Last edited 18 Dec 2020

8150 Sunset Boulevard

(Image copyright Visualhouse)

In August 2016, developers Townscape Partners unveiled design concepts by the legendary architect Frank Gehry for a mixed-use development at 8150 Sunset Boulevard – on Los Angeles’ iconic ‘Sunset Strip’.

Gehry’s plan, one of several design alternatives proposed by Townscape for the site, features five interrelated and complementary structures, including two residential buildings, as well as distinct buildings and green spaces for retail, entertainment, and public gathering.

The Gehry plan addresses specific design needs for the 8150 Sunset Boulevard site, including the desirability of creating welcoming pedestrian spaces between the buildings, keeping the Sunset Boulevard street front height low - to relate in scale to other buildings in the area - and optimising views of the city from the two residential structures.

This is in contrast to the traditional view of such developments as residential towers on a podium. Instead, the Gehry design establishes five distinctive structures, each with its own character and all united at a common plaza accessible from the street level, with parking offered entirely below grade.

The three-storey retail building that sits at street level, along Sunset Boulevard, will have glulam mullions supporting a glass curtain wall, and will feature a marquee element. There will be an interior open-air plaza, the centre of which will hold the ‘jewel’ in the heart of the project; a structure whose facade is made of stone cylinders and cones and which will house programmable space and retail.

Landscape is an integral part of Gehry’s overall architectural concept, both at the ground-level central plaza and the various terraces in the building design. The buildings feature stepping terraces at both ends of Sunset Boulevard, mediating the scale at these intersections to the street level. All terraces will feature landscape and trees visible from east and west vantage points along Sunset. Additional landscape elements climb into the upper parts of the project, creating amenity and terraces for residents as well as stitching the project into the Hollywood hillside, topped with a landscaped roof.

Comprising around 334,000 sq ft (31,000m2) of space and 249 residential units, and already certified as a California Environmental Leadership Development Project (ELDP), the buildings are expected to achieve a LEED environmental rating of Silver or higher and will add net-zero additional emissions of greenhouse gases.