Shlemmer+Algaze+Associates Moving to Downtown LA

Commercial interiors and architecture firm Shlemmer+Algaze+Associates (SAA) is in the process of adding another Southern California office in the unused lobby of Paul Hastings Tower in City National Plaza in Downtown Los Angeles. The new office will be in the same complex as Gensler’s new home, which gained so much attention in recent months.

According to Downtown LA blogger Brigham Yen, SAA leased the northern half of the Paul Hastings Tower’s lobby and elevator banks—formerly underutilized because the tower’s office workers enter and exit through the side facing the central plaza, leaving the 4,000 square foot space unused. SAA’s new space will house 22 architects. The interiors for the new office, pictured above and below, were designed by Steven Drucker, design principal of SAA.

Report from VantageForum 2011 - Real Estate's View

FORM was media sponsor for the Vantage Forum 2011, an annual day-long symposium put on by UCLA Ziman School and ULI this January 11. It was a series of panel discussions featuring high-powered people from real estate divided roughly into 4 topics: Housing, Office, Retail, and Capital Markets.

I can’t say there was any earth-shattering news. We all suspect that the economy is recovering via some combination of government stimulus, cash too long on the sidelines, and simple recession fatigue. Nevertheless, there were a lot of great take-aways that might be guiding principles for marketing strategies in the design business.

First and foremost, where is the money? It turns out the retailers have it--not retail developers, but retailers like Safeway. Fascinating story: Safeway needed to expand, but the developers that normally build their centers could not get financing. Safeway had regular cash flow and started its own development company. It uses its highly tuned in-house demographics operation to ID compatible partners (eg. Target) to build new centers with.

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40th Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards Announced

*Click on project links to see image galleries.

Grand Prize sponsored by MACERICH
LAPD Police Administration Building
Architect: AECOM in a joint venture with Roth Sheppard Associates
Contractor: Tutor-Saliba Corporation
Building Owner/Developer: City of Los Angeles, Department of Public Works, Bureau of Engineering

Civic Awards sponsored by DIFFENBAUGH
Civic - #1
California Science Center - Phase II - Ecosystems
Architect: EHDD/ZGF A Joint Venture
Contractor: Morley Builders
Building Owner/Developer: California Science Center Education Award sponsored by AECOM

Civic - #2
The Annenberg Community Beach House at Santa Monica State Beach
Architect: Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects
Contractor: Charles Pankow Builders, Ltd.
Building Owner/Developer: City of Santa Monica, Community & Cultural Services

Education Awards sponsored by AECOM
Education - Public
South Campus Project, Los Angeles Trade Technical College
Architect: MDA Johnson Favaro / Gruen Associates
Contractor: Taisei Corporation
Building Owner/Developer: Los Angeles Community College District

Education - Private
Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Caltech
Architect: Morphosis Architects
Contractor: Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company
Building Owner/Developer: California Institute of Technology

Green Building - Awarded to City of LA Police Stations - sponsored by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP
Hollenbeck Area Community Police Station
Architect: AC Martin Partners
Contractor: FTR International
Building Owner/Developer: City of Los Angeles

L.A.P.D. Harbor Replacement Station and Jail
Architect: Perkins + Will
Contractor: Pinner Construction Co., Inc.
Building Owner/Developer: City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering Prop Q Program

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