CASE STUDIES

PEEKABOO BUILDING AND SITE TRAFFIC JAM

PRESENTED BY: PURCHIA JEDA A. PAGUE
What is a Case Study? 1

 is an account of an activity, event or

problem that contains a real or hypothetical
situation and includes the complexities you
would encounter in the workplace (The University of
New South Wales Australia).

 Case studies are used to help you see how the

complexities of real life influence
decisions (The University of New South Wales
Australia).
A sketched presentation of a case study
on an orphanage done by Architect
Aldo van Eyck in Amsterdam,
Netherlands. (1955-1960)
Case Studies in Architecture 2
 These present description of sites whose designs involved various special
concerns(Ambrose & Brandow, 1992).

 These illustrate the design issues and their inherent problems(Ambrose &
Brandow, 1992).

THE EFFECTS OF CATHOLIC SACRED ARCHITECTURE ON TRANSFORMATIVE HUMAN EXPERIENCE:

A (Re)evaluation of Evidence-Based Design through an Empirical Test of a Conceptual Model by Brandon Ro (June, 2013)
 3

PEEKABOO BUILDING
THE OAKS / BAXTER BIOSCIENCE DIVISION
(FORMERLY OFFICE BUILDING FOR PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE COMPANY)
1 BAXTER WAY, THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA, USA
Peekaboo Building 4
Baxter Bioscience Division
FORMER BUILDING Prudential Insurance Western Headquarters
NAMES (1982-1984); General Telephone and
Electronics Corporation (1985-1999); Verizon
Communications (1985-Present); Baxter
Bioscience Division (2000-Present); [Acquired
by] Kennedy Wilson (2007- Present)
LOCATION 1 Baxter Way
Westlake Village, CA 91362
(Thousand Oaks, California)
BUILT 1982
COORDINATES 34°9'22"N 118°49'8"W
BUILDING TYPE Class “A” Office Building
ARCHITECT Albert C. Martin (A.C. Martin Architectural
Firm)
Exterior view of the former Prudential Insurance Western Headquarters
ARCHITECTURAL Hi-tech, Futuristic Style (1982) In its prime. Photo by A.C. Martin Architectural Firm:
http://www.acmartin.com/portfolio/prudential-insurance-western-
STYLE headquarters
Peekaboo Building
ABOUT THE PROJECT
 Situated in a Los Angeles suburb.
 Occupies a valley of rolling hills .
5
 Primarily designed to provide general office space for
the Western Headquarters of Prudential Insurance
Company of America.
 Was extensively renovated in 2007.
Peekaboo Building 6

ABOUT THE FORMER OWNER/CLIENT

 Former owner was a prime investor  Requested a less-visible presence.
in the development of the suburb.

 Desired to maintain a low-rise,

residential character of the area.
Peekaboo Building 7

BUILDING FEATURES
 286,000 square feet of office area
 Three – storey atrium building
 100,000 square feet devoted to support functions
such as a cafeteria, audio-visual, atrium and
 400,000 square feet office building
mechanical areas.
Peekaboo Building 8

BUILDING FEATURES

Makes major use of natural light through:

 Horizontal Strip Windows

 Interior Courts

 Sky Lights.

Interior view of Prudential Insurance Western Headquarters

(1982) In its prime. Photo by A.C. Martin Architectural Firm:
http://www.acmartin.com/portfolio/prudential-insurance-
western-headquarters
Peekaboo Building 9

SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 Site is bordered by a freeway (main access to the community
with major streets on the other sides

 Wide setback from the freeway

Former map of general area of the Prudential Building

Mound interconnected by the building. Mostly Conceals the building from the freeway view Current map of general area of the Prudential Building
Peekaboo Building 10

SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 Full size of the building can be seen by flying over the property
or from some distant hill tops.

 Not visually apparent from the ground.

Bird’s eye-view of the building’s full size.

Bird’s eye-view of the building’s full size with the freeway in

sight (uppermost portion).
Mound interconnected by the building. Mostly Conceals the building from the freeway view
Peekaboo Building 11

SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 Plantings, earth berms and the general siting of the building
conceal it.

 The only halfway clear views are from the freeway.

Mound interconnected by the building. Mostly Conceals
the building from the freeway view

Frontage of the building with the freeway visibly adjacent to it. Freeway
Peekaboo Building 12

SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 Consists of 49 acres
developed within a 64-
acre parcel of land.

