Architecture

Patterned after a Mediterranean hillside village, the eclectic architectural style and varied color palette of 360° Luxury Apartments helps to break up the building massing of this high density 1,800-unit development. An impressive array of contemporary art is featured throughout the community in public plazas, pool terraces and more secluded courtyards. A full range of resort-level amenities, concierge services and resident-serving retail make this apartment home community feel more like a destination resort.

Situated on a pair of narrow mid-block lots, this 29-story mixed-use development in LA’s Financial District spans two city streets with pedestrian-friendly commercial spaces and residential lobby entrance at the ground level. Views to the above-grade parking structure are shielded on both street frontages by façade designs comprised of residential units, resident amenity spaces and translucent channel glass. Inspired by the indoor-outdoor lifestyle of Southern California, 205 residential units feature large open-air living spaces. Whether entertaining guests or enjoying a relaxing afternoon at home, residents can open a full-width sliding glass wall system to transform their unit. The result is a seamless blending of indoor and outdoor space. Residents choose from an array of landscaped terraces including a rooftop terrace on the tower’s 29th level, a spacious terrace on the 8th level including passive seating areas, a sculptural water feature and dog run, and a pool and spa deck with private cabanas on the 12th level.

This 35-story development is Manufacturers Life (Manulife) Insurance Company's second major office project in the financial core of the downtown area. The building contains approximately 852,000 SF of office space serviced by a seven-level parking structure. AC Martin provided full architectural and engineering services for the building, which is clad in polished red granite with reflective bronze glazing.

The street-level area, paved in a rough, flamed-finished granite, is accented with landscaping and major sculptural water elements. This area encompasses the retail and restaurant area and surrounds a sunlit main lobby featuring 27-foot high ceilings and glassed-in areas. Anchoring the project is a 25,000 SF plaza bordering its northwest corner. Parking for the project is provided in a seven-level parking structure for 850 cars. The poured-in-place concrete structure incorporates granite panels pinned to the exterior to complement the tower. Landscape is carefully developed at the public edges to provide pedestrian amenities.

The City of Burbank has promoted new pedestrian oriented standards in its Downtown District, including 12’ to 15’ wide sidewalks. Situated to take advantage of this enhanced pedestrian connectivity, the AC Hotel site is located next to the newly renovated Burbank Town Center and cater corner to a new mixed-use residential development. Known as “The Media Capital of the World,” Burbank appeals to movie and television companies and new economy creative types in general. The hotel’s architectural design taps into this sophisticated market through a clean and modernistic design aesthetic realized in a soberly exuberant play of building mass and skin, quality materials and color. Featuring 196 guest rooms, the L-shaped hotel opens to the intersection of N. 3rd Street and E. Cypress Avenue with a 7,500 sf open air plaza punctuated with a public art fountain where the public can lounge freely. From here visitors and guests can enter to find the hotel lobby and bar, and take an elevator to a 6th floor open viewing terrace. The 3,800 sf hotel restaurant is also available to the public and has outdoor seating along the expansive 3rd Street sidewalk. A 2nd level pool deck, designed for the exclusive use of hotel guests, overlooks the corner plaza below.

The Alderson Business Park – Seventh Street Development was an honoree for the 2017 Irwindale Environmental Water Sustainability Award. The 10 acre, 195,130 sf state of the art mission-style development consists of five free standing buildings. It is located in the prime western San Gabriel Valley, making it the perfect space to house budding businesses. Each building includes 5,570 sf of two-story executive offices, large fenced private yards, 26-foot minimum clear height, dock-high and grade level loading, and abundant parking. The buildings also feature large lunette windows, which allow natural light to cascade through the offices.

San Bernardino County commissioned a new medical office building at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center Campus in Colton, California. The 3-story, 66,000 sf structure is a steel brace-framed with a slab-on-grade foundation. Exterior walls and core construction are tilt-up, reinforced concrete. The interior is built-out to meet commercial medical office building standards. The building exterior design is intended to be compatible with existing Hospital and Mental Health buildings, while introducing volumetric and tonal complexity. This project received LEED Silver Certification.

AXIS Apartments is comprised of two separate but nearby urban infill sites in the South Park district of Downtown Los Angeles. Both projects relate to the neighboring historic Herald Examiner building, built in 1914 and designed by Hearst Castle architect Julia Morgan. "AXIS on Twelfth" has achieved LEED Silver Certification and features a unique street corner canopy detail reflecting the predominant geometric pattern found on the historic structure. A new landscaped paseo will be shared with the soon to be renovated Herald Building and "AXIS on Eleventh". Owned and developed by Forest City, the two sites total 391 apartments, averaging 740 sf in area, and total 16,000 sf of street-level retail space. The firm of Harley Ellis Devereaux was the design architect on the project.

The project is a 94,000 sf concrete tilt-up spec distribution facility at 4490 Ayers Avenue in the City of Vernon, CA, located in an older industrial area. The exterior design represents a new level of detailing and use of materials that sets a new standard for aesthetics in the area. Camfield Partners had asked us to come up with a contemporary statement that would distinguish their project from any other in the vicinity yet maintain a visual connection to the older urban-industrial history. The resulting design is unique while meeting the budget target of of the client. The project has raised the bar for others in the Los Angeles industrial core, has placed Camfield Partners as a leader in the area of development, and has established our firm as a leading industrial design firm for this market.

Located on a 2-acre site in the heart of Los Angeles’ Chinatown, Blossom Plaza is a mixed-use, transit oriented, gateway development. The project serves as the main pathway from Chinatown’s Historic District to the elevated MTA Gold Line station through Blossom Plaza’s Cultural Plaza and commercial arcade. In addition to over 33,000 SF of public plazas and courtyards, Blossom Plaza features 20,000 SF of retail space and 237 apartments including 53 affordable units. AC Martin collaborated closely with Forest City and Johnson Fain, the client and design architects on the project respectively.

Caroline Severance Manor is a mixed-use affordable housing development of 85 units with a ground level childcare center. Over 50% of the units are dedicated to families with special needs. The site is ideally located along the commercial corridor along 8th Street in Koreatown and is within close proximity to parks, mass transit and retail. The design of the building is contemporary, with inspiration from the adjacent First Unitarian Church. Elements of renaissance, classic and mission revival were integrated into the building elevations, massing and materials. This Type III over Type I podium building is six stories, with two levels of underground parking. This project takes advantage of incentives in the City of Los Angeles’ affordable housing incentives ordinance.