with a scooped-out amphitheater, with seating underneath the overhang of a “floating” second floor; the second level would likely hold a restaurant.

The north side of the building would have space for a cafe or small store. The design includes a small rock-paved path along Spring Street, as well as some tulip-shaped shade structures scattered around the plaza.

The park is estimated to cost $28 million. According to 14th District City Councilman José Huizar’s office, the councilman since 2013 has secured nearly $21 million in Quimby funds, which are charged to housing developers for park creation, site acquisition, land preparation, design and construction.

The city Department of Recreation and Parks has identified another $3.65 million for the development. Photo by Mia Lehrer + Associates

The Future of the Civic Center

The Future of the Civic Center

The City of Los Angeles’ plan to redevelop the Civic Center over a 15-year period is officially underway. Now, with crews working on a 500-day dismantlement of Parker Center, government representatives are seeking input from Downtown stakeholders on how they want to see the area transform.

A Sept. 12 community meeting at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center served as an opportunity for local residents and workers to learn about and offer input on the Civic Center District Design Guidelines.

Approximately 50 people showed up to discuss topics ranging from accessibility and mobility to architecture and landscaping. A large contingent of attendees hailed from Little Tokyo, with other participants from the Historic Core and Skid Row.

The event was organized by the office of 14th District City Councilman José Huizar, the Bureau of Engineering, and the architecture firms Gwynne Pugh Urban Studio and Perkins + Will. Organizers said feedback from the meeting will be used to shape the next stage of proposals, which are due in November.

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1.3 million square feet of creative office, retail and restaurants

1.3 million square feet of creative office, retail and restaurants

ROW DTLA: 

Developer Atlas Capital bought the 30-acre, seven-building complex at Seventh and Alameda streets in 2014 and is now working on building new infrastructure and renovating the interior spaces. There is no firm timeline for when creative office, retail and restaurants would debut.

The plan for the complex now known as Row DTLA is to create 1.3 million square feet of creative office space, approximately 100 stores, more than 20 restaurants, and spaces for community gatherings and public events. The complex, known to many as the home of American Apparel, would have themed streets: “Market Row” would run along a pair of 70,000-square-foot, two-story buildings that would hold office tenants. It would be adjacent to “The End,” a public square, while nearby “Dock Street” would focus on dining options. “The Narrows” would offer cultural and entertainment-leaning storefronts, while “Center Street” would host an open-air produce market.

No budget has been revealed. Photo by Row DTLA

74-year-old man found after DC building fire

74-year-old man found after DC building fire

(CNN)A 74-year-old man has been discovered alive five days after his senior living apartment complex in Washington, DC, caught fire — but nobody knew he was missing.

Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters the man was found by crews working to determine whether fire marshals could safely enter the building. He was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, Bowser said.

Structural engineer Allyn Kilsheimer said crews were going from unit to unit Monday when they found the man trapped in his apartment.

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Circa Project: Twin 36-story Towers

Circa Project: Twin 36-story Towers

The large podium of the Circa project, at 1200 S. Figueroa St. in South Park, continues to rise. The project from a development group composed of Hankey Investment Company, Jamison Services, Falcon California Investments and Highlands Capital will create twin 36-story towers with a combined 648 condominiums, sitting on top of a seven-story retail podium with 48,000 square feet of space.

The complex will have 1,770 parking spots. Additional features at the approximately $500 million South Park development, designed by architecture firm Harley Ellis Devereaux, include a two-acre outdoor amenity deck and a 15,000-square-foot ribbon of LED signage along Figueroa. Circa is slated for completion in early 2018.

Photo by Gary Leonard

Using Smoke Curtains in Multi-Story Buildings

Using Smoke Curtains in Multi-Story Buildings

The most important task for firefighters is to save lives. In the case of fires in multi-story residential buildings, this objective can be best achieved by using the stairways as the preferred route of attack. This method of entering a multi-story dwelling ensures that the most important escape route for the inhabitants is immediately controlled.

One of the most important aims for fire crews is to have a smoke-free and safe stairway. However, choosing the stairways as the preferred route of attack to a fire in a building means opening doors. Firefighting operations sometimes enable smoke to travel through a building, entering stairways, which can lead to inhabitant endangerment.

