A rendering of the winning HMC/Populous design for the Los Angeles Convention Center expansion.
As the next step in the $350-million Expansion and Futurization Project for the Los Angeles Convention Center, the City of Los Angeles, led by the L.A. Department of Convention and Tourism Development (CTD) and the Bureau of Engineering, spearheaded a design competition to select an architect for the proposed renovation and expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center. From 11 submissions, three final teams, AC Martin Inc./LMN Architects, Gensler and Lehrer Architects and HMC Architects/Populous, were selected and put on public display at the beginning of June. Now, the Los Angles City Council has authorized CTD to enter into negotiations with HMC Architects/Populous as the winner of the design competition.
“It’s exciting to be at this stage, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” said Robert Ovrom, executive director, CTD.
They now have 120 days to develop a contract with HMC/Populous, complete an economic impact report and develop a financing plan. Then, in early November, they will conduct a final presentation to City Council and will either get the green or the red light for the project.
“Now, I feel good about all those things,” said Ovrom. “I feel confident that we have a strong case to be made, but we still have to make the case.”
The three proposals were reviewed using a previously established set of categories and criteria. In the end, Ovrom said the HMC/Populous design had the strongest platform and their design provided the best starting point.
“The bones of the project are in place, but we’re definitely going to massage it a lot, and it’s going to look and feel differently over the next year as we develop the design,” said Michael Lockwood, principal at Populous. “It was a great process that produced some interesting results, but we’ll work with the city to develop the design. It won’t just be, let’s go implement this solution. It will definitely evolve over the next few months.”
One of the most unique features of the design is a proposed outdoor ballroom that is open on two sides but covered, so the space is still sellable for the convention center.
“We really liked some of the things they were doing about having a unique, authentic Los Angeles experience,” said Ovrom. “At so many convention centers, once you walk inside, you could be inside any convention center in any city. One of the expressions they used was ‘one step away from sunshine.’ The design has a very indoor/outdoor fashion for people who come from all over the nation and relish the Southern California weather, they can be in the convention center but always one step away from sunshine.”
The planned expansion will add 368,000 sq. ft. to Los Angeles Convention Center, bringing the facility's total space to 1,280,000 sq. ft. Of the new space, 220,000 sq. ft. will be additional exhibit space, 78,000 sq. ft. will be meeting rooms and 70,000 sq. ft. will go to the ballroom.
“Our big message for the design that we stuck to throughout the entire process was the ideas of place making, functionality and authenticity,” said Lockwood. “We felt the convention center and the district needed each of those areas addressed.”
From the place-making point of view, HMC/Populous looked to take advantage of outdoor space, making areas available not only for the convention center to use, but also as gathering places for local residents as well. Functionality played out with the relocating of truck docks and bus stops to the back of the building, prioritizing the guest experience at the front without factoring out the operations. By teaming up with Chu + Gooding Architects, they drew from L.A.’s culture and rich history in the fashion and garment districts for the interior design. The place-making component was also aided by Olin Studios as the landscape architect to truly create an L.A. feel.
“This was hugely collaborative effort on our part,” said Lockwood. “We connected with as many people locally as possible to develop a design that really represents what L.A. is all about. They were a huge part of the collaboration and the innovation and design.”
Not only were they sure to bring in local flair, but they also tapped their international design connections as well, working with a lead designer on the Sydney Convention Center for three months.
“I think that gave us a huge leg up on understanding the current trends internationally and being able to connect the dots globally for Los Angeles,” said Lockwood. “We don’t just see them being a competitor in California, we see them being a competitor on the global stage. We brought in the international perspective and opportunities for what the place can be. We talked a lot about combining international expertise with the local view and appreciation, and it produced a pretty fantastic result.”
Another important factor for the design was integrating the convention center with the rest of L.A. Live. Since the convention center was built before Staples Center and the whole L.A. Live campus, Ovrum said they were seeking a design that integrated all the facilities into one property. By taking out the west lobby tower and west building meeting rooms, the HMC/Populous design creates a connection along Georgia Street rather than having to go around on Figueroa.
“I think the expansion will make us competitive, but what will really make us competitive is that it’s integrated with L.A. Live and you have the Microsoft Theater and you have Staples Center and 20-something restaurants, you have a movie theater and you’ve got a bowling alley,” said Lockwood. “All of that will be part of our campus.”
The site was originally supposed to house a football stadium, but with that out of the picture, the extra room will be utilized for much-needed hotel rooms. Each of the three designs included a headquarters hotel connected to the convention center, and the HMC/Populous-proposed master plan included two: one at the north end and one at the south end. The north end hotel will most likely be built first, with its entrance incorpoarated into the new lobby.
“We know that we do not have enough hotel rooms compared to San Francisco, Anaheim and San Diego,” said Ovrom. “It’s important to us to not only build a bigger and better convention center, but to have a bigger stock of hotel rooms within walking distance. The commitment this mayor made was to do 4,000 additional rooms by 2020. We’re well on our way. We have over 2,000 of those now under construction, but what we’ve done on this is added the pad for at least one and maybe two on-site hotels.”
Lockwood said they asked for a location for the hotel, but that it will be developed outside of this project and isn’t included in the budget plans.
“This was a chance to come back in and understand how people use the site today, especially with the addition of L.A. Live,” said Lockwood. “It’s actually a much better way to move around the property, because it connects all the dots in a much more direct way. This is the chance to stitch them altogether. That’s what we wanted to capture in our design, the ability to move from building to building and experience to experience more fluidly.”
Interviewed for this story: Robert Ovrom, (213) 741-1151, x5301; Michael Lockwood, (816) 329-4313