Tokyo Arts Towers
Location: Los Angeles, CA Status: Concept
chevron_leftBridging Little Tokyo and the Arts District in Downtown L.A., this concept design embraces the history and culture of two iconic neighborhoods while addressing the urgent need for new housing. Looking to the scale and sensitivity of recent developments in Little Tokyo, the development anticipates future growth slated for the surrounding sites, and the energy the Metro’s Regional Connector brings to the neighborhood.
Balancing the site’s pedestrian activity with its development capacity, this development scheme combines a community-scaled retail and office podium with two transitional height towers. Formally, the towers gradually rise from the lower podium through a stair-stepped building mass. The taller tower is located on the north side of the site, respecting its surrounding pedestrian traffic, while the shorter tower is designed to be a landmark for the Arts District and its commercial activity. Together, they are shaped to retain view sheds from the Arts District back to downtown, as well as from Little Tokyo to the Metro stop.
Featuring a series of terraced balconies, the design embraces Southern California’s climate providing outdoor spaces for residential and commercial tenants alike. From the retail areas, the podium includes offices spaces and an amenity deck, with the residential units rising above to make up the two towers. At the project’s core, a central courtyard brings air and light into the heart of the project.
Following the neighborhood context, the program includes with retail spaces that embraces the pedestrians and everyday life along the street.
The project reinterprets the site’s context and neighborhood’s need for community serving retail while creating a new beacon for the city’s Metro and a lasting landmark between Little Tokyo and the Arts District.
As a layered and nuanced addition to downtown, the Tokyo Arts Towers bridges two of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods with an iconic destination.