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Sonny Astani’s $60 million Valencia

Sonny Astani’s $60 million Valencia

The opening of Sonny Astani’s $60 million Valencia has been pushed back from June to the end of the year. A spokesperson for Astani said a temporary certificate of occupancy is expected by November, although applications to rent the 218 City West apartments are now being accepted.

The six-story project at 1515 Wilshire Blvd. will offer studio to two-bedroom residences that start at 626 square feet. Killefer Flammang Architects is handling the designs for the project with nine-foot ceilings. Amenities include in-unit laundry facilities. The project will also offer barbeque areas, a pool, spa, fitness center and billiards room. There is underground parking and 244 bicycle spaces.

Photo by Gary Leonard

Atrium Smoke Control Solution

Atrium Smoke Control Solution

A horizontal fire protective curtain may eliminate the need for costly additional structural support, sprinklers, and complex smoke evacuation systems saving the building owner a great deal of money. Keep in mind that the building code allows for two stories to be interconnected without smoke control. If the atrium design and space is appropriate then it is possible to divide a taller than two story atrium into a series of two story connections.

An architect on a project for Sargento Foods Corporate Headquarters, estimates that he saved his client between $750,000 to $800,000 by using a horizontal smoke curtain instead of a smoke purge system on the building’s three story atrium.

If you are looking for a solution to meet the building code requirements for smoke control for an atrium and haven’t explored the use of smoke curtains, you should. They have the potential to save a lot of cost and complexity.

See more information on our horizontal fire protective curtain.

Sonny Astani’s two-stage South Park development to come online

Sonny Astani’s two-stage South Park development to come online

Pre-leasing is underway at OLiVE DTLA, the first building in Sonny Astani’s two-stage South Park development to come online (the other is G12). The seven-story project at Pico Boulevard and Olive Street is nearly complete.

The 293 studio to two-bedroom units range from 440-1,368 square feet; most apartments have balconies, and rents begin at about $1,900. Amenities include a fourth-floor pool deck, fitness area and lounge. Move-ins are expected to begin in October.

Photo by Gary Leonard

Assisted Living Elevator Smoke Containment

Assisted Living Elevator Smoke Containment

The primary focus of assisted-living facilities is to provide care for elderly persons who can no longer maintain independent-living standards. Their facilities are typically commercial construction with a residential design element. Fire and life-safety concerns are a priority that can be made more difficult by the added challenge of ensuring accessibility for mobility-challenged persons. In some cases, a balanced approach is used when more stringent codes are required for the addition of a skilled nursing facility.

Sections 707.14.1, 909.20.5, and 1004.3.2.1 of the 2003 Intl. Building Code (IBC) require fire-rated smoke barriers to prevent the migration of smoke from the elevator shafts to the fire-rated egress corridors of a building. In a fire- or smoke-related event, elevator shafts tend to act like chimneys, allowing smoke to migrate from the fire’s origin to upper floors and endanger the lives of occupants or persons using the egress routes.

John Donelan, retired chief fire marshal for the California Office of Statewide Planning and Development (OSHPD), explains, “Several potential problems occur when a separate elevator lobby is designed. Lobbies present a hazard to building occupants because, during a fire, it creates a smoke filled area that someone could accidentally enter. These openings typically are not maintained or functional due to change in building use and tenant improvements.”

The use of fire sprinklers has not been documented to be an effective method of stopping or slowing the spread of smoke (Building Safety Journal, April 2006). Architect Anthony Loscavio with Devenney Group LTD. in Phoenix faced the following obstacles when designing a multi-level, senior assisted-living residence combined with a skilled-nursing facility:

  1. The design of separate elevator lobbies restricted the clear corridor egress width.
  2. A separate elevator lobby decreased the owner’s usable space.
  3. Projections of the doors and hardware presented obstacles and potentially hazardous conditions for mobility-impaired individuals.
  4. IBC codes restrict projections no more than 7 inches into corridor. (Conventional fire-door assemblies have difficulty meeting this compliance issue.)
  5. Projections of the doors and hardware created compliance issues for the access of emergency care first responders and the routine movement of wheelchair and litter-bed patients to, from, and inside the skilled nursing facility portion of building.
  6. Conventional fire-door assemblies create long-term maintenance issues for the owner.
  7. Conventional fire-door assemblies made it difficult to maintain continuity of architectural design.

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