Set just east of the iconic intersection of Hollywood and Vine, the Metro Portal and Plaza situates itself on a highly trafficked block on one of the world’s most famous stretches of urban streetscape.

Rios Clementi Hale Studios was commissioned to create a covered entryway for an existing Metro subway stop, and an engaging plaza surrounding it.  Bordered on three sides by a multi-use project, the entry canopy and adjacent common areas artfully merge into the ground plane of Hollywood Boulevard, serving as a pedestrian threshold and grand “front door” for the elegant W Hollywood Hotel and W Residences—which rise up just behind—and a gracious arrival point for Metro Red Line riders.  After the break you will find more photographs and detail text about the Metro Portal and Plaza.

Architects: Rios Clementi Hale Studios
Location: Hollywood, California, United States
Design Team: Frank Clementi, AIA, AIGA, Mark Rios, FAIA, FASLA, Samantha Harris, ASLA, LEED AP, Jon Black, Tanya Patsaouras, Therese Kelly, Claudia Morello
W Hotel Architect/Executive Portal and Plaza Architect: HKS
Developer: Gatehouse Capital; HEI Hospitality Fund
Contractor: Webcor
W Hotel and Station Hollywood Interior Design: Design Studio Ltd.
Signage: Sussman/Prejza
Lighting: Kaplan Gehring McCarroll Architectural Lighting
Client: Gatehouse Capital; Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
Project Area: 14,800 sqf (including W Station Hollywood lounge)
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Tom Bonner