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Multifunctional Complex Sunset-La Cienega

a “THIRD SPACE” IN THE CITY

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects - LOHA | Somos.Arquitectos | SOM | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Multifunctional Complex Sunset-La Cienega
By Brunella Angeli -

The 21st Century city is as accessible as it is inscrutable, the glaring inequalities and contradictions of the modern world steadily widening the chasm between its citizens. SOM - one of the world’s most respected practices - and Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) - one of the most prolific award-winning firms in Los Angeles - have proposed a sensitive and innovative project in an attempt to bridge that gap. Their mixed-use project is geared to promote neighborhood bonding, interaction, and collaboration in a city where so many individual stories are thrown together. The 8,000 sq. m trapezoidal plot stands in the very heart of Sunset, LA’s iconic trendsetter quarter, the center of artistic, creative and social life, stretching between West Hollywood and the slopes of Beverly Hills overlooking the vast basin of this sprawling city. Commissioned by the real estate company CIM Group and built by Suffolk Construction, the Sunset-La Cienega complex is located at the intersection of Sunset and La Cienega Boulevards. The southwest parcel of the plot is occupied by two, 8-story residential towers with a total of 190 units rising from a single retail podium. The east parcel - designed by SOM - is occupied by a 10-story hotel, with a restaurant and retail ground level. The two residential towers are a clever weave of SOM’s consolidated experience with large innovative complexes and the LOHA approach of its principal O’Herlihy, who trained at London’s AA and then worked with I.M. Pei and Steven Holl. The project adapts to the sloping terrain. Lines, volumes and perimeters crystallize into a compact yet articulated complex. Although frames, façades and the sloping terrain step outside the classical format, the building nonetheless presents a recognizable configuration. The many functional requirements demanded of the program engendered a dynamic series of spaces. This led to another striking non-classical feature: the absence of a central point. Rather, the combination of...

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