7MAIN / Dearden's
Client
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Urban Offerings
Area
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Fashion District, Downtown Los Angeles
Status
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In Progress
Type
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Office, Mixed Use
Originally constructed in 1904 for Overell’s furniture store, then Dearden’s furniture store to now 7MAIN, this four-story masonry and wood-framed structure occupies the corner of 7th and Main Streets in downtown Los Angeles.
New Uses
We’re converting the building to a combination of retail, bar/restaurant, showroom and creative office space. Our proposed design reactivates original windows and introduces new skylights to enrich the character of the building. New articulated entries and a façade renovation highlight the multiple phases of existing construction.
Design
We’ve been able to preserve historic elements such as delicately arched wooden joists, terrazzo retail entries and sliding steel fire doors. As part of a structural upgrade, we reinforced and left exposed the existing cross braces. New elements will include an elevator, common restrooms, office spec kitchen and a coffee bar.
In an existing service area at the back of the site, we’re inserting landscape elements and creating a new courtyard.
Our new courtyard will be linked to the public realm by two through-building circulation elements. First, a pedestrian byway (in the slideshow at right), accessible from Main Street, allows office tenants to gather at a restaurant or a coffee kiosk. Second, a bar entry penetrating the building sinks down to a bar entry adjacent to the courtyard. The landscaping represents an outdoor experience largely unfamiliar to the hardscape-dominated Fashion District.
