Morphosis

Emerson College Los Angeles

Emerson College Los Angeles

Morphosis Architects

Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan

ARCHITECTS
Morphosis Architects

CATEGORY
University, Student Hall

LOCATION
Los Angeles, United States

AREA
107400.0 ft²

VISUALLIZATION
Josh Sprinkling, Sam Tannenbaum, Jasmine Park

YEAR
2014

PROJECT DESIGNER
Shanna Yates

CODE
Arup

DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT
Robert Silverman

PROJECT ASSITANTS
Katsuya Arai, Marco Becucci, Chris Bennett, Cory Brugger, Amaranta Campos, Joe Filippelli, Alex Fritz, Penny Herscovitch, Hunter Knight, Zachery Main, Jon McAllister, Nicole Meyer, Cameron Northrup, Brandon Sampson, Michael Smith, Scott Smith, Satoru Sugihara, Ben Toam, Elizabeth Wendell

SENIOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGE
John Walden

GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Margaret Ings

FACILLITIES PALNNING
Jay Phillips

STRUCTURAL
John A. Martin Associates, Inc.

MEP
Buro Happold

CIVIL
KPFF

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
Katherine Spitz Associates

SUSTAINABILITY
Davis Langdon

COST ESTIMATOR
Davis Langdon

PROJECT TEAM
Natalia Traverso Caruana, Brock Hinze, Yasushi Ishida, Jai Kumaran

LIGHTING
Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design, Inc.

FACADE
JA Weir Associates

ACOUSTICS
Newson Brown Associates LLC

AUDIOVISUAL/IT
Waveguide Consulting Inc.

GRAPHICS
Follis Design

VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION
Edgett Williams Consulting Group, Inc.

THEATER DESIGN
Auerbach, Pollock, Friedlander

TECHNOLOGY & BIM
Synthesis

SPECIFICATIONS
Technical Resources Consultants, Inc.

WATERPROOFING
Independent Roofing Consultants

SMOKE CONTROL
Exponent

COST
$85 million

EXTERIOR BUILDING MAINTENANCE
Olympique

ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION
Kilograph

GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company

METAL FAÇADE SUBCONTRACTOR
A Zahner Company

GEOTECHNICAL
Geotechnologies

CURTAINWALL SUBCONTRACTOR
Walters & Wolf

Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan

Text description provided by architect.

Bringing student housing, instructional facilities, and administrative offices to one location, ELA condenses the diversity of a college campus into an urban site.

Evoking the concentrated energy of East-coast metropolitan centers in an iconic Los Angeles setting, a rich dialogue emerges between students’ educational background and their professional futures.

Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan
Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan

Fundamental to the Emerson Los Angeles experience, student living circumstances give structure to the overall building. Housing up to 217 students, the domestic zones frame a dynamic core dedicated to creativity, learning, and social interaction.

Composed of two slender residential towers bridged by a multi-use platform, the 10-story square frame encloses a central open volume to create a flexible outdoor “room.”

A sculpted form housing classrooms and administrative offices weaves through the void, defining multi-level terraces and active interstitial spaces that foster informal social activity and creative cross-pollination.

Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan
Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan

Looking out onto the multi-level terrace, exterior corridors to student suites and common rooms are shaded by an undulating, textured metal scrim spanning the full height of the towers’ interior face.

Looking to the local context, the center finds a provocative precedent in the interiority of Hollywood film studios, where outwardly regular facades house flexible, fantastical spaces within.

Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan
Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan

With rigging for screens, media connections, sound, and lighting incorporated into the framework, the upper platform serves as a flexible armature for outdoor performances, transforming the undulating scrim into a dynamic visual backdrop.

The entire building becomes a stage set for student films, screenings, and industry events, with the Hollywood sign, the city of Los Angeles, and the Pacific Ocean in the distance providing added scenery.

Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan
Emerson College Los Angeles
© Iwan Baan

Anticipated to achieve a LEED Gold rating, the new center champions Emerson’s commitment to both sustainable design and community responsibility. Defining the building’s facades to the East and West, the residential towers feature an active exterior skin.

Responding to local weather conditions, the automated sunshade system opens and closes horizontal fins outside the high-performance glass curtain-wall to minimize heat gain while maximizing daylight and views.

Further green initiatives include the use of recycled and rapidly renewable building materials, installation of efficient fixtures to reduce water use by 40%, energy savings in heating and cooling through a passive valence system, and a building management and commissioning infrastructure to monitor and optimize efficiency of all systems.


Emerson College Los Angeles
South Elevation
Emerson College Los Angeles
elevation
Emerson College Los Angeles
East Elevation
Emerson College Los Angeles
West Elevation


Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
Diagram


Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
Site Plan


Emerson College Los Angeles
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Emerson College Los Angeles
Sketch

Morphosis
T +1 424 2586200 -
Morphosis
3440 Wesley Street Culver City, Los Angeles, California 90232 , United States