The Municipal Project of the Year goes to UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios, a 48,000 square foot building LEED Gold certified located in Culver City’s dynamic Hayden Tract, is the studio home to the MFA students in the Department of Art in the School of the Arts and Architecture. The Studios are dedicated to supporting emerging artists and strengthening Los Angeles’s position as a world arts capital, building upon the campus’s continued commitment to nurture generations of artistic talent and enhancing the vibrant cultural community of Los Angeles. The restoration was largely funded by a $20 million gift in 2016 from Margo Leavin, the largest ever made by an alumna to the arts within the University of California system.
The building creates an artists’ neighborhood, with clusters of intimate, private studio spaces and communal, shared facilities and critique spaces. The design considers the nature of artistic practice today and anticipates change by creating a building that can evolve in the future with new technologies and working methods, while integrating sustainable materials and strategies throughout.
The choice to rehabilitate and renovate the existing bowstring truss warehouse was at the core of the project, the original building expanded outward to add exceptional ceramics, sculpture, gallery, digital classroom, resident artist, and garden spaces, with toplit covered spaces elegantly enclosed by a remarkable perimeter wall of ribbed tilt-up concrete that strikes a balance at once both grand of purpose and contextually humble.
Sustainable features include
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Welcoming courtyards with drought-tolerant plantings, water recapture, and efficient irrigation, saving 56% of water as compared to conventional landscapes.
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WaterSense, low-flow, and hybrid plumbing fixtures achieved a water usage savings of 51.55%
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Simple building volumes capitalize on ample daylighting and natural ventilation. Efficient lighting, equipment, and mechanical systems together outperform ASHRAE Standard 90.1 by 18%.
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Healthy, low-VOC interiors, high ventilation rates, chemical containment and management systems and vacuum exhaust systems.
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29 products provided Environmental Product Declarations and 27 products material ingredient disclosures.
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93% of construction waste was diverted from landfill, 1,312 tons in all.
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100% of energy use is offset or renewable, thanks in part to Southern California Edison’s Green-e electric service through the Clean Power Alliance in Culver City.