West Hollywood, California, USA
8500 Melrose has been redesigned by Patrick Tighe and his design team at Tighe Architecture to capture and exert the bustling energy produced by the surrounding high-end shopping, dining, and entertainment venues.
The project has been awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2023 American Architecture Awards from The Chicago Athenaeum and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
A grand marquee marks the intersection and is an extension of the roofline that extends the building out towards the city.
The existing postmodern building was clad with a heavy granite façade.
The owner sought a new design that would attract new life into the building.
The retail spaces were brought forward to meet the street and interior spaces were pulled back away from the street at the second level.
The building massing is broken down and made more accessible.
A bold new front elevation offers optimum transparency making a strong connection to the city.
The mixed-use building is comprised of retail, commercial, and office spaces along with subterranean parking.
The new design enhances the visibility/accessibility for each retailer.
The reimagined building possesses an iconic presence and (re)establishes a strong connection with the city.
The predominantly glass façade establishes a contemporary and alluring ambiance that forms a strong and much-needed connection to the character of the surrounding city.
It all comes to show that with the right aesthetic vision and architectural systems, any unappealing or outdated building can be repurposed to offer welcome sight.
Project: 8500 Melrose
Architects: Tighe Architecture
Lead Architect: Patrick Tighe
General Contractor: Baravarian Construction Co.
Client: Olympic -Barrington Partnership
Photographers: Art Gray
