Formosa 1140 / Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects

Mar 2009

Uploaded by Ethel Baraona Pohl — Filed under: Housing ,Selected , AD Project Insights, California, LOHA, Skin, Steel, USA

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Architects: LOHA Architects
Location: West Hollywood, California, USA
Principal in Charge: Lorcan O’Herlihy
Project Team: Katherine Williams (PM), Kevin Tsai, Evan Brinkman, Kevin Southerland
Client: Habitat Group Los Angeles, LLC
Project year: 2008
Constructed Area: 1,486 sqm
Area per unit: 140 sqm aprox.
Photographs: Lawrence Anderson

Located in the heart of West Hollywood, this new eleven unit housing project emphasizes the central importance of shared open space for the residents and the community. Formosa takes what would be the internalized open space of the courtyard and moves it to the exterior of the building to create a park which occupies approximately one third (4,600 sf) of the project site.

As a result of shifting the common open space to the exterior and pushing the building to one side, units are organized linearly allowing for ‘park frontage’ and cross-ventilation for every unit. External circulation is used as a buffer between public and private realms and articulated through layers of perforated metal and small openings.

The careful placement of outer skin panels and inner skin fenestration creates a choreographed effect, both revealing and concealing, while achieving a unique expression of form and materials. The exterior skin also keeps west facing units cooler by acting as a screen and shading device.

The provision of this park space resulted in a series of negotiations between Habitat Group Los Angeles, LLC (Developer), LOHA (Architect) and the City from which a unique, more fluid, model of community planning and development emerged to the benefit of all parties involved. The outcome of these negotiations is the leasing of the park to the City of West Hollywood, to develop as part of a network of pocket parks throughout the City. This effort also helped Habitat Group Los Angeles take advantage of certain incentives and zoning concessions for the proposed building.

This project presents a challenging but influential opportunity in regards to the creation and inclusion of an urban park in a private development. The park is accessible to the public at large, not solely residents with granted permission.

Formosa 1140 contains within its own genetic code the imprint of a larger urban design that will offer some kind of public space back to the city and in so doing, distribute a patchwork of parks across Los Angeles’s formidable grid.

Products in this project

Bathroom Equipment: Reinex, Toto

Tankless Water Heaters by Reinex
Dual-Flush Toilets by Toto

Facades: Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation, Shiplap

Perforated and Solid Corrugated Metal Panels (factory paint finish) by Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation
Exterior Cladding: Wood Stained Cedar Siding by Shiplap

Floor: Premier Flooring

FSC-Certified Wood Flooring by Premier Flooring

Joinery: K&B International, Inc., Ives, Metal Window Corporation, Schlage , Milgard

Pulls by K&B International, Inc.
Locksets by Ives
Metal Doors by Metal Window Corporation
Aluminum Windows by Metal Window Corporation
Custom Thermafoil Cabinetry by K&B International, Inc.
Locksets by Metal Window Corporation
Locksets by Schlage
Aluminum Windows by Milgard

Lighting, Heating, Home/building automation: Intense Lighting, Artemide, LED Rope Lighting, Serge Mouille Lighting, Prolighting

Recessed Downlights by Intense Lighting
Exterior Lighting by Artemide
Interior Ambient Lighting by LED Rope Lighting
Dining room wall light by Serge Mouille Lighting
Exterior Lighting by Prolighting

Roof: Ipe

Roof Decks by Ipe

Staircases, Elevators, Moving walks: Otis

Elevators by Otis

Walls: Atlas Concorde, Frazee Paint

Bathroom Floor and wall tile by Atlas Concorde
Paints and Stains by Frazee Paint

: site plan

: cross section

: park diagram

Cite:
Baraona Pohl , Ethel . "Formosa 1140 / Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects" 07 Mar 2009. ArchDaily. Accessed 07 Feb 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/16194>

Comments (11)
Tweets (16)
Links to this entry (11)

whitney sander says:

Lorcan:

Really beautiful work, sir! My compliments on an interesting and wonderful project.

Whitney

# March 7, 2009 at 22:32

saakshi says:

very interesting work….grt levels created

# March 8, 2009 at 06:00

Mike Mecanics says:

Really Nice!!

# March 8, 2009 at 10:55

dennis says:

very nice work, at first I thought it was reworked shipping containers, which I am always fascinated by.

# March 8, 2009 at 18:17

Miguel Sá, Arqt says:

I loved the visual effect, color and volume of the project

adorei o efeito visual, volumétrico e cromático do projecto

# March 9, 2009 at 08:06

hung dang says:

personally speaking, this building is very good. it solves effectively between public space and private one. that gives interest for building and around area. this is very different in my country.

# March 11, 2009 at 05:35

Sinking Cities says:

I like this project. I stopped by it a few times while it was under construction and it looked great. All of the units sold quickly which is surprising with the housing crisis, especially in Los Angeles.

# July 17, 2009 at 23:16

Tosh says:

It’s ok. Most of it is just junk though.. no matter how u justify it.

# March 17, 2010 at 12:14

Garima says:

The facade caught my attention! it has exciting spaces making it stand out ..
could anybody tell me what the ‘red’ coloured material is?

# March 31, 2010 at 13:10

Carly says:

Garima,

The red that you see are metal panels from Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation — Specifically 36″ T16-E Siding

# June 6, 2011 at 11:10

maggy antikyan says:

To start with, I’m in love with the embossing and lego look of the facade. I am doing a case study on this project and am wondering if there is any way to get floor plans or a 3d model of the building.

-Maggy

# September 18, 2010 at 19:45

5:04 PM Aug 26th

Beverly Parks

Shared open space for the residents and the community is what's hot at the Formosa. http://bit.ly/a1sQ3Q

4:54 PM Sep 21st

RUI ZHOU

Red, red..:P
http://t.co/GISLbOO via @archdaily

5:46 PM Nov 19th

Peter Scott

WILD! – Formosa 1140 / Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects | ArchDaily http://t.co/wuLZshN via @archdaily

5:56 PM Nov 19th