What Say You: In Defense of Fun in Architecture

  A block model of Santa Monica shows the downtown area and the concept plan for the 4th St, 5th St. and Arizona Ave. project.  The building levels are created by a series of "hinged bars" to allow the plaza and the building roofs to be used as public outdoor space with views to the ocean and the mountains.  Concept design by OMA.  

photo credit OMA

What Say You:  In Defense of Fun in Architecture

SUSAN CLOKE

Columnist

Architecture has been in the news in Santa Monica, but not in a good way. Now, in the midst of all the noise of development, comes another project.  Located on Arizona Ave between 4^th and 5^th Streets.  And this time the client is the City of Santa Monica.

After a selective process the City partnered with John Warfel of Pacific Metropolitan Capital to lead the project development and the architecture firm OMA, (Office of Metropolitan Architecture) led by Rem Koolhaas to design the project.

Koolhaas is an architect on a quest for making meaningful architecture representing the culture and ethos of time and place.  Koolhaas is as well known for his thinking and writing about architecture, cities, and how people use buildings and public spaces as he is for his design work.  U.S. projects include the Seattle Public Library and the Milstein Hall at Cornell University.   http://www.oma.eu/projects

With the defeat of the Hines proposed project a warning shot has been fired, not for the first time, across the bow of large-scale development in Santa Monica.  Criticism is mainly focused on scale and density but often accompanied with comments that the architecture was boring, dull, not fun, not Santa Monica.

On May 15 about 75 Santa Monicans came together at the Main Library for a presentation of concept designs of the Arizona Ave, 4^th St., 5^th St. project.  Currently named the Plaza at Santa Monica.  http://theplazaatsantamonica.com/

Shohei Shigematsu, the OMA partner representing the firm at the Santa Monica meeting, introduced the firm and talked about the way OMA thought about the project.  “We embraced the culture and the climate of Santa Monica and we focused on the public realm.  The concept is one of a series of open, hinged bars. This allows us to follow the California tradition of bringing the outside in and the inside out.”

The project proposal is for a public building that includes commercial and retail areas, affordable housing (working with Community Corps), a children’s museum, plazas and parks, public events, terraces, a hotel, residences and the ice rink.

Shigematsu said, “Transportation and parking are major concerns in Santa Monica.  We will design to make this a fun and easy place to walk.  The sidewalks will be wide and have good street furniture.  It is also designed for transit connections, for bike users and has a strong Transportation Demand Management program (TDM – a program which mandates measures to reduce parking and traffic to the site, especially at peak travel times.)  Parking lots will be day lit with skylights.”

OMA added to the transit connections by showing a playful option for bringing back the historic gondolas to connect the Plaza to the Pier and beach.

Two versions of the project were presented.  One at 148’ in height and one at 84’ in height.  Both used the hinged bar concept, allowing each roof to be used as an outdoor public space.

People attending the meeting commented on the openness of the design and the use of natural light and air, some preferred the 148’ design saying it was more open; Residocracy spokesman Armen Melkonians said Santa Monica residents would not accept a project higher than the 84’ allowed by zoning;

Shigematsu, in a follow up interview, said about architecture, “Iconicism comes from use and memory and represents shared culture.  Iconic space is something that develops over time, when a place feels special.  That understanding of iconicism is why we looked at other public spaces in Santa Monica and worked to understand what it is that makes places special to the people of Santa Monica.

“So we purposefully designed a building with the intent that it respond specifically to the climate and to the people of Santa Monica.  There is a Children’s Museum on the ground level.  It gives a cultural heart to a commercial periphery.  The design is specific to Santa Monica weather.  We designed for inside/outside proximity.  The hinged bars of the concept design are in response to Santa Monica and the breezes, the air and the sun, and the idea of life lived indoors and outdoors.

“Santa Monica is a City that promotes sustainability and this building will achieve a LEED Gold status through energy efficiency, cooling and natural ventilation, the use of recycled water, a screen to reduce solar gain, use of recycled materials, bike stations, and water on the roof for fun, for beauty and for cooling.

“OMA was given certain parameters of design and a building program and we designed within those parameters.  Our first concept plan was for a 148’ building.  We were then asked to rethink the project at 84’.   It was a necessary step to make the project into 84’ but it is more difficult.  We are the ones who translate people’s desires and we do our best to deliver the best translation.  I am not just talking about height; I am also talking about architecture and the fundamentals of design.

“This design, from ground to sky, is a continuation of public domain.  We have an image of the building as theater where people will come together and we really believe in that image.”

The concept design proposed by OMA, expresses the culture and values of the City: open to the sun and air on every level, yoga on a roof terrace, the ice rink in winter, fountains in summer, open air cafes, year round programming of public events, food markets, museum events, film screenings and maybe even gondolas. Add sustainability, affordable

housing and a welcome for bicycle riders and you know it’s Santa Monica.

