Location: Los Angeles, CA
Year Designed: 2006
Status: On the Boards
Conceived in homage to Mies van der Rohe's crystalline high-rise concepts of the 1920's, the 1111 Wilshire project will feature prominently in the Los Angeles skyline once complete. The massing of the tower was designed to maximize views and reduce the appearance of bulkiness. A conventional rectangular floor plate was broken in two and slightly shifted to increase the number of true corner units and create a narrow profile while keeping the core and circulation to a minimum.
A channel glass lined podium supports a boutique hotel on the lower floors and open, light-filled residential units above. Several outdoor roof decks are located at various points in the building that provide the residents with breath-taking views all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Related Project: Grayson Penthouse
The Grayson is a contributing building to the Broadway Theatre District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Once Grayson's Department Store, it will be reborn as creative office space with 13' high exposed concrete ceilings and original hardwood floors. The building was originally engineered to support 7 stories but only 5 were built. This created the opportunity to construct a new, distinctly modern 6th floor to cap the building without overloading the existing structural system. The project is located in the heart of the now thriving Historic Core and shares the block with the Grand Central Market, a Red/Purple Line Metro Station and a future stop of the Broadway streetcar.
A development project of David Gray Architect's sister company, Flatiron Development, the Grayson opened in early 2016. It is the new home of David Gray Architects.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Year Designed: 2008 & 2013 redesign
Area: 120,000 sqft.
Units: 96 Live/Work Units
Status: Completed (2014)
The former Metropolitan Water District (MWD) 8-story office tower, designed by acclaimed architect William Pereira and completed in 1973, has been vacant for almost 20 years after MWD departure in 1993. The tower has been restored and converted to 96 residential units, 13 of which are new 2-story penthouses added to the top of the building. The original mid-century office design was adapted and enhanced to create comfortable contemporary loft-like apartments. Stripping the building of some of its dated materials, it has been upgraded with contemporary features while maintaining the original modern architecture.
Set amidst a neighborhood of low-rise buildings, the Elysian affords its residents unobstructed 360-degree views of the entire city from the mountains and downtown Los Angeles to the ocean. The new units are simple clean and modern, each with an open plan allowing and 12' ceilings with 10' of windows and their own private balcony. A new restaurant and outdoor seating area were integrated to the pedestrian level together with the new landscaping and restored fountains, helping to revive an under-served stretch of Sunset Blvd and the neighborhood as a whole.
2017 AIA|LA Residential Honor Award
Location: Pacific Palisades, CA
Year Designed: 2003
Area: 3,400 sqft.
Status: Completed
This house represents a wonderful prototype for "sensitive and neighborly" residential development on descending hillsides. The proposed project incorporates:
1) A low to the ground building envelope and split level design.
2 )A very modest scale.
3) A low-profile roof to maintain views over the top and through the site.
4) Radiant floors for heating and natural cross ventilation for cooling.
5) An outdoor sunken, private, internal court which decreases noise but affords privacy during outdoor activity and allows the existing hillside and vegetation in the rear to remain in its natural canyon state.
Location: McMinnville, OR
Year Designed: 2004
Area: 3,400 sqft.
Status: Completed
The Roberts Residence program calls for a lifestyle of vertical relationships interacting with seamless flow and movement. Conceived as three vertical towers, this + 2500 s.f. house is carved into the gently sloped but heavily forested site. The structure elevates in order to take of advantage of the stunning beauty of the lush green valley framed by Mounts Jefferson and Hood. Philosophically the house orients to the east as a “lantern of light” capturing the primary views during the day and functioning as a beacon at night. Organizationally, the garage level is used to separate the office functions at ground level from the domestic spaces above. Strategically located glazing and low-key, minimalist details reinforce the role of natural light in creating a feeling of openness. Durable, low-maintenance materials provide a sense of permanence for the towers whose upper portions float in the treetops and grow more light and airy as they rise. Because the exterior form is comprised a simple rectilinear volumes, the façade surfaces rely on projecting elements and extensions to respond to natural forces (sun exposure, cross ventilation, rainfall, winds, etc.) At ground level, clean, natural site materials complement the carved effect of the rising tower.
Featured in Trends Magazine.
Location: Telluride, CO
Year Designed: 2005
Area: 4,500 sqft.
Status: Completed
Modeled after Telluride’s famous Pandora Mine, this home is a welcome remembrance of the town’s history. The structure’s steep angled roofline mirrors the terrain, while the use of COR-TEN Steel and cedar board and batten siding are nods to the gracefully aging materials of the late 1800’s.
While its concept is rooted in the past, its functionality and finish are progressive. The home is built on seven levels, stepping up the hillside to overlook the Sneffles Mountains. Locally quarried stone and clear vertical grain Douglass Fir were chosen to match similar materials on neighboring homes and to sustainable design principles for local materials use. The traditional materials are balanced with modern interior finishes such as the Bulthaup kitchen. Caesarstone countertops and ecologically-sound bamboo flooring that create a clean, thoughtful and minimal environment.
Location: Malibu, CA
Year Designed: 2002
Area: 4,000 sqft.
Status: Completed (2003)
The Levine Residence is located on Malibu Road, a meandering street of closely spaced homes with side-yard setbacks typically set at 4 feet. Both the city of Malibu and the Coastal Commission limit the buildable envelope and seaward development in a complex non-related set of zoning ordinances. This results in a difficult balance of creating privacy while opening up views of the ocean. The site drops off steeply between the road and the sand. The wave up-rush comes to a point that is almost to the landward side of the site, requiring sea walls just a few feet from the street and enabling waves to rush under the house during surges.
The solution was to have the house with a frame of steel and curtain wall infill sit on a grid of concrete beams over concrete caissons drilled 30-40 feet into the bedrock below the beach. The corrosiveness of salt air at the ocean limits the number of materials one can use because of deterioration. Our design utilized concrete, steel, Argeton tile, and KalWall for their durability, corrosive resistance and environmental stability. In addition, the steel was treated with a special paint used on oil rigs to resist rust.
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Year Designed: 2014
Area: 79,000 sqft.
Program: 72 units, 11,500 sf retail
Status: Completed
The Grether and Grether Building located at 730 S. Los Angeles Street is a fine example of the commercial / industrial / mercantile loft type building built in Los Angeles in the 1920s. It is surrounded by similar concrete-framed warehouse buildings that were converted to lofts in the early 2000’s and became Santee Court. The building features tall ceilings, exposed concrete floors, walls and columns and large “Soho Loft” style tilt windows, making it ideal for creative loft units.
The building was the “missing link” in Santee Court. It is situated in the middle of the block, surrounded by residential units and fronts the pedestrian alley that forms the spine of the surrounding residential complex. It was developed to be compatible with it’s neighbors and features an expansive roof deck and ample amenity spaces on the existing mezzanine level. At the ground floor, the double-height central gallery space and grand stairway remains and will be lined with small retail shops and a restaurant.
Photos by Hunter Kerhart
