L.A. Live honored by Urban Land Institute
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
L.A. Live, the $2.5-billion addition to Staples Center completed last year, was one of two U.S. developments honored by the Urban Land Institute with its Global Award for Excellence this week.
The prestigious annual award is given by the nonprofit think tank and trade organization to five projects that are considered models of urban planning and land use. The honored projects were in Warsaw, Singapore, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Rouse Hill, Australia.
L.A. Live, the judges said, “has transformed a stretch of underused land in downtown Los Angeles into a vibrant, 24-hour sports, residential and entertainment district and stimulated the development of more than 2,500 housing units, a grocery store, and dozens of restaurants, cafés and other exciting clubs and venues in adjacent neighborhoods.”
Being big was not a requirement to receive the honor The other U.S. winner was Thin Flats, an eight-unit residential project in north Philadelphia that uses solar hot water heating, green roofing and rainwater harvesting to reduce energy consumption by about 50%. The project’s design was inspired by the Philadelphia row home, while reconfiguring the relationship between the interior and exterior.
The 2010 winners were selected from 19 finalists, all of whom were winners in their region. A global jury used this criteria to evaluate the projects: innovative concepts that can be emulated around the world; strong urban design; response to the surrounding environment; and design that contributes to a livable, sustainable development that demonstrates relevance to the needs of the community.
-- Roger Vincent
