Tall & Urban News

A new mixed-use tower slated for a growing section of Downtown Los Angeles, designed by Australian firm Koichi Takada Architects, could rise as high as 70 stories, new renderings reveal.

Australian developer Crown Group had previously submitted plans for a 52-story tower with 528 residential units and ground-floor commercial spaces for the site.

New renderings for the so-called Sky Trees LA project showcase a grouping of thin, rounded towers of various heights capped by arched profiles and tree-lined rooftop terraces. Inspired by California’s redwood trees, the clustered towers will come wrapped in natural materials, including timber mullions. Along the street, a wavy wooden awning that is reportedly inspired by the billowing forms of Marilyn Monroe’s wind-swept dress in Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch will provide shade for pedestrians.

Architect Koichi Takada said that the design of the canopy aims “to challenge L.A. to become a more walkable city” while also creating yet another “Instagram moment” for Downtown Los Angeles.

The project is one of many planned and under construction in L.A.’s South Park neighborhood, an area where until recently, only the 32-story William L. Pereira-designed Occidental Life building from 1968 towered above surrounding warehouses and commercial buildings. That has changed rapidly over the last three years as nearly two dozen towers have been proposed or completed along the north-south Figueroa Corridor nearby. That includes the troubled Oceanwide Plaza project that recently stalled construction.

The Sky Trees LA project will join a growing east-west spine of towers set to rise perpendicular to the Figueroa Corridor around 11th Street. A timeline for the project has not been announced.

For more on this story visit The Architect’s Newspaper.