Higher Education

The "Surfurbia" ecology lives almost entirely on the expansive 7th-level pool deck and pool bar. Various patterns of blue and white tile mark key features including elevator and escalator lobbies, pool house showers, changing rooms, and the pre-function spaces adjacent to the indoor/outdoor Junior Ballroom. Together with a collection of murals and graphics of synchronized swimmers, navy blue sun chairs and striped lounge chairs, the pool deck experience evokes the nostalgia of summers at a Southern California beach house. A hand painted mural of “The Pool Ladies”, five synchronized swimmers in red suits, reinforces the mood and experience.

The pool bar is literally a pool carved into the side of the building with a bar in it. The sideways swimming pool is complete with white tile and blue lane dividers, a pool ladder and underwater pool lights, minus the water. The furniture includes blue flotation chair foam while the lights overhead are fashioned after buoys. Planter boxes frame the dining areas and are marked with oversized pool-depth marker symbols and the traditional “No Dive” symbol, which is where the bar gets its name.

The curving forms that define this auto-oriented space evoke a sense of motion and serve as a continuation of the building’s exterior architecture. The Porte Cochere is designed as a “drive-in lobby”, featuring high ceilings and natural light flooding in on three sides.

The 20-foot-tall mural above the main drive aisle spans an entire city block from Wilshire Blvd to 7th Street. Embracing the “Autopia” ecology, the hand-painted mural depicts elements of the Los Angeles horizon line instantly recognizable to those driving across the city. A silhouette of billboards, power lines, palm trees, cell phone towers that look like palm trees, and landmarks like Watts Towers and Randy’s imposing donut deliver an experience that is uniquely Los Angeles. 

The simple, elegant design carries a sense of serenity and grace with it, while the large windows and its spires that rise 90 feet above the surrounding reflection pool inspire hope. The chapel can hold 190 people and is available for viewings, visitations and funeral services. It was completed in honor of the leadership and vision of John Gregg, son of Rose Hills’ founder Augustus Gregg.

The original San Ramon library was built in 1989, and was no longer meeting the needs of the community. Along with the library working group, we facilitated a series of community meetings to develop a building program for the library remodel and expansion. Programming efforts consolidated extensive input and feedback from stakeholders, community members, library patrons, and other user groups. Our team continued its partnership with the working group during the design, and construction phases to insure these goals were met.

We designed the new Fire Station 36 and Annex building for the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. The new single story, 7,740 sf Fire Station houses 2 apparatus bay stations with engine, grass rig, ambulance, dorm space for 4 duty personnel plus Captain, dayroom, gym, EMT storage, kitchen/dining area, and, support space. The Annex building is a new single story, 10,000 sf Fire Equipment Storage facility. The storage facility matches the same Mission Style of design as the fire station. It included five apparatus bays to house fire engines of various sizes and types, and a secured storage area for fire-fighting equipment. The purpose of the facility is to function as a central storage site for excess equipment. The support spaces in this facility include a workshop, laundry, and restroom.

Check-In

High-speed double-decker elevators deliver guests into the 70th-floor lobby with panoramic views of Los Angeles. The check-in pods seamlessly integrate the view beyond through a system of light-backed fiber optic concrete panels. The custom illuminated graphic transposes the widely recognized perspective of Los Angeles' endless grid of streets and boulevards as seen from the hills or air at night.

Immediately above the check-in area hangs a three-story-tall light sculpture made up of internally illuminated, multi-color resin segments. The intersection of the 10 and 110 freeways, directly in view, are the inspiration for this “Autopian” design. Freeways, while often uninspiring by car, become a light show of red, white and orange lights at night from 70 stories above. The ‘strung’ form is derived directly from mapping this key intersection including the on and off ramps, underpasses, overpasses and connectors. As if made from string, these draped strands are given form by gravity. The resin is molded to resemble headlights, tail lights and side lights.

Lounge

The lobby lounge responds to the southern views of the sprawling streets and boulevards. The structured furnishings, gridded fabrics and urban fixtures are an extension of the “Plains of Id” ecology in view. The custom rug designs are softened abstractions of the perspectival streets aglow after dark as viewed from a plane landing at LAX, from Griffith Park or the newly completed 70th-floor lobby.

