A public covered courtyard, carved into the centre of the building, encourages chance encounters, casual gatherings and collaboration.
The courtyard facing the campus daycare centre is surrounded by three sides of backlit glass showing iconic Olympic athletes. Employees and their children can use the playful elements incorporated into the design, such as a slide into the courtyard, rubberised pyramids, a balance beam and a running track.
This is the place where people are introduced to the campus for the first time. The concept was that rather than having a large, massive structure, we'd start to pull the structure apart into smaller-scale buildings to create opportunities to penetrate the building with natural light. Doing so created all these great spaces in between. We brainstormed to find ways and moments where we could break down the scale of the building and focus on the whole aspect of movement and experience...to create something special. That opened the building up to functioning as a venue for special events, a way to create spaces that they don't have on campus right now. The result is a place where you can have hundreds of people meet, gather, and celebrate. It's an added value that the parking structure brings to the campus at a larger scale.
Embodying the theme of movement, exterior walls are canted and tilted to give the elaborate building skin a dynamic quality while concealing the cars within. Also inspiring the design, the theme of movement allows for the integration of sports and functional program elements that celebrate interaction, activity, fitness, and a healthy lifestyle. The layering of the façade elements provides both natural ventilation and adds to the garage's dynamism.
Each level is themed with supergraphics and colours for a different Los Angeles sports team, reinforcing the overall concept and making wayfinding an easier and more memorable experience.