The Broad, Harbin Opera House, Pterodactyl among 2016 LA Architectural Award winners

A fresh set of three dozen projects were recognized in the 2016 Los Angeles Architectural Awards. Organized by the LA Business Council, the awards recognize some of L.A. County's top-notch designers and their projects that exhibit excellence in design, sustainability, and community impact in various categories. MAD founder Ma Yansong gave the keynote speech during the well-attended award ceremony late last week at the Beverly Hilton.

Out of more than 200 submissions, CBRE, The Bloc, and the Haworth Showroom received the Chairman's Award, while top honors also went to the ever-popular Broad Museum, a LEED-certified housing complex for homeless veterans, Red Bull's snazzy headquarters, and drought-friendly landscape projects, among many others.

This year's program also hosted another edition of the Julius Shulman Emerging Talent Award and scholarship, wherein six L.A. architecture schools are invited to participate. Student were challenged to present ideas to repurpose the Los Angeles City Mall in the Civic Center, adding extra City office space and community amenities. The Woodbury University team was crowned as the winner.

“This year designers rose to the challenge to design more eco-conscious and efficient features, and generally improve the way people live through architecture,” stated Mary Leslie, President of the Los Angeles Business Council.

Scroll down to see this year's winning projects.

(cover image) Civic Award: The Broad

Architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler
Contractor: MATT Construction
Building Owner/Developer: The Broad

Project Description: “A striking museum with column-free galleries bathed in filtered natural light and ample space for storage of the art collection. The museum provides storage for archival resources. The exterior covering of interconnecting concrete trapezoids conceals the structure's walls.”

Beyond L.A. Award

Harbin Opera House
Architect: MAD Architects
Contractor: Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd.
Building Owner/Developer: Harbin Songbei Investment and Development

Project Description: “Harbin Opera House was designed in response to the force and spirit of the northern city’s untamed wilderness and frigid climate. Clad in custom white aluminum, the building features a Grand Theater for 1,600 patrons and a smaller theater for an intimate audience of 400.”

Shanghai Tower
Architect: Gensler
Contractor: Shanghai Construction Group
Building Developer: Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co., Ltd.

Project Description: “Soaring to 2,073 feet, China’s tallest building is the new icon of the Shanghai skyline. Taking inspiration from the country’s tradition of small courtyards and neighborhood parks, the Tower recasts them in a sleek, urban form representing the innovation, inclusion, and success of modern China.”

Civic Award

Manhattan Beach Library
Design Architect: Johnson Favaro
Executive Architect: Harley Ellis Devereaux
Contractor: CW Driver
Building Owner: County of Los Angeles Public Library
Building Developer: County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works

Project Description: “The new County library facility was built in the City of Manhattan Beach Civic Center to provide improved library services for the community, and includes adult reading areas, teen and children's areas, a large meeting room, and an expanded collection of 100,000 books and other library materials”

Commercial Office Buildings & Headquarters Award

Pterodactyl
Architect: Eric Owen Moss Architects
Contractor/Building Owner/Developer: Samitaur Constructs
Structural Engineer: Nast Enterprises
Mechanical Engineer: Fruchtman & Associates
Electrical Engineer: Silver, Roth & Associates
Furniture/Accessories: Gensler

Project Description: “The Pterodactyl includes an office for an advertising agency atop a parking garage within a complex of new and remodeled buildings in Culver City, California. The 800 car garage is the larger program component with a 20,000 square foot office on top.”

Also awarded in this category:

Kennedy Wilson
Design /Executive Architect: Wolcott Architecture | Interiors
Contractor: L.E. Waters Construction Co.
Building Owner/Developer: Kennedy Wilson

The Collective
Architect: Shimoda Design Group
Contractor: Turner Construction Company
Building Owner/Developer: Tishman Speyer

Community Impact Award

New Look for LA, Descanso Gardens
Architect: FormLA Landscaping

Houser
Architect: Karen Tandy Design

Martin
Architect: Karen Tandy Design

Raasch
Architect: Karen Tandy design

Toluca Lake Water Wise Garden
Project Designers / Managers: Jim McClintock & Richard Graves
Landscape Architect / Contractor: Boething Treeland Farms

Design Concept Award

Los Angeles Football Club Stadium
Architect: Gensler
Contractor: PCL Construction Services, Inc.
Building Owner/Developer: LAFC Sports, LLC
Landscape Architect: Mia Lehrer + Associates

Project Description: “This new stadium is designed to promote continued revitalization of Downtown Los Angeles, and to become a sports destination and new benchmark for soccer facilities in the United States. Proximity to field and ancillary amenities from restaurants to museum enhance and extend the gameday experience.”

Also awarded in this category:

AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles
Architect: Gensler

Education Award

UCLA Ostin School of Music
Architect: Kevin Daly Architects
Contractor: TOBO Construction
Building Owner: Regents of the University of California
Building Developer: UCLA Capital Programs

Life Sciences Building
Architect: CO Architects
Contractor: CW Driver
Building Owner/Developer: Loyola Marymount University

Green Building Award
Homeless Veterans Transitional Housing, VA Campus Los Angeles
Architect: Leo A. Daly
Contractor: Westport Construction Inc.
Building Owner/Developer: United States Department of Veteran Affairs

Vermont Manzanita
Architect: Hatch Colasounno + Relativity Architects
Contractor: Dreyfuss Construction
Building Owner/Developer: West Hollywood Community Housing Corp.

