Long Beach, California
This 24-story ocean-view tower contains 155 residential units and is anchored by a podium base containing 24,000 square feet of retail space and parking for the residents. Located on historic Ocean Avenue in downtown Long Beach at the intersection of Pine Avenue, the tower sits adjacent to the convention center.
The form of the tower was driven by conflicting goals of maximizing unit area and views while at the same time creating a building that appears as thin as possible in the city skyline. The resulting composition is a tall, narrow volume book-ended by solid white planes on the broad sides and shear glass infill on the narrow ends. Attached to each side of the white planes are rectangular volumes of glass that are punctuated by the exposed concrete moment frame running vertically up the façade. At the podium base a series of stone-clad columns and pilasters create a retail arcade that is capped by steel canopies.