By Daily Press staff
Citing the innovation and sensitivity to preservation in the conversion of the mid- 20th century Mobil Oil Building, Los Angeles, to a major multi-family housing structure, the California Preservation Foundation on Saturday bestowed one of four top design awards in the Adaptive Re-Use category on Santa Monica-based Killefer Flammang Architects.
Developed by the KOR Realty Group, the recently opened 322-unit building, now known as The Pegasus, at Sixth and Flower streets, was the only high-rise building in Los Angeles recognized in the adaptive re-use category.
Judges said the high caliber of the Mobil Oil Building's conversion “was ready proof that the Corporate International Style was worth saving.”
Addressing design issues, KFA principal Wade Killefer noted, “The building's mid-century modern clean lines and planes translated perfectly into a contemporary urban apartment building.”
Distinguished by exterior vertical fins and center-pivoting casement windows, the building’s original design was ideal for the contemporary statement that the developers wanted to pursue, Killefer added. Also, the interior’s flat panel doors, nickel plated hardware and other character-defining features were highly harmonious with the open-plan design envisioned for the one and two-bedroom apartments, he explained.
Although some walls in the structure were removed, most of the existing features were retained — except those that needed to be replaced for safety requirements.
The one prominent feature distinguishing the roof, Mobil’s “Flying Red Horse logo,” was also removed to enable installation of a pool and recreation area with a breathtaking view of the city.
The first major office building constructed in Los Angeles after World War II, the 13-story, 500,000 square foot structure was the largest in Los Angeles in 1947. By 2001, however, the building had been vacant for more than ten years, a victim of high vacancy rates for office space. But with the advent of downtown's new housing renaissance — kicked off by the success of the conversion of the Old Bank District into housing, which also was designed by Killefer Flammang — the new property owners launched their development plans.
The California Preservation Foundation award, presented at the San Diego Aerospace Museum, closely follows the accolade presented to the firm last week by the Los Angeles Business Journal as “Architect of the Year” for its overall work in downtown Los Angeles, where it is designing some 3,000 multi-family units.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 1, 2004. Read the original PDF.