University of California Los Angeles La Kretz Garden Pavilion

The goal of the initial phase of this project was to create an emphatic and highly visible main entrance to the botanical gardens while addressing the peripheral condition at a major entryway into the university campus.The new procession weaves the botanical garden entry promenade with the adjacent streets to integrate the garden’s edge fully into the campus.  This further emphasizes the perception of the garden as an educational laboratory and cultural amenity. A major design challenge was to provide a fully accessible path to a new lower-level garden plaza along with an existing steep grade.  Lining the new accessible path is a guardrail system made dynamic through a simple play of geometry with perforated bent aluminum planes that reflect light and shadows and allow views in and out of the garden.

“A new entrance to the seven-acre botanical garden, the first step in a series of renovations to increase the garden’s visibility, upgrade its infrastructure, improve its accessibility for the disabled and make it an increased focal point for visitors to UCLA."
- UCLA Newsroom
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Education
Location
Westwood - Los Angeles, California
Client
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Size
Building: 2,400 SF Site: 7.5 acre garden Site Area: 25 Acres
Status
Completed Spring 2017
Awards
2017   Southern California Development Forum Honor Award
2017   Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Honoree
2018   Southern California Developent Forum Design Award
2018   US Green Building Council LEED Platinum Certification
2019   Westside Urban Forum Prize Award
2019   LA Business Council Award for Exceptional Contribution
Award of Merit for “exceptional contribution” in the Sustainability category, Los Angeles Business Council, 2019
Westside Prize Award, Westside Urban Forum, 2019
Design Award for Excellence in Design, Southern California Development Forum, 2018
LEED Platinum Certification, United States Green Building Council, 2018
Best of Year Honoree, Interior Design Magazine, 2017
Honor Award, Southern California Development Forum, 2017
Project Team

Structural Engineers:
Nous Engineering

Landscape Architect
Studio-MLA
Swimming Pool Engineer
Jones & Madhavan
Jones & Madhavan
Jones & Madhavan
Project Management
City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks
City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering