M.B. BLVD PROJECT 1
MANHATTAN BEACH 2013
LOS ANGELES, CA​
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‘The Gateway to Downtown’
Actual phrasing for the parcel at Highland & M.B. Blvd, as billed in local real-estate listings prior to sale.
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‘Similar in Architectural Appearance to Strengthen the Small Town, Village Atmosphere.’
Excerpt from city planning brief outlining guidelines for all new construction projects proposed within the commercial corridor.
Definition pre-determined and contextual boundaries established (those conceptual and geographical), Project 1 sought queues from site and an ‘extended fabric’ as a justifiable means towards formal autonomy.
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Neither ‘Gate Keeper’ nor ‘Piece to Village Collection’ - an initial strategy set forth a series of subtractive & additive sculpting endeavors struck with clear intention onto the surfaces of a ‘Crystalline Block’.
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Unearthed tectonic lines linking site to pier in the west and site to civic center to the north were projected onto the block - drawing apart a voluminous wedge at the street level on south and east walls. This void, as enclosed in seamless glazing, was further detailed for a main entrance set back from this face and extending in plane as a remnant of the absent volume.
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The wedge as a prism, tapers due north towards the civic center in a focal gesture asking of site, city and casual day stroller for connective consideration. A faceted plaster portal concealing a stair flight behind subtlety details into the prism end so as to minimally influence this experience.
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Center lines defining cross-sectional and longitudinal axes of the block intersect the primary subtractive lines and through a rule set, create a pair of cleaving planes which further shape the medium.
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Floor two, as an additive strategy, saw a new slab of smooth plaster laid thick over the south and east walls. Relieving into this slab with a high degree of geometric exactness produced faceted wells around apertures, allowing for tonal shades of sunlight to cast against angled surfaces in elongated…. drawn out sweeps to the surface.
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Metallic ‘brow frames’ close out these openings, their face surfaces held outwards and in plane with the surrounding plaster surface, again as record of a precise removal of something. As the sole ornaments in an otherwise muted composition, these final dressings of the block announce a hard stop and ‘capping’ of the subtractive sequence.
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It’s contained. Static. – For at least today.
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​Project Credits
​​BFD Team:
​Erik Blanchard, Deborah Fuentes,Peggy Pailian
​Structural Engineer:​​
Melvyn Green and Associate​
Size:
4,000 sq ft
​SIte Area:​
2,700 sq ft​
​Type:
​Mixed Use Commercial
​Design:
2011-2012
​Construction:
2012-2013