DOWNTOWN LA | Lifan Tower | 107m | 350ft | 29 fl | Pro

Best that can be done with those structures is a paint job if the owner wants to keep the same architecture. Recladding projects like that in LA have proven to take longer than building newer structures from the ground up. There's kind of a bias in the rendering tho, since the proposed project is clearly highlighted. That structure up close is quite nice. Would be great to see more developers move away from the modern glass/thin framed structures toward more of the vast variety of other architectural types out there.

croyboy said:

Best that can be done with those structures is a paint job if the owner wants to keep the same architecture. Recladding projects like that in LA have proven to take longer than building newer structures from the ground up. There's kind of a bias in the rendering tho, since the proposed project is clearly highlighted. That structure up close is quite nice. Would be great to see more developers move away from the modern glass/thin framed structures toward more of the vast variety of other architectural types out there.

Click to expand...

Totally agree. Glass is clean and bright but also cold and distant. Good to mix it up wit metals, stone, etc.

Also agree that the old beaux arts mid-rises are hard to jazz up. But maybe some work on the first level or two can make a difference at street level.

Sadly, structures like these might have to go eventually. Wouldn't be surprised if some of these buildings were constructed with plenty of sidewalk space, but now many streets have been widened to 3 or more lanes with the sidewalks shrunk to low capacity foot traffic that runs right by the lobby doors. A hurried opening can knock someone right into the street. Wilshire Royale and Bryson Apartments on Wilshire/Rampart force Rampart from a 5 lane boulevard to a 2 lane street in just one intersection before having to connect with our busiest traffic artery, Wilshire Blvd..

That Beaux Arts building in the rendering for the proposed Lifan Tower is the Mayfair Hotel. It has an okay amount of sidewalk space up to Wilshire and has an obvious foyer entrance, but is definitely in need of a touchup on the walls facing the same direction. No storefronts, covered windows, and just a blank beige leave much to be desired here. The surrounding streets are much worse. The structure's west face (besides being very blank) is right up to the sidewalk, which is only wide enough for one person. There's no passing without someone having to jump the curb into the street, which is barely two lanes and with no room for street parking and is only marked closeby the intersection. The east face of the building isn't much better. There is street parking (tho the entire street is unmarked for parking or for a center dividing line) and the sidewalk is slightly wider, but it faces the familiar problems we have on many of our streets like large old tree roots popping out of the cement tiles.

Of course, it can't all last forever. But when it's time for these buildings to go, it wouldn't hurt for some street realignments before putting up some major developments expected to last the next several decades. Kinda sucks when a project like Lifan Tower goes up, it has to take up a T-intersection where one street dead-ends right into a 'right turn only' option without a crosswalk for pedestrians.