UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios

This project won an award in the 2019 Progressive Architecture Awards

“This project opens up new possibilities for a typical warehouse. It shows how a thoughtful approach can make something that is banal and extraordinary. It doesn’t stray too far from the type, but subtle changes—like opening alternating roofs and facades—really redefine its organization and sensibility.” —Paul Andersen, AIA

Look around, and it is clear that tilt-up is having a moment, and with the design for the new Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios at the University of California, Los Angeles, Johnston Marklee is proving that the humble material is anything but staid. The design calls for the renovation of the Graduate Art Studios’ existing home in a 21,200-square-foot former wallpaper warehouse, and supplements it with a 26,800-square-foot, L-shaped addition—which itself will replace several nondescript annexes that have cropped up since the program took up residence.

Made from site-cast, pillowed, tilt-up concrete façade panels that nod to warehouse construction but elevate it with a lush, almost textile-like finish, the addition houses classrooms and lab space for everything from woodworking to ceramics. It is topped by a grid of vaults—lined with curved glulam beams and covered in either roofing membrane or curved polycarbonate—that recall the bow-truss roof on the old warehouse; some will feature the beams only, to allow for plein-air studios.

The complex is sited in the middle of Culver City, Calif.’s Hayden Tract, the former industrial area that Eric Owen Moss, FAIA, and his clients Laurie and Frederick Samitaur-Smith have turned into a large-scale architectural assemblage with such constructions as Stealth and Pterodactyl. So it seems fitting that the team at Johnston Marklee would approach the organization of its new complex with an eye toward innovative urban design at building scale.

Studios are clustered in small blocks in the renovated warehouse, and, throughout the complex, circulation mimics a neighborhood map writ small: entries and infrastructure on cul-de-sacs and plaza-like spaces for larger gatherings, all connected by criss-crossing pathways akin to streets. This new city within a city rendered from deftly elevated industrial materials is a fitting space to inspire future artists, and an apposite addition to the neighborhood.

Project Credits
Project: UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios, Culver City, Calif.
Client: UCLA (School of the Arts and Architecture)
Architect: Johnston Marklee, Los Angeles . Sharon Johnston, FAIA (partner-in-charge); Mark Lee (design partner); Nicholas Hofstede, Assoc. AIA (project director); Lindsay Erickson (project lead); David Gray, Tori McKenna, Justin Kim (project design team)
Structural Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
M/E/P Engineer/IT/Telecom/Security: ME Engineers
Civil Engineer/As-Built Surveying: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Geotechnical Engineer: Geocon
Construction Manager: UCLA Capital Programs
General Contractor: Abbott Construction
Landscape Architect: Pamela Burton & Co.
Lighting/Daylighting Designer: Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design
Cost Estimating: The Capital Projects Group
Specifications: C Plus C Consulting
Code/Accessibility: Jensen Hughes
Building Enclosure: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
Vertical Transportation: Van Deusen & Associates
Environmental Graphics: MG&Co.
LEED & Energy Modeling: Gaia Development
Acoustical/AV: Veneklasen Associates
Site Survey: Iacobellis & Associates
Visualization: Igor Brozyna
Size: 48,000 square feet (21,200-square-foot renovation, 26,800-square-foot addition)
Cost: $20.3 million