Interlocking Character
A new ground-up building in the center of Downtown Culver City engages the creative energy and collaborative spirit of its cutting-edge inhabitants by providing two distinct office environments – The Brick and Machine.
The Brick features a dynamic shift between large, building-scale window openings and a finely textured, human-scale materiality. The exterior façade is a contemporary interpretation of the historic brick landmarks in the area. The Machine features a series of movable exterior screens that offer glare and temperature control.
Together, The Brick & The Machine share expansive vegetated regions including a multi-story courtyard and activated rooftop deck. The creative office’s fluid indoor/outdoor spaces incorporate natural lighting and ventilation strategies. Nature is further implemented into the building’s design with artist Veronika Kellndorfer’s piece, Architecture of Plants. This 3-story, multi-paneled silk-screen print showcases massive succulents across an entirely glass exterior.
The duality of this creative office environment is due in part to its regionality at the heart of Culver City. The two separate parts of The Brick and The Machine are built based on a creative implementation of local zoning laws. These laws state that one face of the building may be built up to three stories high, while the other face can be built up to four stories high. Our team at Abramson Architects leaned into the jurisdictional mandates, pushing the perceived limits of each structure to create two individual expressions of the local context. The end result being a wholly unique office space that reflect the culture and attitudes of its community.
Our research-based design process allowed the developers to account for growing trends in energy conservation through practical design. Our team took all factors of the environment into consideration. From Culver Boulevard’s diagonal street bringing in more sunlight, to accounting for ocean breeze in the ventilation design, the collaborative efforts of our architects and research team helped inform the building’s innovative design.
