NHS Headquarters
a green office complex
design objective 1
Sustainability, minimalist aesthetics and functional fun balanced out with the client's development goals to form unique property appeal and practicality
Overview

  • typemixed use office complex
  • year | size2002 | 80,000 SF
  • locationlos Angeles, california
  • statusconracted project

project statement
One of the first large PAAstudio projects employing a shaded rooftop garden as a sustainable feature

The complex offers 2 and 3 story office space and a habitable landscaped roof deck with translucent metal canopy for year-round use. Other features are retail space with a drive through and 3 story, 210-car garage presenting a commercial LCD marquee.
Originally, the owners approach us with the request for a more traditional building approach. Nevertheless, upon presenting our first ideas, they fully embraced the modern design and sustainable approach. Although this project is about 10 years old and did not get build during the previous financial crisis of 2002, it remains a signature PAAstudio design with significant publication record.
The design was tailored around the NHS office requirements. Besides their headquarters to the left, the composition provides a wider office body to the right, a separate 3 floor garage wit ha rentable high-def marquee, another first for its time.

MODEL FLYAROUND STUDY | 2002

project statement (cont)

The large scale marquee was quite some science-fiction for 2002, but today they can be seen quite frequently… Once again, a bit ahead of the curve.
The rooftop garden and canopy provide safe and friendly environment for the planned daycare center on the third level of the office wing. The canopy, another signature PAAelement, acts as a double passive-active sustainable feature: it provides a shaded ventable buffer over the building roof, while allowing space for photovoltaics installation.
The project has won an Excellence Award and has been featured in several books as well as in Architectural Record as part of the Graphisoft ArchiCAD 8.1 ad campaign.

design objective 2
Creating a multi-layered environment and expanding the client's program to include sustainable features
The NHS Headquarters design was on the forefront of sustainable office development in the early 2000's and has been well noted, awarded and published. It has preserved its freshness for nearly 20 years and remains a signature project for us.
from the architect