A $1bn office skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles is set to become the tallest building in the western United States upon its completion in four years’ time, according to the project’s lead architect, Chris Martin.
The office tower will stand at 335m high, rising an additional 25m above the downtown district’s 310m US Bank Tower, currently the tallest in the US West.
The building’s developers, Korean Air Lines, plan to begin the first phase of its construction at the end of this year, with its foundations being laid on the former site of the Wilshire Grand hotel, which closed in 2011 and is currently being demolished.
The initial plans for the skyscraper were announced back in 2009, and included two separate towers – a 60 story office tower and a 40 storey hotel. They have since been scaled back and integrated into one single unit, with plans for a luxury hotel to be placed on the buildings 70th floor.
The LA skyscraper will have 73 usable floors providing 37,000sq ft of state-of-the-art office space, 4,200sq ft of retail space, and house a four star hotel offering 900 rooms.
The designers have opted to exclude a helicopter landing pad, which is typically found on most buildings in LA and instead replace it with a fireproof elevator encased in 3,600kg of concrete for emergencies.
If all goes to plan, Korean Airways will throw a grand opening for the building in March 2017.
Speaking at a press conference, Korean Air Chairman Y.H. Cho said: “The new Wilshire Grand is an investment that makes sense and we are excited to continue our relationship with this great city.”
