THE PLAZA AT

SANTA MONICA
Location: Santa Monica
Design Team: OMA, VTBS
Total Site Area: 10,400 sq. m.
Total Open Space: 11,600 sq. m.
Floor Area Ratio: 3.19
Office: 15,979 sq. m.
Hotel: 11,799 sq. m.
Retail: 3716 sq. m.
Cultural Space: 1100 sq. m.
Plaza and Terrace: 4150 sq. m.
LIG Housing: 48 U, 7990 sq. m.
Concept
• We were inspired by many
indoor/outdoor spaces including,
in part, the Hanging Gardens
Babylon and its design for open
space that could be experienced
at each level, not just from the
ground floor.
• A stepped building that achieves
a strong interaction between
interior program and exterior
environments.
Planning
• The building integrates a ground level plaza
and elevated terraces.

• Providing an additional 56,500 sq. ft. of

programmable open space compared to the
original site.

• These public spaces can host a wide range of

outdoor programming, including a market
galleria and the existing public ice rink.

• Floors 2‐4 are proposed as office spaces.

• Floors 5‐7 are flexible space for office or

residential, and floors 8‐12 are hotel.
•The rooftop contains a hotel pool and
bar with public access for viewing.

• A 1,220 space underground parking

garage is proposed.

• 580 of the spaces would be public.

• A special purpose entity would manage

public open space and ensure active
year‐round programming, including a
seasonal ice skating rink.
•The site will be anchored by office
spaces designed to create a hub for the
growing tech industry within the greater
Los Angeles area.

• The office complex will be supported by

a hotel offering 248 rooms with
unobstructed views of the city, beach and
mountains.

•The project will also provide pedestrian

improvements such as wide sidewalks,
landscape, street furniture and public
parking.
Franklin Mitte
Architects: MVRDV, haascookzemmrich Studio 2050, AS+P
Location: Mannheim, Germany
Area: 63000.0 m2
O-Tower: 19,000 sq. m. (approx. 120 apartments) incl. parking
M-Tower: 27,000 sq. m. (approx. 185 apartments) incl. parking
E-Tower: 10,000 sq. m.
Mixed-Use Green Hill: 17,000m2 incl. parking and supermarket
 Introduction
• Mixed typology developments
organized around a central green hill
made from demolished barrack
buildings and offering panoramic views
of the new developments.
• Of those new buildings, four residential
towers spelling out the word H-O-M-E
will create a vibrant community of
professionals and young local families.
• Built as a trading city in
1606, Mannheim has evolved to
become an industrial centre
of Germany and later the home of a
massive US army base.
• It has provided a fresh opportunity for
urban renewal.
• MVRDV has drawn from this history to
create a new district that introduces
density and diversity to the site, aimed
at attracting young people who
otherwise have been leaving the city.
• ‘Franklin Mitte’ creates
a fine-grained
extremely homely and
cosy neighbourhood
with a central hill that is
both a park and
shopping centre. The
HOME towers signal a
welcoming
suggestion. Mannheim
is an ambitious city
with a strong social
agenda, the site is
currently occupied by
10,000 refugees.
• The high point H forms
the beginning of the
city quarter on the
Europa-axis that crosses
the entire area.
• A primary axis (the
Europa Axis) cuts
through the centre of
the scheme, piercing
through some of the old
structures, whilst
connecting the two
surrounding nature
areas and at the same
time, creates transitions
from old to new.
• ‘The Green Hill’ is the
central icon of this
revitalised
neighbourhood, a park
heart of the community
for people to walk on,
relax, a great panoramic
look out onto the
neighbourhood and its
HOME towers.
• MVRDV has been tasked with detailing
the ‘M’ and the ‘O’ buildings, while
haascookzemmrich STUDIO2050 will
design the ‘H’ and AS+P the ‘E’.
• The ‘O’ will contain 12,380 square
meters shared among 120 flexible
apartments and a public stage for
community engagement.
• Nearby, the ‘M’ will contain 17,890
square meters in 185 apartments, and
an activated roof terrace featuring
tennis courts and public space.
• The E will contain approx 10,000 sq.
m. of living space. The upper section
will have apartments, the podium will
have duplex apartments. Parking
spaces and the tenants’ cellars will be
located in a two-story underground
car park.
• The H is a 48 meter high residential
building with rental and studio
apartments, a kindergarten,
community gardens and commercial
space. The plinth zone will have
exhibition, workshop, working and
living area.
• Around each building is a plaza
created in the shape of the
projected shadow of the letter,
its size determined by local
regulations that call for a
certain distance between
neighbouring buildings.
• The brightly-coloured ‘HOME’
buildings will stand out against
the neutral tones of the
neighbourhood, allowing each
structure to take on its own
identity while contributing to
the overall community spirit.
• The towers are orientated
around the hill with a rotation
towards the ‘Vogelstang’
district and the highway which
allows readability from a
distance.