Santa Monica’s City Staff has announced their recommendation of OMA’s competition proposal for a mixed use development that encompasses civic plaza, cultural venue, retail, residences, offices and a boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Santa Monica.
The selection panel praise OMA’s approach, commenting: “The proposed design delivers iconic architecture from all elevations, as well as a highly flexible interior space design that could most easily accommodate potential design modifications and adjust to market demand changes in the future. Additionally, the site design maximizes the public view corridor toward the open plaza areas and integrates within the framework of downtown and adjacent properties.”
Shigematsu commented: “Our ambition was to contribute to Santa Monica’s diverse network of public spaces, from the recreational plazas at the Pier and Palisades Park to contained commercial centers like Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Place. Our design provides residents, tourists, and entrepreneurs a dynamic new public realm – a stepped building that achieves a strong interaction between interior program and exterior environments.”
The building integrates a ground level plaza and elevated terraces that provide an additional 56,500 sf of programmable open space compared to the original site. These public spaces are capable of hosting a wide range of outdoor programming, including a market galleria and the existing public ice rink. A cultural venue is embedded at the heart of the building, with street level access and a dedicated park.
The site will be anchored by office spaces designed to create a hub for the growing tech industry within the greater Los Angeles area. The office complex will be supported by a boutique hotel offering 225 rooms with unobstructed views of the city, beach and mountains. The project will also provide pedestrian improvements such as wide sidewalks, bike lanes, landscaping, street furniture and additional public parking.
The recommendation will be reviewed by Santa Monica’s City Council on August 27th before the project formally proceeds in 2014.