 Large reflecting pools

that adorn the front of
the building

 fully landscaped
master plan
Bird’s eye view of the former Prudential Insurance Western Headquarters (now known as The Oaks
or Baxter Bioscience Division). Image taken from Google Earth (2016)
Peekaboo Building 12

SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 Consists of 49 acres
developed within a 64-
acre parcel of land.

 Large reflecting pools

that adorn the front of
the building

 fully landscaped
master plan
Mans eye view of the former Prudential Insurance Western Headquarters (now known as The Oaks
or Baxter Bioscience Division). Image taken from Google Earth (2016)
Peekaboo Building 13

SITE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

 internal access road system,

 vast outdoor surface parking

area

 parking facilities for1,054 cars

 six distinct parking fields

connected by internal
roadways. Bird’s eye view of the former Prudential Insurance Western Headquarters (now known as The Oaks
or Baxter Bioscience Division). Image taken from Google Earth (2016)
Peekaboo Building 14

FACTORS
 Existing Site Features

 Building Design

 General Site Development

-Have all contributed and

maximized the reduction of the
visual impact of a large
building with extensive surface
Bird’s eye view of the former Prudential Insurance Western Headquarters (now known as The Oaks
parking. or Baxter Bioscience Division). Image taken from Google Earth (2016)
Peekaboo Building 15

BUILDING EXTERIOR
 Emulates the soft rolling hills of the underdeveloped-terrain.

 Brown granite used as major cladding.

SITE TRAFFIC JAM
ROWES WHARF HARBOR REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
BOSTON HARBOR, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, USA
 17

Worm’s eye-view of the Rowes Wharf Complex. Photo by Google Street View Aerial view of the Rowes Wharf Complex. Photo by Google Street View

Rowes Wharf Harbor Redevelopment Project

PROJECT NAME “Sconce” (1666), “South Battery”)
LOCATION Boston Harbor, Chicago, U.S.A.
BUILT Sconce/South Battery (1666), Rowes Wharf (1764),
Boston Harbor Hotel (1987)
COORDINATES 42°21′22.29″N 71°02′59.36″W
PROJECT TYPE Modern Mixed-use Development
ARCHITECT Boston Harbor Hotel: Adrian Smith (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill)
 18

ABOUT THE PROJECT

 Older building was torn down by the Boston
Redevelopment Authority.

 Adrian Smith says he didn’t know about the

older one when he began his own design.

 Attempts to create a gateway from the

waterfront and into the core of the city.
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ABOUT THE FORMER OWNER/CLIENT

 Merchant

 Very active smuggler.

 Active slave dealer.

 Was the owner of one of the tea ships, the

Eleanor, involved in the Boston Tea Party

John Rowe
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BUILDING AND SITE PLAN

 1. Office
 2. Residential
 3. Hotel
 4. Hotel Lobby
 5. Office Lobby
 6. Residential Lobby.
 7. Health Club
 8. Parking
 9. Retail
 10. Ferry Pavilion
 11. Mechanical
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DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

 Mixed-use development
(Commercial, Residential, Retail,
Maritime)

 Major link of the adjacent

financial district to the harbor.

 Preservation of architectural
character.
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DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
 Preservation of view of the harbor through the site.

 Stepped down heights of buildings toward the water edge.

 Facilitation of a ferry landing currently in operation.

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DESIGN REQUIREMENTS

 A walk along the water’s edge,

continuing past the property

 A small marina at the water side of the

property.

 A health club.

 Structure parking onsite.

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DESIGN FEATURES

 Mixed-use facility

 Gateway view to waterfront from inner

core of city.

 Underground structure that contains the

health club and parking facility.
 25

DESIGN FEATURES

 Blends well other existing buildings.

 Visual and pedestrian link between

 adjacent downtown area and harbor.

 26

TRAFFIC

 Vehicular traffic is less casual and

potentially enjoyable.

 Complexity in the mixture of pedestrian

and vehicular traffic presents a
challenging situation.
 27
References/Sources
 Simplified Site Design by James Ambrose

http://rs.locationshub.com/location_detail.aspx?id=050-2462
 http://www.kennedywilson.com/kennedy-wilson-acquires-oaks-westlake-131-million-
class-office-building/print
 http://wikimapia.org/1197214/Baxter-Bioscience-Division
 http://www.cbre.us/o/losangelesnorth/properties/the-oaks-at-
westlake/pages/overview.aspx
 https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-
8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FThe_Oaks_%28B%25C3%25BCroge
b%25C3%25A4ude%29&edit-text=&act=url
 http://www.acmartin.com/portfolio/prudential-insurance-western-headquarters