Hey all,

A recent project: a historic high-rise in downtown LA. We did the architecture and the electrical engineering. A fine-dining restaurant on the ground floor, a full spa in the basement — pools, saunas, steam rooms. We’ve done mixed-program work in older buildings before, but every building has its quirks. A few from this one worth talking about.

The first one came up on the mechanical side. The existing mechanical shaft intended to serve the restaurant had exhaust and make-up air ducts were too small to accommodate the hood and the equipment package the kitchen needed.

Running new ducting up eight stories through the mechanical shaft was outside the budget. That left one viable path: a Type 1 ventless hood. Before we engineered the system, we worked with LADBS and LA County Public Health to confirm they’d accept a ventless Type 1 in this configuration. Whenever we use a less-than-traditional method, we confirm with the AHJ that they’ll accept it first. It saves time, and ultimately saves the client money.

TX Engineering, the mechanical engineer on the project, did great work. They provided expert guidance and worked through the solutions with patience and professionalism. Good partner to have on a project like this.

The second was the historic designation. We worked with City Planning to make sure the use and the aesthetics stayed consistent with the building’s historic character.

The third was the building itself. It’s over a hundred years old. Floors aren’t level, walls aren’t plumb, the ceiling was inches off from one side of the room to the other.

We ran a LiDAR scan to capture the existing conditions and built a 3D model from it in Revit. We don’t just model the architecture there. We model the MEP systems in the same file — mechanical, electrical and plumbing. One source of truth. That’s what keeps the systems from fighting each other when they meet at a ceiling pocket or behind a chase wall. You don’t get to assume any reference line in a building this age. You measure.

We’re proud of the work we did on this very complicated project. The renderings turned out nice, but a lot of designers can do that. Designing a facility that can be around for another 100 years, that’s the work we stand by.

Best,

Aaron