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Moss creating two more experiments in Culver City By Sam Lubell
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Conjunctive Points Theater Complex (top) and Gateway Arts Tower (bottom). Images courtesy Eric Owen Moss Architects.
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L.A. architect Eric Owen Moss, known for his unorthodox structures, says that the novelty of creating these projects has faded somewhat since technology gives most firms similar capabilities. Nevertheless, the architect is planning two very experimental projects in Culver City, California, that will anchor Hayden Tract, a local development with office, retail, and performing arts components. Moss has already designed several unusual buildings nearby, with names like Stealth, Beehive, The Box, Samitaur, and Umbrella.
The project that is furthest along is the Gateway Arts Tower, which will be a 72-foot-tall, 30-foot-wide building located at a prominent corner of the neighborhood. The steel-framed structure will mark the development and serve as a gathering space. The building will be made up of stacked, steel-framed, truncated cones, which cantilever from an armature. Each mesh-covered segment, slightly more than 10 feet high, will be backlit by projectors. The 1,486-square-foot building is expected to be complete by the end of this year.
The more ambitious project is the Conjunctive Points Theater Complex, a twisting building that will be located about three blocks south of the Gateway Tower. The mixed-use complex will hold three theaters, retail space, and public spaces, such as an amphitheater, a plaza, and a park.
The east end of the theater will be bent upward to accommodate a 750-seat theater-in-the-round and to take advantage of nearby views. The west end will gradually twist 90 degrees, accommodating a two-level, 1,650-seat thrust-stage theater, as well as the building’s entrance. The 100-by-100-foot central portion of the building will contain five glass-enclosed retail blocks on the lower floors and office space above.
Moss says the curving form will accommodate diverse programmatic components, give the space a natural acoustic sculpturing, and allow the building to be taller when facing downtown and less intrusive facing residential neighborhoods.
The building’s twists will be created by concrete frames extended from a system supporting the subterranean garage levels. A secondary system of bent, steel-pipe frames wraps this structure, supporting the building’s exterior surface. The project should be completed by 2009.
May 2006 |
