Location:  Los Angeles, California

Client:  Rising Realty Partners

The historic Pacific Mutual campus has undergone a wide range of architectural and interior improvements, attracting many creative office tenants. Overseen by Johnson Fain on behalf of Rising Realty Partners, the project which comprises three historic landmark buildings connecting Grand Avenue to Pershing Square, involved a selective redesign and restoration of 50,000 square feet of public area in these historically significant Parkinson and Parkinson buildings dating from 1908-1926. Although a dedicated Historic Landmark, the owners of the building determined that both functional and visual upgrading were required in order to participate in an extremely competitive leasing environment. Johnson Fain was engaged to study and redesign various areas, including new interior and exterior retail storefronts, graphics and signage, a new drop-off/loading zone for auto arrivals and departures and a new link from the parking garage to the main building lobby. The public lighting system is completely redesigned, enhancing and illuminating the historic public interiors.

Restoration work focused on maintaining the historically significant Beaux Arts main lobby, the architectural stone work, bronze work, building directories, plaster ceiling, historic retail store fronts and the marble flooring. Longer term goals involve restoration of terra cotta and other significant exterior architectural details. Exterior improvements include an 80-foot tall vertical green wall and a landscaped courtyard on Sixth Street accommodating patio dining for new restaurants.

The total project achieves the unification and strategic upgrade of both public spaces and usable tenant space. The correction of nonconforming previous remodeling work is consistent with the historic character of the original building while meeting state-of-the-art life-safety, seismic and ADA requirements. As this building is a historical landmark, on-going coordination of improvements with the Cultural Affairs Department of the City of Los Angeles was an important part of the design process.