Four Local Building Projects Honored for Architectural Excellence and Community Impact
The Los Angeles Business Council’s 54 Annual Architectural Awards gave four awards to four building projects for “celebrating designs that preserve and advance the city’s legacy as a creative capital and foster vibrant, inclusive community life,” in Culver City.
“This year the LABC is honoring projects whose inspired designs build on L.A.’s heritage and move the city toward a dynamic future, said Mary Leslie, president of the Los Angeles Business Council. “From renewing entertainment venues and creative workspaces to reimagining parks, schools, and housing, our honorees exemplify the power of architecture to serve the public good, foster progress, and build community.”
These are the four buildings that were awarded prizes in three different categories:
Community Impact Award
The Culver Studios
The Culver Studios is one of the entertainment industry’s most treasured independent film and television studios. Originally built in 1918 by silent movie pioneer Thomas Ince, The Culver Studios has been home to some of the most famous productions in Hollywood history, including Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane and E.T. Hackman Capital Partners, which purchased the studio in 2014, embraced the studio’s star-studded legacy with an Innovation Plan to completely modernize the lot—more than doubling its size—for next-generation entertainment. All while preserving the site’s historic structures.
The now 720,850-square-foot campus includes the iconic Mansion and bungalows, five brand new buildings, totaling 554,000 square feet, and two parking structures with 1930 spaces. All in all, the campus offers 619,850 square feet of creative office and state-of-the-art production support space, six stages totaling 92,000 square feet, and 7,000 square feet of stage support space.
Design Architect: Gensler | Contractor: Swinerton | Building Owner & Developer: Hackman Capital Partners | Tenant: Amazon
Renovated Projects
Sony Pictures Scenic Arts Building
The iconic Sony Pictures Scenic Arts Building, designed by RIOS and Sony Pictures, has been transformed into a multipurpose event space that honors Hollywood’s craftmanship legacy. The project added significant new production office space while achieving Fitwel certification and LEED Gold, preserving the building’s history while modernizing facilities.
Design, Landscape, Interior Architect: Rios | Contractor: Hathaway Dinwiddie | Building Owner & Developer: Sony Pictures Entertainment
800 | 900 Culver Pointe
800|900 Culver Pointe is a vibrant office campus embodying the West Coast lifestyle. Located in Culver City, the project included renovating the lobby, common spaces, & restrooms, thoughtfully connecting indoor & outdoor spaces. The site transformation includes a stunning lobby with new finishes, hangar-style bifold façade & entry doors, a glass-enclosed atrium, & a new cafe & fitness facility.
Architect of Record: Rios | Contractor: Morley Builders / Benchmark Contractors, Inc. | Building Owner & Developer: Northwood Investors LLC
Workplace
Nadel Headquarters
This design for an office headquarters embodies the company’s values as inclusive and forward-thinking and creates a healthy employee environment through ample daylight, connections to the outdoors, and natural materials. The interior layout creates a spatial sequence that tells the company story while visually connecting interior spaces to the outdoors or for natural daylight.
Executive Architect: Standard Architecture/Design | Contractor: Slater Construction | Building Owner & Developer: Nadel