1640 14th St Commercial & Offices / HGA

closed

On the ground floor, a 2,500-square-foot restaurant space opens to the paseo and street, creating an inviting community amenity that revives the site for public use. The resulting shared commons, in conjunction with key design elements that seamlessly blend indoor and outdoor experiences, encourage walking and spontaneous gathering. 36,000 square feet of creative office space occupy the building's first, second and third floors in double-height environments daylit by north-facing clerestories. Their curved shape is derived from the curved stick frame roofs of historic warehouses in the area, truncated, they give the building its distinct profile along its main façade as well as animate and define the roofscape. Private outdoor terraces are integrated on all floors for tenant use.1640 14th St's airy design gives expression to a series of objectives set by the client that address the health and productivity of its occupants and enhance the diversity of amenities available to the local community. Amplifying the City of Santa Monica's urban planning objectives, the development increases the walkability of the surrounding area as a pedestrian-focused link in an area split by the interstate that divides North and SouthSanta Monica. A garden paseo connects a park to the north, initiating a series of mid-block passageways in support of a larger civic master plan, designed to create more inclusive pedestrian networks in the range of mass transportation and connected to the coast.Text description provided by the architects.1640 14th St is a ground-up, mixed-use commercial complex commissioned by Los Angeles-based developer Redcar Ltd. and designed by theSanta Monicastudio of HGA. The property was envisioned to serve as a resilient and sustainable platform for a mix of commercial activities focusing on long-term community well-being in the heart of Santa Monica, California. Located in a historically industrial neighborhood on the site of a former tow yard, the three-story urban infill project features three floors of creative office space and a ground-floor, street-facing restaurant—all organized around a central courtyard.Beyond energy efficiency, the overall sustainability of the building is furthered by its capacity to foster the health and wellness of both its occupants and the larger physical and cultural setting in which it resides, as it returns private space to public use. This can be seen in elements such as the building's paseo, a central social feature, landscaped to provide varied opportunities for gathering. The paseo epitomizes the design's emphasis on the importance of nature in contributing to a sense of well-being and its value in creating a setting for socializing and community building that links to all primary circulation pathways on the building's exterior. The rooftop garden continues the close collaboration with the natural environment, where the solar trellises serve a dual purpose in providing shade for tenants to comfortably gather in another outdoor location surrounded by extensive native plantings.Resiliency and sustainability conceived through the lens of human well-being comprehensively inform the building's design and operation and are highlighted through natural ventilation, daylighting and the integration of landscape. A cornerstone element of the building's sustainable design is the trellis-mounted solar photovoltaic system on the rooftop deck that exceeds Santa Monica's current ZNE Reach Code requirements by more than double to reduce its resource footprint burden on municipal infrastructure. Along with multiple passive strategies, the building utilizes natural, regional and locally sourced materials to further limit its carbon footprint, such as locally fabricated custom steel windows and doors. Despite extensive glazing, increased cooling equipment capacity is not needed in the building, and transparency is maintained through the use of high-performing, highly shaded glass that predominantly faces north. Additionally, operable windows in the building's window wall system enable cross-ventilation.