Now comes the public conversation about height, scale and density. And height, scale and density are dependent on program – how many housing units, what size hotel, how much commercial space, how much public space. 

www.smgov.net/4thandarizona

From that discussion will come a decision by the Council; one which needs to be based on an open and transparent public conversation.  The conversation continues at the June 10 Council meeting.

What Say You?

Hometown Hero:  Kate Vernez 

The Art of Being Purposeful. 

Kate Vernez
Deputy City Manger for Special Projects
City of Santa Monica

SUSAN CLOKE

Columnist

May 9, 2014

Kate Vernez, speaking about her work with the City of Santa Monica, said, “What I resonate with are collaborations with other people to have a successful outcome and to be purposeful.” 

27 years ago she and her family left their work and life in New York City to move to California. It was 1987 and she competed for a job as a policy analyst in the City Manager’s office. She started her work with City Manager John Jalili and continued to work with City Managers Susan McCarthy, Lamont Ewell and Rod Gould.  Now, Vernez, who is the Deputy City Manager for Special Projects, is leaving her work and making plans for the next chapter of her life.  “I leave the City with a sense of gratitude and appreciation for being allowed to hold the reins for a while,” she told me with great feeling in her voice.

Vernez has worked on many big projects for the City including the creation of the Child Care Master Plan, the Palisades Park Master Plan and the Telecommunications Master Plan, as well as homeless issues and environmental issues.  She said the most important work of her time is the work to bring Expo to the Westside.  “The Westside is the 2^nd major job center in Los Angeles County and was without a rail connection to downtown Los Angeles. http://www.westsidecities.org/projects/ToolKit.pdf

In speaking about Expo, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose Third District includes Santa Monica, praised Kate Vernez as “a steady hand at the local government helm.  Expo is the most significant public works project to hit Santa Monica since the building of the I-10 freeway in the 1960’s.  The plans for, and construction of, the light rail line could have been a contentious political/neighborhood issue in the city.  Kate was able to anticipate problems before they became problems, which allowed us to plan accordingly.  Instead of a controversial project, Expo was better received in Santa Monica than at any other point along the route.”

“Expo was born out of controversy over traffic,” said Vernez.  “We brought a coalition together, to weather the ups and downs.  We achieved something remarkable at the end of the day.”

The City had been planning for Expo for years.   There was all the backbone of infrastructure.  The City had preserved the Exposition right of way. It had purchased the properties for the Bergamot and 4^th Street stations.

§  Council Member Pam O’Connor was appointed to the MTA Board and made the motion to build the Expo line all the way to Santa Monica.

§  The City advocated for a third Santa Monica Station at 17^th Street.  One that would serve Santa Monica College and the hospitals.

§  The Council set aside funds for  ‘betterments’ and paid for a 2^nd entrance and dual platforms at the Bergamot Station, a 2^nd entrance at 17^th St., and the 4^th Street Station redesign.

§  The Expo Construction Authority:  Santa Monica got State legislation to create a single purpose entity to oversee expenditure of money and construction details for Expo, making sure “the build” is done correctly.

“The 4^th Street Station is the terminus for Expo,” said Vernez. “The beauty is that you get off the train to a seamless ribbon connecting Expo riders across to the downtown, to the pier, the beach, City Hall, and the Promenade.

“It’s a partnership: Expo, the City, the community working together to get this built.  The community has been involved and supportive from day one.  Their willingness to invest in bringing Expo to Santa Monica was essential to the project.  You can even see this investment expressed in the response to construction in that there are fewer complaints than would be expected for a project of this size and timeline. 

“Because the city had long ago reserved the right of way and had purchased the land at Bergamot and at 4^th Street, we were standing in line.  And we drew upon our regional partners to write a mobility plan outlining Westside housing density/ridership. 

“Bringing all the power sources together to make an incredibly strong advocacy alliance. That was exciting,” said Kate, calling herself a ‘policy wonk.’

“It’s difficult to move on from this work which I have found so meaningful and satisfying.  But it is the right time to think about the big life changes. 

“When my husband and I left our wonderful work in New York City for California, part of why we wanted to move was to be able to have both interesting work and more time for our family.

“Now my eldest daughter and her family live in London.  I have one granddaughter and another coming in June and family comes first for me.

“My work in New York and my work in Santa Monica always included working in groups with dedicated people to solve problems and make a difference.  Wherever the next chapter takes me I will use my time to be part of projects that make it possible for me to continue to make a contribution.”

When asked about her vision for the future of Santa Monica, Kate Vernez said,  “Collaboration and good communications, keeping everyone informed with rich dialogue, attending to people’s needs, getting the job done - that’s what impresses me.  We are a small community with a great diversity but we know how to come together and get the job done in a human way.”