SOM Design Director Paul Danna will take part in an architect's panel and roundtable discussion hosted by the Los Angeles Headquarters Association on Thursday, March 23rd at the California Club in Los Angeles.
Danna, who works out of SOM's Los Angeles office, will share information about a number of projects SOM is working on in downtown Los Angeles, including the recently completed United States Courthouse, the Desmond, and the soon-to-come Olympia.
The roundtable, entitled "The Inside Track on Southern California Projects," will be presented as an intimate dialogue with local architects. The event will showcase current and proposed projects across the region. A group of roundtable discussions will follow the panel presentation.
Besides Danna, other panelists include Barbara Bouza, Gensler; Eric Aukee, Perkins+Will; Stan Chiu, HGA; and Kelly Farrell, CallisonRTKL. Other companies attending the roundtable include HOK, AC Martin, AECOM, , BAM Architecture, DLR Group, Johnson Fain Partners, Dan Brunn Architecture, and R&A Architecture and Design.
Moderating the event will be Douglas Teiger, Ambramson Teiger Architects, AIA LA President.
A highlight of the evening should be new information on the highly-anticipated Olympia project being developed by Chinese developer City Century. Designed by SOM, along with the Los Angeles-based design research company P-A-T-T-E-R-N-S, the project consists of three mixed-use residential towers in Downtown LA, near Staples Center.
The $1-billion development is looking at adding more than 1,300 residential units and 40,000 sq-ft of retail. The towers are designed to stand 65, 53, and 43 stories tall. A podium connecting all three will include residences, amenities, retail, restaurants, and parking. "Collectively, the development will trace a silhouette on the Los Angeles skyline defined by visually interconnected places for leisure, entertainment, and urban life," says the SOM website.
Olympia is currently in the entitlement process, which developers say should take about a year. Construction is expected to start soon after that and last four years.
The Los Angeles Headquarters Association comprises more than 450 members representing more than 150 companies throughout Los Angeles. The association was created in 1961 with the goal of "making Los Angeles a major world city."
For more information on the Architects Panel event, visit: www.laheadquarters.com