- Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects
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2014
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Atlas Schindler, Halo, Johns Manville, Metal Sales Manufacturing Corp., Milgard, Miracote, Provenza Floors, Shaw, Studco, Takagi, Vista Paint
Text description provided by the architects. Cloverdale749 is located around the block from the historically significant Miracle Mile hub comprising the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the A+D Architecture and Design Museum, and other noteworthy cultural destinations. Adhering to a strategy to maximize land use and capitalize on zoning, the building’s 10,500 square feet push against floor area and density limitations determined by the lot’s size and location. In essence, this project is a volume that cannot expand further.
Cloverdale749’s footprint and volume were determined by zoning and development needs, yet within these parameters LOHA explored the threshold between the unit and the street, establishing a veil of transformable layers that promotes a hybridized relationship between private and public zones.
The project’s façade is a study in juxtaposing simplicity with complexity, celebrating the structure’s volume with a choreographed display of permeable layers. The building envelope introduces a visual fragmentation that allows for varied experiences of privacy along the edges of each unit.
A blurring of interior and exterior spaces is integral to the design and, dependent on viewing and lighting angles, the building’s sheathing reveals and conceals patios. Circulation is pushed to the exterior, eliminating the need for climate-controlled inner hallways. Private open balconies front the street while the rooftop offers decks overlooking the city. Internally, the units feature open plan layouts, illuminated by light that floods in through clerestories and expansive glazing.
The project’s integration with its surroundings is upheld by carefully considered deck, window, and walkway placements so that vistas of the Hollywood Sign and Downtown Los Angeles are highlighted from within.
The form also presents a visually striking contrast on a street otherwise occupied by neutral stucco neighbors so typical of Southern California apartment structures.
This project’s white skin is a powerful statement of contemporary urban optimism that injects a distinct presence into its surrounding historic fabric.
