Historic Century Plaza Renovation and Adaptive Reuse

Soaring towers and a sensitive renovation breathe new life into a storied Los Angeles hotel, enhancing longevity and engagement in a vibrant neighborhood.

Location

Los Angeles, California, USA

Client

Fairmont

Architect

Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (towers); Gensler & HED (hotel)

Project Status

Completed

LEED Certified

Targeted LEED Silver

Awards

ACI Southern California Chapter, ACI Excellence Award for High Rise Building Structures 2022

Century Plaza in Los Angeles, California, is both a ground-up mixed-use residential construction and historic hotel renovation project. As the structural engineer of record, WSP had to ensure that the building, originally built in the 1960s, was structurally sound for the renovation and expansion that added two towers and 268 residential units to the development. In its early days as a hotel, Century Plaza housed guests such as U.S. presidents, royals and the Disney family. In total, the updated Century Plaza brings 1.1 million square feet of mixed-use space to the neighborhood.

Renovation with a seismic focus

WSP worked with the project team to ensure the historic 16-story Century Plaza Hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, could successfully be retrofitted to accommodate an updated hotel and new condominiums. The existing building provided a challenge due to the historic structural system. This challenge was met with the help of WSP’s structural experts, who developed a plan to strengthen the existing structural steel framed hotel by using buckling restrained braced frames and fiber reinforced polymer. Through careful design, including seismic retrofits, Century Plaza has been renovated to accommodate a 400-key hotel and luxury condominiums.

Welcoming new neighbors

The project also included ground-up construction of twin 44-story glass towers that complement the hotel. The luxury condominiums within the tower residences include amenities like a helipad, yoga meditation lawn, dog parks, pools and other water features – all of which needed to be accommodated during structural design. Underground entertainment and amenities as well as multiple outdoor pavilions on the property provide engaging amenity space for the public as well.

Delivering enhanced spaces through performance-based design

The new residential buildings were designed using the performance-based design approach. By planning for the desired operational efficiencies and overall lifecycle of the new buildings, this method helps to achieve better performance objectives, resulting in a more economical building. The nonlinear time history analysis and design procedure allowed for a cost-efficient structural design through this approach.

Square Footage

1.1 million

Tower Height

571 feet

Luxury Units

331

Hospitality Units

400