Office

When downtown Los Angeles' office buildings first started sprouting up, the city had a very different attitude about civic plazas. Most of those spaces were empty, windswept concrete yards, not places of dynamic urban activity or real civic engagement. AC Martin’s recent renovation of a modernist plaza outside this major downtown high-rise is a good example of how this attitude has changed. Solutions implemented on this project include:

• A once-barren space was filled with an intricate network of elements that would make it as walkable, sittable, and people-friendly.
• A diagonal pattern of stone pavers, which lead visitors to and from the main entry embraces the urban grid.
• Artful use of illuminated colored glass boxes lining the entryways provide clear wayfinding.
• Alternating light and dark pavers and Palo Verde trees that create dappled light help to offset the heat island effect.
• The new landscape design, comprised mostly of droughttolerant succulent gardens in dark brown oxidized Cor-ten steel planter boxes. Water features, seating areas, and orange umbrellas were added to provide a lush protective backdrop against the bustling city traffic.
• The buildingís terraced storefronts were re-imagined to include new steel blade signage that not only unifies the facades but also gives the shops a new sophistication.

444 South Flower - Landmark

The former Los Angeles headquarters building for Wells Fargo Bank (renamed Citigroup Center) is set back from the northeast corner of 5th and Flower Streets, in the heart of the central city. This 1,264,550 SF, stepped tower rises 48 stories above a four-level, tiered base interwoven with garden offices, plazas and pedestrian bridges. These bridges connect with the City National Plaza Garage on the north and the Bonaventure Hotel across Flower Street. The site is handled as a transitional development, connecting upper Bunker Hill with the downtown financial community.

Energy efficient design solutions for the steel framed structure include mirrored insulating glass windows, and a stainless steel skin for more effective atmosphere corrosion resistance. With the stepped tower design, the facade steps counter the elevator bank drop-offs, as the building rises, providing constant lease depth. There are four elevator banks with a total of 22 elevators in all (5 low-rise, 6 low-mid-rise, 5 mid-high rise, 5 high-rise and 1 freight elevator.) The leasing depths vary from 49 feet in parts of the low-rise floors, to 35 feet in parts of the high-rise floors. The gross square footage per floor is 23,765 in the low -rise floors; 22,865SF in the mid-low; 19,140 SF in the mid-high rise, and 15,415 SF in the high-rise floors. A substantial amount of on-site parking is provided by a three-level parking structure under the tower.

In 2008 the Hines Company acquired the property and AC Martin designed the renovation for the plaza, transforming it into an exciting new public space for the building and the city.

444 South Flower - Plaza Renovation

One of the largest skyscraper developments in the West, ARCO Plaza (renamed City National Plaza) is strategically located in the center of the downtown Los Angeles financial and business community on an approximate four-acre site, with immediate access to the freeway system.

Set on an inclined site, the twin 52-story towers rise 699 feet from an openly designed, granite paved plaza at the Flower Street level with a "jewel box" office located between. The three buildings house 10,000 people in approximately 2,500,000 SF of floor space. On-site parking for 450 cars is provided in a one-level garage below the plaza, supplemented by an off-site structure for 2,350 cars. Below the on-site garage is a completely enclosed two-level, air conditioned shopping concourse of more than 53 shops and restaurants.

The buildings have a structural frame of steel covered with highly polished panels of forest green granite and panels of solar bronze glass, set in a disciplined pattern of extreme simplicity.

AC Martin designed this 1,000,000-SF, 52-story landmark office tower on the site bounded by Wilshire Boulevard, Sixth Street and Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles.

Rotated 45 degrees from the grid of the City, the building includes a plaza with a major fountain at the corner of Sixth and Wilshire and ground floor amenities, such as high quality fast food and retail shops, a large mezzanine, and a very high, dramatic lobby space. Specifically oriented to users such as large banks, legal and accounting firms, the building is configured to provide 25,000-SF floors with a 42-foot lease depth.

The overall result of this design is an elegant building with a dynamic base, rich in architectural space and character. The relatively simple middle section of the tower is highly functional, yet pleasing in composition, and the special form of the top adds strong identity to the Los Angeles skyline. The building has a very elegant and refined composition with many vertical elements, giving the tower a graceful appearance.

Direct Relief is a non-profit firm providing Medical Disaster Relief Material to hard-hit communities worldwide. We provided architectural services for their new 159,000 sf Headquarters and Distribution facility located in Santa Barbara, CA. This project features 122,000 sf of warehouse space, 3,400 sf cold storage, and a 34,000 sf 2-story office. The office includes several large assembly spaces to accommodate volunteers.

The MAG-LITE headquarters consists of a 30-acre, 750,000 sf facility employing 1,200 people and housing the administrative offices, machining, fabrication, finishing, assembly, warehousing, shipping and receiving functions for the flashlight manufacturer. 

Synaptics Incorporated hired our firm and MAI Industries to design, remodel, and expand one building for current and future use.

The project is a 7,500 sf free standing addition to the existing Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) named the Student/Teacher Learning Annex; a new facility for the North Coast School of Education, teacher credentialing program as well as other SCOE educational programs. The building includes four 960 sf classroom spaces separated by movable walls that can be combined in a number of configurations, depending on the need. There is also a 1,400 sf Networking Commons, where students and teachers can meet individually or in groups. This collaboration space is equipped with power, WiFi, and HDTV. The lounge includes a kitchen with enough space for having coffee, on-the-go meals, or even accommodate larger catered events. Two hoteling office spaces allow for private meetings or conferencing. Glass partitions with pivot doors separate the classrooms from the Networking Commons allowing the spaces to be opened for larger events and an overhead garage door that opens the space up into the outdoor patio.

This 400,000 GSF tower, located in the financial district of the city, serves as corporate headquarters for one of Singapore’s leading residential real estate developers.

Located on a very restricted urban site, and surrounded by high rise structures, typical floor plates are only 12,000 square feet. The tower includes two floors of executive penthouse apartments and a corporate conference center. To maximize lease depths and floor efficiencies and capitalize upon significant but limited views, the elevator core is offset to the rear of the site. The design includes raised floors for flexibility in accommodating telecommunications and computer equipment.

To create a landmark image at the street level, the 33-story tower is raised 15 meters above the streetscape, allowing for a main lobby of monumental proportions, surrounded by a tropical garden at the street level with a lower level link with the adjacent subway station. An auto parking facility for 200 cars is located above the lobby and forms a base element to receive the tower building.

The top of the tower is capped by an illuminated lantern to create a dramatic, glowing landmark in the Singapore evening skyline.

Union Bank Plaza was the first project within the Bunker Hill development area and is located on an approximately three acre site immediately adjacent to the Harbor Freeway. The tower is a 42-story structure and is positioned on a landscaped plaza which has been developed on top of a four level parking structure housing 1,100 cars. This plaza is extended by a bridge over Figueroa Street, to the plaza of the Bonaventure Hotel to the east.

The building itself contains 590,000 net rentable square feet and the total gross square footage is approximately 1,240,000.

The basic building system is a rigid frame, steel structure with exterior columns at 14 feet centers and a cellular steel floor with concrete fill. This was the first building within Los Angeles to use all interior stairways, providing a more efficient net usable area per floor, and utilizing an off-site central power plant.

The distinctive facade achieves its architectural unity through use of bronze colored, solar glass window wall, recessed approximately four feet within the framing system and utilizing horizontal sun control louvers. All exterior offices are afforded excellent views of the attractively landscaped plaza, Bunker Hill and the City of Los Angeles from Mt. Baldy to the sea.