Healthcare Award

Kaplan Family Pavilion at City of Hope
Architect: Belzberg Architects
Contractor: Winters Schram Associates
Building Owner/Developer: City of Hope

Housing Award

NMS @ La Cienaga
Architect: Killefer Flammang Architects
Contractor: Frymer Construction
Building Owner/Developer: NMS Properties, Inc.

Project Description: “NMS@La Cienega is a five-story, 125-unit residential building along a major transit corridor that includes ground floor retail space and vast residential amenity spaces. The design changes in scale and style in response to the contextual influences of its commercial and residential surroundings.”

Also awarded in this category:

Double Stick (Moe & Louis Nozari Residence)
Architect: Studio Pali Fekete architects [SPF:a]
Contractor: Winters Schram Associates

Cabrillo Gateway
Architect: The Architects Collective
Contractor: Walton Construction Services
Building Owner/Developer: Century Villages at Cabrillo
Landscape Architect: Melendrez • Construction Manager: S.L. Leonard & Associates

Interiors Award

BE36 Dental Office
Architect: Arshia Architects, Ltd.
Contractor: Finn Construction
Building Owner: Bedford Dental Group and G& L Realty Corp.

Project Description: “The proposed concept exercised the radical notion of an open dental office that is separated only by a topography of sustainable architecture and intensities of light & sound. The office became a field, rather than a room with a direct visual connection to the cityscape as soon as entry is afforded.”

Also awarded in this category:

Red Bull
Architect: Wolcott Architecture | Interiors
Contractor: Howard Building Corporation
Building Owner: Transwestern

Landscape Architecture Award

Apollo at Rosecrans
Design Architect: Ehrlich Architects
Landscape Architect: LRM Landscape Architecture and Urban Design
Contractor: Del Amo Construction, Inc
Building Owner: Invesco Real Estate
Building Developer/Project Manager: SSV Properties
Environmental Graphics: Selbert Perkins Design

Project Description: “The project represents the re-positioning of a former defense industry building, originally inward oriented and built for privacy. The landscape works in unison with new penetrations in the building to create outdoor use areas that are an extension of the interior spaces.”

Also awarded in this category:

The Los Angeles Riverfront Park, Phase II Segment 1 Project
Architect: Mia Lehrer + Associates
Contractor: Simgel Co.
Building Owner/Developer: City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering Prop K Division

Mixed-Use Award

Elevon at Campus El Segundo
Design Architect: Ehrlich Architects
Executive Architect: Ware Malcomb
Contractor: Lusardi Construction Company
Building Developer: Mar Ventures and Continental Development Corporation

Kronish House Award
Architect/Contractor: Marmol Radziner

Project Description: “Originally constructed in 1954, the Kronish House was among the largest of Richard Neutra’s completed projects and one of only three in Beverly Hills. The house reflects Neutra’s unique amalgamation of International Style tenets with the integration of indoors and outdoors.”

Preservation Award

Morgan Phoa Library and Residence
Architect: Studio Pali Fekete architects [SPF:a]
Contractor/Project Manager: William Kent Development

Project Description: “A rare opportunity to restore/build onto a historically designated home built by Wallace Neff, the new library compliments the historic home with its gabled roof, clay tiles and modern façade. As the library completes the motor court, it offers a different yet compatible architectural expression.”

Retail/Restaurants Award

Otium
Design Architect: A collaboration of Osvaldo Malozzi Design, Land Office Architect & Noah Riley
Executive Architect: House & Robertson
Contractor: Barling Construction and Howard CDM
Building Owner/Developer: Hope Street Restaurants, LLC
Interior Design Firm: Studio Unlimited in collaboration with House of Honey

Renovated Buildings

The Masonic Temple
Design/Executive Architect: Gensler
Contractor: WE O’Neil Construction Co. of California
Building Owner/Developer: Caruso Affiliated
Prime Tenant: CBRE
Photography: RMA Photography Inc.

Project Description: “The Masonic Temple was vacant for 30+ years before the historical repositioning transformed the building into a next-generation creative office for global real estate services firm CBRE. Gensler preserved the 8-story Art Deco structure while creating a timeless balance between modern and historical.”

Petersen Automotive Museum Award
Design Architect: Kohn Pederson Fox
Executive Architect: House & Roberston
Contractor: MATT Construction
Building Owner: Petersen Museum
Building Developer: Walker Real Estate Services LLC

Project Description: “A complete exterior transformation and redesign of the interior, resulting in a world class museum that showcases the art, culture and heritage of the automobile. Long ribbons of stainless steel wrap around three sides and over the top of the deep red building, making a visceral statement.”

Also awarded in this category:

LA Peer
Architect: Shubin + Donaldson
Contactor: Ed Grush General Contractor, Inc.
Building Owner/Developer: HQ Development

Sustainability Award

The Resort at Playa Vista
Design/Executive Architect: Rios Clementi Hale Studios
Contractor: Fassberg Contracting Corporation
Building Owner: Playa Vista Parks & Landscape Corporation
Building Developer: Brookfield Residential

Under Construction Award Ranch Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center
Design Architect: SmithGroup JJR
Executive Architect: Taylor Design
Contractor: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc.
Building Owner: County of Los Angeles

The Bloc
Architect: Studio One Eleven
Contractor: Webcor Builders
Building Owner: NREA-TRC 700, LLC, a partnership of The Ratkovich Company, National Real Estate Advisors, and Blue Vista Capital

All images courtesy of LA Business Council - 2016 Los Angeles Architectural Awards.

Check out previous winners in the links right below.