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ReAnimateLA:Center for Ecological & Urban Recovery

The goal of ReAnimate LA is to introduce visitors of the Los Angeles State Historic Park to a multi-layered urban network that makes associations to what is found in ecological and social context of Los Angeles. The building will be a role model in exploring lifecycle building techniques that reinforce the themes of sustainable design and material reuse.
The project consists of about 32,500 square feet of educational exhibition space, park offices, public restrooms, and pedestrian walkways.

Opportunities in urban planning seldom arise in modern times that awaken a spirit of ownership and optimism as that of the new Los Angeles State Historic Park. As a once in a lifetime opportunity Governor Gray Davis signed California State Bill No. 1177 to allow the Department of Parks and Recreation to acquire, access, plan, build, and revitalize the previous site of the Southern Pacific rail yard in Los Angeles into a fully sponsored State Historic Park which could enhance the lives of the diverse demographic population that surrounds the 32-acre site. The park can be found near the banks of the Los Angeles River and the base of Elysian Hills; northeast of downtown Los Angeles. ReAnimate LA will serve the park and the city as an adaptable interdisciplinary building that is meant to be open to the constant evolution of public needs throughout the next hundred years. The project is planned as a paramount example of material reuse allowing salvaged materials from the previous Southern Pacific rail yard to compose the façade of the building; while at the same time permitting adaptable reuse of spaces throughout the life of the project. The building contains a large amount of enclosed outdoor spaces such as the pedestrian bridge connecting the park and the historic neighborhood to the north which translate the building into a multi-layered urban figure promoting discovery and efficiency of the many programmatic elements. For future use, the building is meant to serve as an adaptable reuse project correlating to the local community’s perspectives and requirements at any given time. The project may be disassembled at the end of its lifetime because of its efficient design techniques and fastened connections as it is designed with modular concrete structural floor and roof systems, a panelized metal facade attached with easy to remove fasteners, as well as recycled interior finishes of appropriate dimensions for reuse possibilities.

ReAnimate LA contains a façade system which regulates heat and wind conditions throughout different times of the year, offering both interior and exterior comfort. The primary focus of the project will be to maximize the use of salvaged local materials as a means to minimize building costs and the environmental footprint of the building. Approximately 3/4 of the building’s structure and interiors will be constructed using salvaged and recycled materials. It will use 70% less electricity than that of a building of equivalent size by utilizing a photovoltaic array with natural ventilation at the façade and Low-E efficient operable windows throughout the building. It accomplishes this by utilizing passive solar conditioning, full day light conditions, and an efficient ground-source heat pump for winter months. The project will also function as a bioremediation laboratory rebuilding healthy soil conditions for the park to provide appropriate soil levels for future development of the site.

ReAnimate LA will create green jobs coinciding with the development of the State Historic Park. The project will provide jobs maintaining the sustainable elements of the building such as the extraction and reuse of salvaged materials for the façade, the maintenance of the photovoltaic and ground-source heat pump systems and the efforts involved in maintaining bioremediation planting. It will promote green industry within the surrounding area and the current Los Angeles ecological revitalization efforts. With ecological and social renewal ReAnimate LA will speak to the changing public values on environmental policy and the urban networks that are essential in bringing back value to a localized, organic way of life in the American city where residents and visitors alike will contribute to the restoration and success of the city itself.

Education will be the most important factor in establishing a proposal for national change in environmental policy and building practices in the coming years. By creating a center for Lifecycle building education and community involvement a level of understanding may be reached not only by the local urban context but also by the diverse cultural population of the area. The park has thus been established in this theme by nearby residents who believe there is hope for restoring the natural ecosystem and social pattern which once thrived near the Los Angeles River. Therefore, a strong demand calls for a place which could educate and reunite the people of these neighborhoods and the region. ReAnimate LA will promote advances in Lifecycle building education by standing as a living example of Lifecycle building planning in its design and function. The project aims to create a learning environment for individuals in the process of environmental and social renewal with areas for congregation, bioremediation, solar collection, composting, historical and ecological exhibition, and recycling practices. The design allows for public gathering as well as an ongoing exhibition of concepts involved in Lifecycle and sustainable building practices and aims to create an iconic building that can establish a sense of community and involvement in the natural surroundings. The building is meant to serve as an open classroom for the city of Los Angeles and as a medium by which to educate people about urban renewal and environmental awareness by implementing exhibitions on salvaged material reuse and building for disassembly as well as a native plant rejuvenation plan and clean energy solutions which will serve as important examples of the principles of Lifecycle building practices for decades to come.

The city of Los Angeles and the state of California will see the economic benefits of creating a multifaceted building with high energy efficiency and adaptive reuse as energy prices continually rise and land becomes more scarce. The use of photovoltaic panels, a layered enclosure system, appropriate solar orientation, and a highly efficient lighting concept the design will reduce costs throughout the entire lifetime of the building.n Currently, the average cost for construction using salvaged building materials ranges from $200-$400 per Gross Square Foot. A cost savings of approximately $500,000-$2,200,000 will be attributed to the cost mainly by the use of salvaged materials, sustainable design methods, and energy efficiency.

Entry Metrics

By using precast double-t concrete beams for floor and roofing systems the amount of concrete needed for a poured in place building of this size is reduced considerably.

The metal facade shading system is comprised of completely salvaged material from previous site usage attached with easily removed fasteners. The system is panelized as an efficient design feature.

All window mullions are to be made of composite aluminum comprising about 20% recycled content.

During the building's construction phase
a reduction in carbon emissions and embodied energy will call for local materials and highly recycled content of building systems. During the post-construction phase renewable energy systems will help power up to 70% of the building’s energy needs using photovoltaic arrays on the roof and passive heating and cooling strategies throughout the building. Concurrently, the bioremediation laboratory’s efforts will restore native plants which require less water as well as convert the site from an urban brownfield to a thriving city park. During the building’s peak years of use it will be adaptively reused according to city and local demands therefore lowering the need for new construction associate with the state historic park. ReAnimate LA was designed to deteriorate and age with the site, changing over time in landscape and materials. After the building is no longer used it may be disassembled in different phases. If the city should need to keep the pedestrian bridge, the modular concrete structural floor and roof systems may be disassembled around the bridge leaving only the necessary components of the building. Because the building has 72% outdoor spaces that are enclosed by the shaded facade system such as the Los Angeles River exhibit and the pedestrian bridge, it allows for the building to be explored by park visitors at all times. Disassembly of building elements such as the facade system and interior elements can be recycled and easy detached for later use in other city projects.
The project has a Weighted Resource Use of 2888 tons and a Global Warming Potential of 758 tons according to the Athena EcoCalculator which is considerably lower for a building of this size.