Putting the pieces together

Abstract

The decision to more than double the size of the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, CA, almost led to problematic situation. The architecture of the green-glazed second phase of the Pacific Design Center is strong enough to stand alone, but Cesar Pelli's design also integrates it into a larger whole. The massing, shape, and orientation of the building is designed to make it one element in an interesting composition. The second phase building resembles an inverted pyramid. Because of the sloping walls and the skewed orientation in relation to the first phase building, every view of the project creates a unique geometric design. The Pacific Design Center houses numerous showrooms for manufacturer's of interior design products. This article describes the architectural composition along with the earthquake resistant steel structures and frame construction.