+Interiors/Hospitality

5959 LLC

LAX Hyatt House / Hyatt Place

Vision

Los Angeles is a trend-setting global metropolis with an extraordinary history and a rich cultural heritage. It’s known as the Entertainment Capital of the World. Tucked between Marina del Rey and Manhattan Beach, the LAX Corridor is the gateway to this capital and offers a fun layover or a home base for further travels. The gateway features L.A.’s highest concentration of hotels from all the major brands and more.

Originally named the Del Webb Building, this 12-story office building was designed by Welton Becket, who was acclaimed for mid-century architecture in Los Angeles. It has repeating floor layouts, two-way concrete waffle slab floors, and a heavy concrete façade, with an arcade around the ground floor. The building was nearly vacant for many years and was purchased by 5959 LLC with hopes of converting it and giving it new life and purpose.

Project Meta

Client

5959 LLC

Completion

2020

Size

240,000 SF : 401 Keys

Construction Cost

$76,000,000

Markets

Hospitality

Project Types

Commercial, Hospitality

Services

Architecture, Interiors, Renovation

A Dual Personality

The dilapidated office tower was reimagined as a dual branded select service hotel with approximately 33 guest rooms on each floor. Hyatt Place provides upscale rooms and amenities, while Hyatt House is geared towards guests requiring longer stays and provides in-unit kitchens, and living/workspace in each room.

Existing Conditions

Careful attention was paid to repair and reuse existing architectural features, such as the notable façade, elevators, and waffle slabs, to the extent possible while updating the building’s structural integrity and replacing/modernizing mechanical, plumbing and electrical components.

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Interior Influences

The concept for interior design was driven by chic style and fashion of the 1960s that balances strong masculine elements with bold feminine accents. Proximity to the L.A. International Airport adds a dynamic and adventurous quality to the concept. The palette is neutral colors with vibrant moments of rich materials, geometric forms, retro textures, and statement furniture pieces to pay homage to the building’s modernist origin while instilling modern flare.

Spatial Adaptation

To expand the usable space of the building without significantly modifying the footprint, the building was expanded at the ground level and the roof, while the lower level was transformed into guest amenity and hotel operation spaces.

A penthouse level with a restaurant, bar, kitchen, and pool was added to the existing roof where mechanical equipment once was. Rooftop plantings surround the amenity areas to screen the remaining mechanical equipment from sight. The lower level was modified to include meeting space, a fitness center, staff spaces, prep kitchen and back-of-house laundry and storage. The ground level arcade was enclosed and houses the lobby, reception, lounges, a restaurant and bar, and guest services.

Room layouts were designed with the existing column grid and elevator core. The very regular and rectangular plan lent itself well to reconfiguration as a hotel and allowed us to insert King and double Queen rooms.

Technical Details

Converting this mid-century office building to a modern hotel came with many technical challenges and required unique problem solving. Two atriums were cut into the building to allow for 60 additional guest rooms and provide daylight down to the second level. The existing waffle slabs were not in alignment from floor to floor, causing re-design of several bathroom stacks to thread plumbing systems down through the building during construction. Existing elevator shafts were reused and, in some cases, lengthened to extend to the lower level and new penthouse.

At the start of construction, a fire in the main transformer room caused the design team to re-evaluate the lighting design and upgrades to the electrical services for more amenity focused activities. Accent lighting and colors enhance the existing architecture, with a subtle nod to Hyatt’s brand color, and large folding doors were added at the ground level to provided connection to outdoor dining.

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Project Gallery

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