Lounge Bar

The lobby bar located on the east side of the lobby positions hotel guests and Angelenos alike to take in a privileged view of downtown LA. Looking over the skyscrapers, financial district and historic core, this "never-before-seen" perspective is the backdrop for the upscale bar formed out of bookmatched Italian marble, darkened nickel silver liquor display and custom-designed bar lamps.

A black glass wall features a historical image of the Studebaker Dealership that originally occupied the site of the hotel, overlaid with text glowing in amber neon. It reads: "From MAIN we SPRING to BROADWAY and over the HILL to OLIVE, O wouldn’t it be GRAND if we could HOPE to pick a FLOWER on FIGUEROA." This old adage was taught to children to help them remember the order of the downtown streets. This feature weaves together a historical image and narrative authentic to the property that enriches the guest experience.

Bathrooms

The lobby bathrooms located on the northwest corner of the floor are marked by a floor-to-ceiling art installation featuring two well-known neon signs from LA’s past. Composed of “ironing man” and “diving lady” the enlarged photo is overlaid in part by actual neon.

The interior walls and stalls are lined with red back-painted glass and custom light fixtures. Two custom-designed glass urinals provide users with an obstructed view out while “seeing a man about a horse”.

The mirrors mask the view beyond with the exception of the clear glass words—‘Side View’ in the women’s room and ‘Rear View’ in the men’s room. The block letters cut out of the mirror are animated by the view beyond with the vibrancy of the 101 freeway and Hollywood projected prominently within each letter.

The City of Pleasanton’s Softball Complex Field House was originally constructed in 1990 and serves as the center for all activities in the Ken Mercer Sports Park. We were hired by the City of Pleasanton to remodel and modernize the existing facility including updating finishes, ADA restroom upgrades, and provide amenities for the community. The remodel included removing areas of flat roofs that were ponding and leaking and replacing sloped roofs; replacing single pane windows with dual pane; and the second floor offices for Parks and Rec staff received all new interior finishes, casework and Title 24 upgrades to power and lighting. The original structure included a natural wood siding that has deteriorated over the years, especially on the southern face of the building that receives the brunt of sun, wind and rain. We proposed replacing the existing finish with a phenolic rain screen system that resembles wood, but holds up to the elements much better.

The 73rd-floor open air deck with 360-degree views features publicly accessible amenities including a rooftop bar, multiple lounges and an event space. Enclosed by a continuous glass wall, the south deck features a bar faced in terra cotta panels that runs the length of the central core wall. Directly adjacent to the bar, fire pits and custom faux-grass benches define the central lounge. Custom high-back “bird cage” chairs line the perimeter while a curvilinear terra cotta banquette wraps a large water feature lined with handmade tiles, offering up soothing background sounds to guests.

On the northeast corner, a private lounge surrounds a black marble bench seamlessly integrated with a custom-engineered fire and water feature. This feature comprises a grid of columns of flames reaching two feet in height, hovering over a dark sheet of water. The raw carved wood chairs, soft furnishings and blankets make for a comfortable niche with commanding views of the San Gabriel Mountains. The remaining deck at the northwest corner is reserved for special events and gatherings.

The signature glass sail that gives shape to the top of the tower soars 100 feet above the roof deck. The Spire, the namesake of this space, tops out at 173 feet above the roof deck and 1,100 feet above the street level below, making this the highest point and public lounge west of the Mississippi.

St. Vincent de Paul Church is a Roman Catholic parish and Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 90) in the South Los Angeles section of Los Angeles, California. The church was built in the 1920s and designed by architect Albert C. Martin, Sr. Dedicated in 1925, it was located in what was then one of the wealthiest sections of the city, on land adjacent to the Edward Doheny Mansion and Stimson House. It was the second Roman Catholic church in Los Angeles to be consecrated. 

Taber Construction chose our firm as the Architect of Record and Structural Engineers for their Design Build contract with Stanford Children’s Health. The scope of work included a Tenant Improvement at two separate Specialty Services office buildings in Los Gatos, California. The project team worked under a condensed schedule to deliver the Specialty Services offices for occupancy in a short 11 months.