PROJECT INFO
Building type:
Public Buildings
Year:
2007
Project Status:
Built
Gross Area:
0 Sqm
Certificates:
LEED v3 BD+C (New Construction) Certified
Climatic zone:
Temperate
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Santa Monica Civic Center Parking Structureprovide 900 parking spaces on six levels above grade and two below grade while visually uniting the tableau of diverse buildings. The design team was additionally challenged to create a building that exemplified the city's commitment to sustainable design while strengthening the urban fabric and providing public amenities.
One of the challenges for this project was to create architecture out of a common building type--one that is not generally associated with high design standards. The design addressed this standard service amenity by viewing it from a fresh perspective and taking it to a higher level where it could have a positive influence on its surroundings.
The building works efficiently at four different levels:
An Urban Solution
The varied amenities incorporated into the Parking Structure allow the designed mass to function beyond its service capacity. The four sides of the building acknowledge the individual urban contexts, thus serving as a fully designed urban presence. Small retail spaces at the pedestrian level expand the building's civic edge, creating a destination as well as a gateway. A lively café on the main plaza terrace animates the pedestrian flow into and out of the heart of the Civic Center. The Zen garden and a commissioned work of art highlight both the inside and the outside of the building, making it more hospitable to the community than an ordinary parking structure.
A Sustainable Structure
The building functions as an efficient sustainable designed structure. Photovoltaic panels on the roof and laminated to three façades of the built mass provide much of the building's energy needs. The array of angled photovoltaic cells serves to accentuate the skyline and provides a memorable symbol for the Civic Center.
All façades allow natural ventilation and illumination to enter all parking floors. The ceilings are painted white to maximize the quality of light and airiness. Multicolored glass panels welcome day-lighting into the Parking Structure, decreasing the amount of artificial light that is generally needed for this type of building while adding a glowing beauty to the interior by day and a luminous exterior by night. The structure becomes a sensor and vessel of light, colors, and patterns, ranging from transparent to translucent.
Increased Safety and Security
The design incorporates several features that provide comfort, safety, and security for users of the Parking Structure. Parking is organized on eight floors, accessed via a centralized circulation spine. The elevator core and stairs are positioned with respect to the two major pedestrian paths in the Civic Center campus. Access and exits have been consolidated at two corners of the building which serve as a control point to efficiently channel both pedestrian and vehicular traffic towards destination points. The reflective surface of the façade can be illuminated after sunset to glow as a shimmering curtain, providing defensible space through a pleasing ambient light.
A Unique Presence: Material Palette
The design does not disguise the utilitarian nature of the building, but instead seeks to celebrate this aspect as part of the design aesthetic. Automobiles, from their colors, types, and movement, are integrated as elements in the overall design strategy. The design solution uses colored laminated glass channels, photovoltaic panels, ribbed pre-cast concrete panels, and steel mesh to render a unique civic presence. The dynamic integration of these materials makes the structure function as an urban curtain in its vibrant context.
AWARDS
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
Natural ventilation
High efficient façade
Photovoltaics
Grey Water Recycling
Regional materials
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY
The structure is one of the first Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified parking structures in the United States. The design features holistic elements of green building, including sustainable building materials, photovoltaic roof shade canopies, which provide all of the building’s energy needs, storm drain water treatment and high efficiency mechanical systems.
The design incorporates several features that respond to sustainability issues:
- Photovoltaic panels on the roof provide most of the building’s energy needs.
- The design reduces heat islands by providing elements such as canopies and photovoltaic panels that facilitate self-shading of the parking structure. Natural concrete is also used for the top-deck surface.
- The design specifies materials with high recycled content, including 25% fly-ash replacement for cement, and recycled-content reinforcing steel and framing.
- The design specifies materials with final assembly points within 500 miles of the project site.
- The design specifies a minimum of 50% of locally manufactured materials to be harvested locally (within 500 miles). These materials include the project’s concrete and reinforcing steel materials.
- The design provides daylighting and views with exterior glazing for all of the regularly occupied building areas including the tenant spaces and café.
ENERGY DATA
Energy consumption:
N/A (N/A )
Consumption type:
Annual carbon footprint:
N/A (N/A )
Climate zone:
Temperate
Min. temperature =
+9
Max temperature =
+ 29
RH =
N/A
CLIENT
Client:
City of Santa Monica
DESIGNERS
Architect:
Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners
Architect:
James Mary O'Connor , John Ruble, Buzz Yudell , Pooja Bhagat, Tim Feigenbutz, Simone Barth, Nozomu Sugawara, Tony Tran, Christopher Jonick , Kaoru Orime , Mark Grand, Halil Dolan, Gerardo Rivero, Jed Bunkowski , Halil Dolan, Haruyuki Yokoyama , International Parking Design (Don Marks, Dirmali Botejue)
CONSULTANTS
Lighting consultant:
Francis Krahe & Associates
Specialist consultant:
Melendrez Design Partners , Mark Lere , Werner Systems
Structural Engineer:
Frame Design Group
CONTRACTORS
Contractor:
ARB , Willis Construction Co
Dealer:
Specialty Glazing Systems
Sub contractor:
Woodbridge Glass
Supplier:
Bendheim , Grosvenor Solutions in Glass , RWE Schott Solar Inc
OTHER PROJECTS BY TEAM
Santa Monica, CA, USA | 2005
Malmö, Sweden | 2001
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