Redcar Properties - 14th Street

Blending Indoor and Outdoor Experiences in a Mixed-use Space

HGA worked with Redcar Properties on this ground up regenerative and sustainable space for a mix of commercial activities in the historically industrial section of Santa Monica. The site is a former tow yard flanked by blank warehouses and car repair lots, reinvigorating this infill site, the design addresses the wellness of its occupants and expands amenities available to the community. Its position in the neighborhood creates a key link between the Pico neighborhood and the light rail line at Colorado, increasing neighborhood walkability and safety. In addition, the paseo serves as the initial connective element in the larger civic master plan that seeks to create more inclusive pedestrian network through this district.

The program is organized around a side courtyard that links the street to the alley and upper levels via a social paseo, providing access to a dead-end alley and shortening a block defined by large blank façade structures. A restaurant opens onto the street and paseo, creating an inviting community amenity directly across from Memorial Park. The paseo is defined by a range of scales and solar coverage with a generous stepped landscape to the 2nd level and a sky light stair to the parking to encourage personal mobility. Creative office space occupies the building’s second and third floors and a series of clerestories bring in abundant northern light.

Responding to its ubiquitous LA warehouse context, the design utilizes efficient ruled surface roof structures to create a series of north facing clerestories that add volume and northern light, with the pitched forms revealing themselves at the elevations. Material choices are intentionally humble: CMU, CIP, and heavy timber are executed in a reductive manner. Indoors and outdoors are integrated at all levels. Notable sustainable features include: extensive north facing glazing, operable windows for cross ventilation, an advanced storefront screening strategy, abundant vegetation, and a solar capacity well in excess of requirements.