Back in 2011, California’s legislature shut down Los Angeles’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA). The move seemingly ended the then-promising vision for the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a CRA-managed start-up space for green businesses in the city’s quickly emerging Arts District. But thanks to the LA Department of Water and Power, which stepped in to manage the project – and now has offices, labs and demonstration spaces here – the Incubator, now part of what’s called the La Kretz Innovation Campus, is open for business. While most of its tenants have already moved in, its official grand opening is pegged for 7 October.
The 61,000 sq ft facility, built into eight merged brick warehouses that John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects revamped and stabilised, is the physical embodiment of the innovative energy that’s pulsing through the neighborhood. While the area is generally known for art (hence the name), there’s a steady flow of entrepreneurship here. Some are touting it as the East Side equivalent of what’s been labeled 'Silicon Beach' on LA’s West Side.
Inside are flexible, open areas designed to spur communication and collaboration. The concept, explain the architects, is that of an open, entrepreneurial village, connected by narrow streets – aka walkways – all under massive bow truss ceilings, lit by copious skylights and solar tubes. Amid that are a central meeting space, maker labs and a lot of sculptural moments, delineating varied spaces and reflecting a young, maker culture. A giant green wall in the entrance lobby, manufactured by GSky Plant Systems, consists of pockets containing myriad plants; while the lobby desk is a curved, heat-formed Corian structure.
More than 30 businesses and non-profits offer solutions for solar, water, wind, battery and other energy systems as well as planning and urban life challenges. And since the building is dedicated to clean energy, it’s not surprising that it’s aiming for a LEED Platinum rating, with strategies like adaptive reuse, copious natural light, high efficiency energy and water equipment, a photovoltaic parking lot array, green walls, and bioswales to collect stormwater. Outside, John Friedman Alice Kimm worked with LA Bureau of Engineering Landscape architect Rick Fisher to complete a new one-acre park – consisting of small plazas – which will give the Arts District some sorely needed green space.
'It’s tech, sustainability, community, and culture all coming together,' says Alice Kimm. 'The place is just buzzing with interaction.'
The 61,000 sq ft facility sits in eight revamped and merged brick warehouses
Inside, areas are designed to be flexible and open plan, to encourage collaboration and communication
The concept, explain the architects, is that of an open, entrepreneurial village, connected by narrow streets or walkways
Unsurprisingly, the building is aiming for a LEED Platinum rating, working with strategies such as adaptive reuse, copious natural light, and high efficiency energy and water equipment
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects website
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressingPart of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
-
Maserati joins forces with Giorgetti for a turbo-charged relationshipAnnouncing their marriage during Milan Design Week, the brands unveiled a collection, a car and a long term commitment
-
Through an innovative new training program, Poltrona Frau aims to safeguard Italian craftThe heritage furniture manufacturer is training a new generation of leather artisans
-
This minimalist Wyoming retreat is the perfect place to unplugThis woodland home that espouses the virtues of simplicity, containing barely any furniture and having used only three materials in its construction
-
We explore Franklin Israel’s lesser-known, progressive, deconstructivist architectureFranklin Israel, a progressive Californian architect whose life was cut short in 1996 at the age of 50, is celebrated in a new book that examines his work and legacy
-
A new hilltop California home is rooted in the landscape and celebrates views of natureWOJR's California home House of Horns is a meticulously planned modern villa that seeps into its surrounding landscape through a series of sculptural courtyards
-
The Frick Collection's expansion by Selldorf Architects is both surgical and delicateThe New York cultural institution gets a $220 million glow-up
-
Remembering architect David M Childs (1941-2025) and his New York skyline legacyDavid M Childs, a former chairman of architectural powerhouse SOM, has passed away. We celebrate his professional achievements
-
The upcoming Zaha Hadid Architects projects set to transform the horizonA peek at Zaha Hadid Architects’ future projects, which will comprise some of the most innovative and intriguing structures in the world
-
Frank Lloyd Wright’s last house has finally been built – and you can stay thereFrank Lloyd Wright’s final residential commission, RiverRock, has come to life. But, constructed 66 years after his death, can it be considered a true ‘Wright’?
-
Heritage and conservation after the fires: what’s next for Los Angeles?In the second instalment of our 'Rebuilding LA' series, we explore a way forward for historical treasures under threat
