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PLAYA VISTA CASE STUDY

As an outgrowth of two years of meetings between the developer, Maguire Thomas & Partners, of a major mixed-use development and a non-profit environmental advocacy group, the Eco-Cities Council, Paul formed and chaired a design subcommittee of the Council with the intent of demonstrating how sustainable design could be implemented in the project and why, in market terms, it is worth consideration. Based on neo-traditional town making principles; tempered by city and state regulations; and facing impending financing, marketing and construction pre-requisites, the case study of one block in the development served to point out an overlay of natural processes and phenomena and a theme of connections to resolve seemingly conflicting criteria and distinguish Playa Vista in the marketplace. A unique community was suggested through solutions to issues as diverse as parking, security, public/private space hierarchy, disabled access, streetscape, solar and wind access, daylighting, public transportation, high density, mixed-use, recycled and low toxic building materials, public artwork, signage, waste handling, water reclamation, and building/open space integration. The case study also introduced a new typology for the alley system based on solar access, native landscaping and a “woonerf” open space concept.

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