West Hollywood, California, USA
797,000 square feet / 74,000 square meters
2012

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The Red Building completes the Pacific Design Center, a West Hollywood landmark that spans over 40 years of design and construction. The first building (nicknamed the “Blue Whale”) was designed by Cesar Pelli when he was Partner for Design at Gruen Associates, and was completed in 1975. The Green Building, along with a smaller freestanding outpost of the Museum of Contemporary Art, followed in 1988. With the addition of the Red Building, the horizontal Blue Building and the chamfered Green Building are reinvented as elements in a new composition around the 5.6-hectare (14-acre) site’s plaza.

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The most dynamic of the three, the Red Building is composed of two curved, sloping towers atop seven levels of parking. The five-story West Tower slopes inward against the Hollywood Hills to the north. The eight-story East Tower continues the gesture, curving upward and culminating in a high point to the east.

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At the eighth floor, between the two towers, is a courtyard verdant with palm trees. The walls facing the Palm Court are of the same technology as the red walls, but use white glass to give the courtyard a light, ethereal quality. This outdoor space offers views of the Hollywood Hills to the north, and the Green and Blue Buildings and public plaza to the south. The West Tower is raised above grade to provide vehicular entrance to a covered motor court below the Palm Court. The walls of the Motor Court are illuminated channel glass. Each tower has separate lobbies at both the Motor Court and Palm Court levels.

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In keeping with the previous two Pacific Design Center buildings, the Red Building is clad in transparent and fritted glass. To create a taut, all-glass appearance, the glass is held in its aluminum frames with silicone.