Landscape Architecture, Urban Design & Master Planning

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Culver City Hall and Civic Center

The City Hall complex was envisioned by City leaders as the first step in the revitalization of the city’s central business district. The design team, lead by Gonzalez/Goodale Architects, was selected through a design competition. The program for the two acre site included city administrative offices, council chambers and police facilities.

Both the building design and site planning/landscape architecture incorporate reminders of the original City Hall, references to Culver City ’s rich heritage with the film industry, and clear zones for each of the major functions of the building. Complicating the landscape design of the outdoor spaces is the underground structured parking requiring that site improvements be constructed “on-structure”.

The main plaza utilizes a symmetrical pattern of trees and paving to orient visitors to the building's main entry. Dactylifera palms are located in planters placed over building columns to reduce structural requirements. Staircases from the underground parking are incorporated into the design as were terraced planters that “lift” the landscape above the structural deck and separate the plaza from the busy street. A central water feature animates the plaza and provides white-noise to balance the heavily trafficked Culver Boulevard.

The Council Chamber entrance is identified with a distinct courtyard identified by a recreation of part of the façade of the original City Hall. The competition design had intended on saving the original City Hall façade but structural considerations made this impossible. Visitors are treated to a water feature marked by brick columns and floating boulders and a series of small scale garden rooms with abundant seating. Each of the garden roofs incorporates visual clues to the City’s film industry heritage.

As part of the larger revitalization goal, the project established a new rich streetscape vocabulary for Culver Boulevard that would be extended in future redevelopment projects. The streetscape included plantings of Jacarandas and Olives, decorative lighting, and bus shelters to create a distinct identity for the City.

Location: Culver City

Role: Landscape Architect

Architect: Gonzalez/Goodale Architects

Owner: City of Cilver City

Budget: $650,000

Date of Completion: 1996