Picasso Pasadena Apartments

Walnut & Marengo, Pasadena, CA

Client:

Walnut Marengo Investors, LLC

Lot Size:

1.15 Acres – 50,372 sf

Leasable Area:

72,093 sf

Circulation Area:

17,965 sf

Total Area:

89,848 sf

Open Space Provided:

21,611 sf

Units:

100 Market-Rate Apartments

Parking:

128 Residential & Guest Stalls

Density:

87 du/ac

Status:

Design Development

Offering luxury living accommodations within walking distance to the MTA Goldline Memorial Park Station, this transit-oriented development is a 100-unit project directly across the street from VTBS’ award-winning mixed-use development, the Holly Street Village. Utilizing the slope next to the tracks by providing subterranean parking for its residents and guests, the building is five stories with a roof-top pool, large open terrace and central motor-court. Dwelling arrangements consist of two types of studio apartments as well as three 1-bedroom options and two 2-bedroom plans for residents to choose from.

THE PLAZA AT SANTA MONICA

Santa Monica, CA
Mixed-use residential, Hotel & Commercial

Design Team:

OMA / Rem Koolhaas – OLIN Landscape Architects – VTBS Architects

Client:

City of Santa Monica

Area:

2.5 Acres

Hotel:

120,000 sf

Office/Residential:

245,000 sf

Cultural Area:

12,000 sf

Retail:

43,000 sf

Total Area:

420,000 sf

Parking:

1,200 Stalls

Estimated Budget:

$300 Million

Status:

Design Development

The City of Santa Monica has selected the development team of Metropolitan Pacific Capital, Clarett West Development and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners to transform a 2.5-acre downtown site into an iconic Mixed-Use development at the intersection of 4th and Arizona in the heart of Santa Monica, one block from the Third Street Promenade. VTBS Architects has partnered with internationally renowned firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) to bring this exemplary project to fruition.

The proposed project, called the Plaza at Santa Monica, will include 3 acres of open space thanks to an innovative design which creates tiered rooftop plazas across multiple building levels. The upper levels and rooftop deck will contain approximately an acre and a half of open space. These open spaces complement over an acre of public plaza and smaller pocket parks on the ground and second levels of the project.

The development’s uses include ground-floor retail, a public ground-floor cultural space, creative office space, market rate and affordable housing, and a 225-room boutique hotel. The site will include 1,220 parking spaces.

Movietown

West Hollywood, CA

Client:

Casden Properties LLC

Lot Size:

3 AC

Density:

4 FAR – 124 du/ac
Pending LEED Certification

This project is a true mixed-use blend of retail, commercial and residential elements with 20,000 sf of retail, 304 condominiums and 76 senior rental units. Parking is subterranean. The project has substantial common open space, community recreational facilities and other various amenities. A public plaza, attractive building facade articualtion, and streetscape imporvement are planned to create a dynamic street-level environment for pedestians.

Greenwich Place

West Hollywood, CA

Client:

Turnberry/Regent LLC

Lot Area:

3 Acres – 130,000 sf

Area:

250,000 sf

Units:

104 Market Rate Condos
10 Townhomes
35 Affordable Units

Density:

1.96 FAR

Located in West Hollywood, CA, adjacent to the Southern California Design District and the Pacific Design Center, Greenwich Place is comprised of residential condominiums and affordable residences, bringing affordable housing opportunities to an up-scale neighborhood. The design calls for 104 units in the main structure with 6 townhouses at the north end of the site and 4 townhouses on the south side. Previously entitled as a mid-century brownstone walk-up design, Greenwich Place is in the approval process for redesign of the aesthetic of the exterior of the buildings.

AUGUSTINE BOWERS

Santa Clara, CA

Four, High-Rise Office & Retail Buildings

Lot Area:

31 Acres

Office Space:

1,029,600 sf

Retail:

35,000 sf

Total Building Area:

2, 004,600 sf

Density:

1.5 FAR

Status:

Sited in the heart of the Silicon Valley of Northern California, Augustine Bowers is designed as an office campus comprised of 4 high-rise office and retail buildings amidst a network of open park and public gathering areas.   Designed as the Gateway to Santa Clara, Augustine Bowers includes 35,000 square feet of retail servicing the surrounding neighborhood as well as the commercial occupants.

Pasadena 201

Los Angeles, CA

Client:

Greystar

Lot Area:

2.32 Acres -100,997 sf

Commercial Area:

11,068 sf

Building Area:

403,603 sf

Density:

2.25 FAR

Units:

201 Units

Status:

Design Development

This vibrant new five-story community is being developed to vitalize and enhance historic Old Town Pasadena,  offering 201 new luxury residences in 16 unit configurations and 11,000 sf of neighborhood-serving retail.

Local design precedents have been employed in the form of archways, smooth stucco walls with deeply set windows, trellises, decorative tile work, tiled gabled roofs, ground level arches with “main street” storefronts, abundant landscaping, and metalwork creating a project that will integrate naturally into the existing cityscape while offering fresh amenities to an up-scale clientele.

With the simplified, streamlined take on the Mediterranean style, the building’s elevations rely on significant changes in the wall plane and overall massing modulation to provide complexity and interest to the design, not applied ornament.  Enhanced breezeways interrupt the corridors in fairly regular intervals and serve as connections to the courtyards.

The mixed-use building meets the street and public realm with a combination of a pedestrian arcade and retail and restaurant storefronts defined by a complement of flat and round arches.  The pedestrian arcade runs along the street edge in front of the apartment lobby and leasing space to create a transitional zone to buffer the residential use from the street edge.  A tower element anchors the street level court and provides a visual sign post for the apartment lobby entrance.  Resident and retail parking areas have been configured to encourage an easy and clear access to the street-edge entrances through passageways and the courtyard.