Two years after winning the AIA/LA Gold Medal, Santa Monica firm Koning Eizenberg Architecture continues to do what they do best: marry a bold design aesthetic with a passionate urban agenda and a willingness to break tired rules. “We’re more interested in the social outcome than the physical outcome,” said firm principal Julie Eizenberg.
And it has paid off. The firm has a series of completed and upcoming projects that have profound influence not just as buildings, but also as transformers of sites and even neighborhoods. Not that it is always easy to explore beyond the building envelope. Old habits die hard, and clients and residents often fight such maneuvers before they embrace the finished products. “We try to challenge typologies that people are comfortable with,” said Eizenberg. “We’ve built up a lot of trust,” said Nathan Bishop, another of the firm’s principals. That, he explained, is how the practice is able to carry out its goals.
28th Street Apartments
Los Angeles, California
The firm renovated Paul R. Williams’ 1926 landmark YMCA in South Los Angeles with the goal of “restoring the dignity of the building.” The firm added new housing units inside and a large, contemporary affordable housing building (painted red, like the tile roof on Williams’ building) behind it. The integration of mechanical units into the new structure freed the rooftop for a garden. Perforated metal screens frame views of the city while creating a unique, lacelike facade on the north side. Vertical solar panels shade and add dimension to the south face, and also lower utility bills.
Pico Branch Library
Santa Monica, California
The library is located in the center of Santa Monica’s Virginia Avenue Park to merge vastly different cultural ends of the public space. The white folding structure is marked by a light and airy feel. Fabric canopies over the entrance shelter the local farmers market. Inside, large windows and sculpted skylights blur the distinction between indoor and outdoor space. Roof overhangs shade the glass facade and make the interior visible from the park. The small building feels much larger, maximizing space and light, and creating a warm and lively atmosphere. “We wanted to make it feel like you’re in the park inside the building,” said Bishop.
Temple Israel of Hollywood
Los Angeles, California
Designed as a “garden in the park” in Hollywood, this newly completed chapel provides a visual connection to the historic synagogue’s internal courtyard through massive windows, which are fronted by a concrete wall and a large arc, custom milled in an abstract pattern. The Tallit-inspired ceiling is made up of undulating wood slats, while angular metallic panels give the exterior facade a dynamic presence.
500 Broadway
Santa Monica, California
Located on the corner of 5th Street and Broadway in Santa Monica, this mixed-use project is made up of four groupings of apartments stacked atop ground-level retail. The rhythmic facade varies in configuration to provide all units with views to the ocean. The firm wove open spaces through the development, connecting it to the streetscape rather than sealing it off. “We’re leveraging public space in a densifying city, bringing in more sky, more light, more street access and more public life,” said Bishop.
Belmar Apartments
Santa Monica, California
Initiated as part of an ambitious affordability program set by the City of Santa Monica to revive its Civic Center, the 320-unit mixed income development—located on part of the site of the former RAND headquarters—includes equal amounts of affordable and market-rate units. A public pedestrian pathway and a large public art piece anchor the project, while additional courtyards open on both sides to provide views of the surroundings and connect to the street. Bar-shaped structures hover over the open space in a variety of formations.
