Blossom Plaza Tour

Blossom Plaza: Exploring a transit oriented development in Chinatown

Design Architect: Johnson Fain
Project Architect: Togawa Smith Martin, Inc.
Tour Led By: Johnson Fain + Togawa Smith Martin, Inc. + Blossom Plaza
Continuing Education: 1.5 LU Health|Safety|Welfare

Blossom Plaza, completed in June 2016, is a transit-oriented, urban mixed-use devel­opment, linking a highly accessible and pedestrian-friendly network of public open spaces to the Metro Gold Line Chinatown Station in downtown Los An­geles. The plaza ignites a vibrant and culturally rich urban experience with apartments, an art gallery pop-up, a wine bar, and soon to be leased retail shops, and restaurants. At the foot of the Gold Line Metro Station, a 19,000-square-foot public space accommodates neighborhood events and a paseo for retail businesses. The design, while contemporary in shape and color, draws inspiration from signature elements of traditional Chinese architecture. Two five-story residential buildings feature 237 urban apartments (20% of which are reserved as affordable units) that rise four floors above 20,000 square feet of ground-level retail. The elevation maximizes sunlight and natu­ral ventilation into the apartments, while reducing the impact of the buildings’ height and bulk on the low-rise neighborhood. Blossom Plaza is a catalyst for the revival of this historic area of Los Angeles, signifying Chinatown’s transformation to a burgeoning community of art galleries, new chef-driven, multi-cultural eateries and a new location for living and socializing.

Photo Credit: Eric Kieley
Developer: Forest City Realty Trust

PRESENTERS:

James Donaldson, AIA, LEED BD+C, Principal, Johnson Fain

James is a Principal with more than 18 years of professional experience in designing large scale projects.  His experience includes the architectural design of diverse building typologies including office buildings, residential buildings and large scale mixed-use developments.  James has co-taught architectural courses with Scott Johnson at both Berkeley and USC and has been a guest speaker at USC’s BIM symposium.  His commitment to green building technologies has led to speaking engagements and leadership positions with a number of organizations including The Passive House Institute California where he is a Board Member.  He is involved in the US Green Building Council on the Abstract Review Committee for 2018 Municipal Green Building Conference & Expo and was a Co-Chair on the Greening Committee for the 2016 Greenbuild Conference.  In addition, James leads the Johnson Fain Sustainability and Resilience Lab within the firm.

Jerome Scott, AIA, LEED AP, Associate, Togawa Smith Martin Inc.

Mr. Scott brings over 30 years of experience in residential projects. He has served as an architect, project manager, quality control specialist and construction administrator for TSM. With a hands on multi-tasking approach, Mr. Scott coordinates closely with Clients and Consultants to develop maximum amenities on challenging sites. He has previously been BIM manager and CAD coordinator at other firms in addition to regular Project Management duties. His strong interest in computer technology and its application to production have seen him volunteer on the local AIA Technology in Architecture Practice sub-committee and develop close alliances with the USC School Of Architecture’s BIM programs and Facade Tectonics projects with professors Karen Kensek and Doug Noble. At TSM Mr. Scott is one of the members of the Technical Committee and a Revit resource.