LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[ocman]

Originally Posted by Eightball

#DTLA construction May 3rd 2018 by robb, on Flickr

Spring Street Park is such a missed opportunity. It’s another Pershing Square that needs to be redone in the future.

And what is that supposed to be? A sprinters track? Wasted unutilized space.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by citywatch

• Video Link

Spring Arcade is crying out to become a 24/7 all-hours environment. They should consider having a few shops that stay really late (BCD tofu) to plant the seed.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by Doctorboffin

https://urbanize.la/post/two-more-re...wn-los-angeles

Holy heck. This is big....

Awesome that three massive towers will be completely changing this sleepy little South Park intersection.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0408...7i16384!8i8192

[Quixote]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

I honestly like Podiums as long as they are wrapped in apartments. Gives me a feeling of overwhelming density and urbanity, and makes the street wall look good to boot.

If the parking podiums in question could be designed to accommodate future conversion to housing, I wouldn’t have as much of a problem with them.

Another alternative is for the city of LA to draft design guidelines that mandate developers build up to 150’ (matching the vernacular of the Historic Core) with housing atop the parking before tapering. Right now our height is creating a feeling of dead space.


http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/buil...k-avenue/28447

[Illithid Dude]

Just realized the two 50 and 60 story towers are cat-corner to the previously proposed ODA designed 60 story tower. That's gonna be one tall intersection.

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by ocman

Spring Street Park is such a missed opportunity. It’s another Pershing Square that needs to be redone in the future.

And what is that supposed to be? A sprinters track? Wasted unutilized space.

Pershing SQ is tired, yes, but what is your issue with the Spring St park? The new shade on the kids playground is nice, the park is modern and well kept (imo) for a LA park, design is cool with me. Security guards can be a little aggressive but not crazy and necessary given the location. I see lots of people sitting in the comfortable seating throughout the park for 10 to 30 mins, resting, then going and doing what they need to do. The dog park could be better I guess they had it on the more prominent area but it was always getting destroyed. The free live music which happens basically quarterly is dope.

Anyways I forgot to snap and post more interesting view from my other balcony. Here ya go

4th and spring #dtla #eldorado #views by robb, on Flickr

4th and spring #dtla #eldorado #views by robb, on Flickr

The times they are a changin'

[Doctorboffin]

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Just realized the two 50 and 60 story towers are cat-corner to the previously proposed ODA designed 60 story tower. That's gonna be one tall intersection.

Actually it’s 70 stories now! And all three are only a few blocks from Onni’s new tower.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by Eightball

Pershing SQ is tired, yes, but what is your issue with the Spring St park? The new shade on the kids playground is nice, the park is modern and well kept (imo) for a LA park, design is cool with me. Security guards can be a little aggressive but not crazy and necessary given the location. I see lots of people sitting in the comfortable seating throughout the park for 10 to 30 mins, resting, then going and doing what they need to do. The dog park could be better I guess they had it on the more prominent area but it was always getting destroyed. The free live music which happens basically quarterly is dope.

For one thing, there’s the prison gate. I realize homelessness is a problem, but parks are cynical when people try to design with that in mind. There shouldn’t be a gate at all so that people walking by can naturally wander in and out of the area, or even encourage people to detour through it on their way somewhere else.
The plot of grass bothers me. It’s not big enough for any activities, but it takes a large amount of space at the same time. It’s just there. Not serving any purpose. People walk around it but few actually use it. I see few people using it except for dogowners (which negates the whole point of the dog section). The seating is just dystopian and individualistic and seems to encourage sitting in isolation next to each other. Also the vegetation/tree choices are uninspired, almost an afterthought, and there’s not enough. At tongva park, you want to touch it and know what they are. Here it’s used as office park filler by someone who seems not to have a strong knowledge beyond the basics that you can get at Home Depot Garden center.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by ocman

For one thing, there’s the prison gate. I realize homelessness is a problem, but parks are cynical when people try to design with that in mind. There shouldn’t be a gate at all so that people walking by can naturally wander in and out of the area, or even encourage people to detour through it on their way somewhere else.

Bryant Park, NYC




Stuyvesant Square, NYC

[Illithid Dude]

Most parks have gates. The challenge becomes, how does one design a gate that contributes to a positive pedestrian experience?

[bobbyv]

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...508-story.html

[Steve8263]

So what was the point of that recent big redesign competition that Populous won? Good grief what an epic waste of time and money-

http://urbanize.la/post/new-conventi...ion-renderings

https://vimeo.com/132270400

[DJM19]

Hopefully we can expect some sort of light redesign to the facade.

[Illithid Dude]

Like so many other mega projects around Downtown, I'll believe it when I see it.

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by Steve8263

So what was the point of that recent big redesign competition that Populous won? Good grief what an epic waste of time and money-

http://urbanize.la/post/new-conventi...ion-renderings

https://vimeo.com/132270400

That redesign was for when the city was trying to go it alone, but funding was always going to be an issue. Once AEG became involved with the public-private partnership, things changed.

[bhunsberger]

Really liked the original plan of the Marriott expansion that was to the north of the current building. Design was nice as well!

[ocman]

Originally Posted by ChelseaFC

Stuyvesant Square, NYC

There’s a difference. Gates in NYC have the advantage of being historically-based and also used as a design element. They invite people to come see what’s behind the gates and get a respite from the city. That doesn’t translate in LA. Gates in LA have utilitarian meaning and tell you to keep out. They symbolize and mean very different things to people who live in a city that traditionally values private space (LA) vs. one that traditionally values public space ( NYC). What works in NYC doesn’t often work in LA.

Here’s our equivalent:



Now look at the new Arts District Park. See the difference? It’s not Stuvvesant Square. It matters.

[DJM19]

I agree. If the gates were more stately and reflected the area they were in better, they would be a much more welcome addition. Right now they look like construction fences

[ChelseaFC]

Originally Posted by ocman

There’s a difference. Gates in NYC have the advantage of being historically-based and also used as a design element. They invite people to come see what’s behind the gates and get a respite from the city. That doesn’t translate in LA. Gates in LA have utilitarian meaning and tell you to keep out. They symbolize and mean very different things to people who live in a city that traditionally values private space (LA) vs. one that traditionally values public space ( NYC). What works in NYC doesn’t often work in LA.

Now, you're moving the goalposts. You literally made the sweeping generalization that "parks are cynical when people try to design with that in mind. There shouldn’t be a gate at all so that people walking by can naturally wander in and out of the area, or even encourage people to detour through it on their way somewhere else." And I pointed out that you're wrong, as evidenced in the photos I posted.

People choose to live downtown for a reason, yes, even in LA. They have a different ethos than others. So if some 'private space'-loving suburbanites are walking around downtown and don't want to go to a park simply because of a fence, that's their problem.

Perhaps a more attractive redesign around the perimeter I'm on board with, such as installing planters or a low stone wall, but there's no way in hell with LA's homeless problem that those parks are going to just be left open. The fences are there for a reason, and it's not simply for the sake of annoying you.

[blackcat23]

41-story tower planned at WTC site