Historic Desmond Building—A Case Study of an Integrated Retrofit: Fid-Bau Portal

Historic Desmond Building—A Case Study of an Integrated Retrofit

Sarkisian, M. / Mathias, N. / Garai, R. / Lyrenmann, J.

According to a Los Angeles Times report in October 2013, many old concrete buildings in the city of Los Angeles will be destroyed in a major earthquake, exposing thousands to injury or death. Non-ductile concrete buildings built before 1980 were singled out as a particularly vulnerable structural type. This paper will present a case study of the renovation—including a seismic retrofit and addition—of an historic non-ductile concrete building located in Los Angeles, California. Designed in 1916, the building was used as a Willys-Overland car dealership and then as a Desmond’s department store warehouse. After the renovation, the original 75,000 sf five-story warehouse was transformed into high quality, creative office space with a 7000 sf sixth story addition. This building is the first of many potential renovations of historic properties located in the South Park district for creative office use. By renovating existing buildings in lieu of demolishing them for new construction it is possible to preserve the culture and history of neighborhoods while still achieving more “Class A” spaces and resilient structures. This study presents the innovative but rigorous approach taken to retrofit the existing Desmond Building structure while preserving its historic character. The goals of the project included maintaining the original look and feel of the industrial interiors for their reuse as creative office space, and increasing the street appeal of the building through new storefronts and refurbishing of the original brick façade and steel framed glass windows. An internal, perimeter concrete retrofit scheme was developed to mimic the original interior look in a non-intrusive manner. The structural impact of the additional story on the roof was minimized through the use of steel moment frames, a metal deck roof (no concrete), light weight finishes, and glazing; maximizing the views towards downtown and of the surrounding district.