After years of talk about the need for an improved and expanded Los Angeles Convention Center, Angelenos can now get a glimpse at what an updated center might look like.
The city released renderings this week for convention center makeovers designed by three teams of architects, the finalists in a competition sponsored by the city and the Los Angeles Department of Convention and Tourism Development.
The renderings will be displayed through June 4 at the convention center, in room 403A. The three teams will also present their work during a public program at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2. Upgrades to the convention center have been in limbo for years because of the now-scrapped plan to build a football stadium next to the center.
But with developer AEG cancelling those plans earlier this year, convention center upgrades are finally expected to move forward. Among the expected upgrades are the addition of more than 400,000 square feet of meeting and event space, which tourism officials say is needed to attract big conventions such as San Diego’s Comic-Con.
Eleven proposals from architectural firms were originally sent to the city’s Bureau of Engineering, which narrowed them down to three teams, according to Molly Fowler, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. The three finalist teams are: downtown L.A.’s AC Martin Inc. and Seattle’s LMN Architects; downtown’s Gensler and Los Feliz’s Lehrer Architects; and Kansas City’s Populous and downtown’s HMC Architects.
See their designs here:
AC Martin Inc. and LMN Architects
Each team was tasked to include creative ideas as well as those that show a commitment to the environment and a perspective on the “futurization” of conference centers.
Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price, who is the council representative for the Los Angeles Convention Center, said it is important to him that “innovation and functionality” be incorporated into the new design.
“Los Angeles is an international city, so our convention center, which houses so many business and civic leaders as well as visitors from all over the world, should be a reflection of the innovation and entrepreneurship we see across our city,” Price said. “I think a critical part of inviting more conventions to our city is making sure that our Convention Center is inviting and has all the amenities visitors would expect from a major class event space.”
