Completed 2000

The existing hotel consisted of three separate buildings on three sites: the Olympic Building, the Beverly Building, and the Canon Building. The buildings were built in 1948, 1953 and 1962 respectively. The facilities suffered from deferred maintenance and poorly designed modifications and were in need of renovation. The intent was to create a unique, quietly modern, comfortable, boutique hotel. The total number of guestrooms remained the same at 88 rooms. Amenities include a pool, restaurant and an exercise room.

The three existing buildings have distinct characteristics and the design builds on each building's positive design attributes while solving a number of serious operational shortcomings. The Olympic Building is the front door of the hotel complex housing the major public spaces - lobby and pool. The apparent simplicity belies the myriad of technical constraints that were addressed to achieve the required accessibility, structural, safety and operational improvements. The ground floor was gutted and redesigned to recapture the essence of the brave modern design. The existing lobby and restaurant were expanded and walls removed to provide a strong connection to the pool area; windows to the street were then reinstated; the deteriorated street mural was redesigned; the undersized elevator that blocked the view to the pool from the entry was also removed and new arbors added pool side. New entry doors are set on a blue terrazzo floor that rolls out the lobby and around the refurbished kidney shaped pool and cabanas. The front desk area leads to an outdoor patio and the new elevator. A bridge adjacent to the elevator will link the Olympic Building across the alley to the Beverly Building in 2000.

What's new and what's old (what's invented, what's restored) doesn't matter. One can time travel at will or luxuriate in the present..

Awards
Westside Urban Forum Prize in 2000

Publications
Architectural Record Feb. 2000
Interior Design January 2000