Product category:
Design and Build Services
News Release from: Gensler | Subject: Sherman Oaks Galleria
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 04 November 2002
Gensler adaptive re-use of Sherman Oaks
Galleria
Sherman Oaks Galleria has undergone a major renovation by Gensler Architecture, Design and Planning Worldwide.
Sherman Oaks Galleria, the famous shopping mall, has undergone a major renovation by Gensler Architecture, Design and Planning Worldwide, who transformed it from an obsolete closed-box retail structure to an open-air center, with more than half the new property comprised of office space Developed by Douglas, Emmett and Company, the new Sherman Oaks Galleria is now comprised of three office buildings overlooking a retail and entertainment complex, totaling 700,000sf of office space and 300,000 sf of theater, restaurant and retail space
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 28 Jul 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
New Intelligent Campus Is Catalyst For GCHQ Change
GCHQ's new headquarters, designed by Architects Gensler and developed by the Integrated Accommodation Services Consortium, will bring together 4,000 staff from 50 buildings into a single site.
Photography Center designed by Gensler
International Center of Photography occupies new Midtown Manhattan School, designed by Gensler.
Located at the corner of Ventura and Sepulveda Boulevards and bordered by one of the nation's busiest freeways (600,000 cars pass by on the 405 San Diego Freeway daily), Sherman Oaks Galleria is one of the largest recent redevelopment projects in Southern California.
Peck/Jones was the project's Contractor.
In the 1980andiacute;s Sherman Oaks Galleria was a pop culture phenomenon and a venue for the films such as "Fast Times at Ridgemont High,andicirc; and "Valley Girl,andicirc; that epitomized San Fernando Valley culture.
Further reading
Gensler and HUD Team Up
Gensler, the project architect and designer, was a key factor in helping the agency reinvent its approach to bringing housing and homeownership information to the public.
Gensler designs Las Vegas monorail extension
Gensler, as part of the Las Vegas Monorail Team, has been retained to design and construct a four-mile, seven-station extension to the MGM-Bally's Monorail.
Gensler design Guam International Airport
Gensler, architecture, design and planning worldwide, announce the completion of the A.B.Won Pat Guam International Airport.
By the mid 1990andiacute;s, however, the Galleria's enclosed design and retail-dominant focus rendered it outmoded, and it sat vacant for four years' fate shared by many malls across the country.
In 1997, Douglas Emmett purchased the property and, in 1998, began plans with Gensler for the Galleria's repositioning and revitalization.
Construction started in 1999.
"Our assignment was to take this dilapidated, out-dated mall and convert it into a 24-hour business/lifestyle environment that is a great place to work as well as a key attraction for San Fernando Valley residents" said Andy Cohen, Managing Principal of the Gensler's Santa Monica office".
"Due to years of overbuilding, there are dying and empty malls all over the country.
Many of these malls have potential if they are given the right mix and if the new design successfully incorporates them into the surrounding community.".
Sherman Oaks Galleria provides the primarily residential local community with the workspace and entertainment assets of an urban environment.
At the same time, the retail, restaurants, and health amenities offer an appealing setting for office tenants.
Major tenants include Warner Brothers Animation in the office space, along with retail/ entertainment tenants such as Tower Records, Pacific Theaters' 16-plex cinema, 24 Hour Fitness, The Cheesecake Factory, and P.F.
Changa's.
In contrast to the white, windowless box that turned its back on the local community, the new design emphasizes pedestrian access and circulation along with a stronger integration with the surrounding street grid.
"We wanted to make the Galleria a real place - accessible by foot, bike or car - that feels relevant to the adjacent neighborhood", added Cohen".
"New entries and storefronts were added to the property, and the corner of Sepulveda and Ventura is now a main entrance defined by a fountain-adorned plaza that leads to the property's open-air pedestrian promenade".
"A dramatic rotunda creates a vertical node of two levels of restaurant/retail capped by a movie theater".
"Valet parking is located below the Galleria level and opens directly into the rotunda".
"In place of the monotonous predictability that malls are notorious for, the richness of a cityscape has been reintroduced at Sherman Oaks Galleria with variety in surfaces, lighting, community spaces, landscaping, and the facades".
"Gensler also designed the Galleria';s graphic identity and signage".
"The remodel included gutting a majority of the old mall, the redesign of the entire first and second levels of the skin of the adjacent Imperial Bank office tower, and the addition of an updated lobby".
"The three-building complex is clad in cream colored limestone and glass fiber reinforced concrete gray sandstone, and blue-green tinted high performance glass with metallic pewter trim".
"To screen out summer sun without sacrificing daylight, twenty-four-inch deep perforated metal fins were installed to run the length of the buildings, and west-facing glazing provides additional shading from the afternoon sun".
"To reduce energy use, the cooling system uses outdoor air along with chilled air, while filtering out pollutants".
"Other sustainable features include ultra low velocity ducts and pipes for air and water circulation, automatic sensors that trigger indoor lighting when needed, as well as an automatic energy management system for the entire complex".
"A 40-foot high illuminated signature Galleria engraved in the GFRC identifies the complex to the daily 670,000 motorists that pass by on the 405 Freeway.
The property features a 3,500 space parking structure that can be accessed by five convenient entry points.
Gensler_Architecture, Design and Planning Worldwide is a leading global design, planning and strategic consulting firm, with 1700 people and offices in 25 cities.
Gensler received recognition from the prestigious Business Week / Architectural Record (BW/AR) Awards for projects that demonstrate the power of architectural design to meet strategic business goals.
Gensler was ranked Number One on World Architecture's survey of international interior design firms, and other industry publications consistently rank Gensler as the world's leading architecture and interior design firm.
Fast Company Magazine calls Gensler "one of the world's most influential design firms." Gensler's multi-textured expertise drives a focused exploration of how people experience the world around them; Gensler teams then use that knowledge to create design solutions that give clients a fresh, competitive edge.
Reply Reply to all Forward.
• Gensler: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Buildingtalk email newsletter
• Buildingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
