Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors commissioned this 8,500 s.f. building to house its W.A.T.E.R. (Water, Awareness, Training, Education and Recreation) Program. It includes a large, divisible multi-purpose room, kitchen, administrative offices, view terrace, restroom and locker facilities, and equipment and vehicle storage.

 

Mitigating the steep bluff site, the building keeps a low profile, reading as a landscape of folded roof forms rising from the sand. These forms organize programmatic spaces, create natural ventilation flows throughout the interior, and provide sun shading. Visitors descend a flight of stairs beneath the roofscape to enter, emerging through the playful lobby to broad ocean views.

 

Cynthia Bell was the project designer and manager from the initial client meetings through construction documentation.