Designed to recall the character of the indigenous architecture of the Native American tribes of the southwest United States, but executed in a way appropriate to contemporary building materials and technologies and its striking dessert setting, the Administrative complex for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians serves as the "City Hall" for the reservation in Banning, California. The Administrative Complex consists of a 68,000 sq. ft. administrative building with a 8,000 sq. ft. tribal meeting hall that are planned to be the center of the MBMI tribal affairs. The buildings' primary forms, materials, and compositional image as a grouping of buildings defining a courtyard support the sense of a community and the continuity of that community with its past, present and future. The project celebrates, in a non-literal way, the artistry of basket weaving for which the tribes of California are renown.

The project consists of 240 luxury condominiums in two high-rise towers. One of the towers is 12 stories with 88 units, and the other is 13 stories and has 152 units. The top two floors of each tower contain two-story luxury penthouse townhomes, and are topped by large sky terraces for use by the residents. The towers sit on a two-story podium that contains two levels of above-grade parking atop two levels of below-grade parking. The podium is used as communal open space for all residents with access to a pool, spa, shade structure, fire pit, sun deck and lushly landscaped areas.

This 3,610 sq. ft. retail store is located in the heart of Wall Street in New York City. The palette of materials is kept to a minimum so as not to distract from the intricate handmade watches.  Venetian plastered walls are paired with dark wenge flooring to provide a luxurious backdrop for the European made glass display cases.  Tempered glass etched with the Tourbillon logo visually separates the spaces while maintaining an open appearance.  The imported metal halide lighting creates dramatic illumination to showcase the timepieces and make them sparkle.  Seating areas are appointed with mid century modern furnishings and plasma televisions.

This 2,500 sq. ft. retail store is located on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. For estate jewelry store Fred Leighton, the theme is Art Deco meets Modern.  Hammered bronze panels dominate the geometric storefront which features display windows flanking either side of the stately entrance portal.  Once inside, the slender, tall space is divided into four zones utilizing the concept of compression and release. Interior walls throughout the store are orchestrated with swaths of Venetian plaster, rosewood paneling, full length mirrors and fabric panels.  The lighting is punctuated with custom pendants suspended from clusters of streamlined tubes.  

This 17,400 square-foot, one-level County public library was developed to serve the needs of the Lawndale community. The design includes library, reading, and Hispanic and Chinese language collections facilities for adults. A major children's component of the project encompasses a homework center, book and video collections, as well as a children's storytelling area. In addition, the facility contains a major community room and support areas providing a hub of community activities.

Phase I of this new 250,000 square-foot mixed use project was recently completed. When fully built out, this project in the heart of the community of Tarzana will consist of a 150,000 square-foot lifestyle center with retail, restaurants, a supermarket, and 100,000 square feet of residential uses made up of 73 townhouses and loft condominium units. The eclectic mix of tenants opening onto beautifully landscaped open spaces creates a sense of place for the community and provides for an exciting and diverse urban experience.

This three-story, 160,000 square-foot retail center is one of the few enclosed shopping malls planned for Los Angeles in recent years. Located in a lively pedestrian-oriented section of the Mid-Wilshire district, the character of this retail and entertainment center draws from such stimulating urban centers such as Times Square in New York and Las Vegas. Both inside and out the environment is enlivened through the use of bold forms and graphic displays, a rich layering and variety of architectural elements and pedestrian-level modulation. The interior character is defined by soaring skylight structures encompassing the full extent of the public spaces. Two levels of below-grade parking serve the functions above, which include shops, restaurants, and a food court, with exterior terrace dining. The project is designed to integrate with the existing Equitable office tower fronting Wilshire Boulevard to create an active and varied mixed-use urban environment.

Gruen Associates is the Technical Architect on this 213,000 square-feet project (19,807 meter-square), which was the winning entry in an invited juried competition involving six internationally renowned architectural teams. Designed by Moore, Ruble, Yudell, the new embassy returns to its pre-World War II location adjacent to the historic Brandenburg Gate. Because of its location in the heart of the City's historic and civic core, the project addresses security challenges while complying with the City's strict urban design standards. The Embassy opened for business in July 2008.

Based on a design by Foster and Partners, the $44 million, 137,750 square-foot project consists of a two-story building (71,685 square-feet of new construction and 66,065 square-feet of renovation). The existing mission-style building was selectively demolished and a new steel canopy and glass enclosed library stack structure was inserted into the heart of the existing building. The new library, opened in April 2008, is placed on the eastern end of the central landscape spine destined to become the form-giving architectural icon to the Channel Islands campus.

This 2,800 sq. ft. diamond showroom is located in the heart of Union Square in San Francisco, California. This project required coordination between designers and maunfacturers from all over the world. The interior walls and casework were fabricated and shipped from Germany, along with the unqiue storefront system of engraved lamintaed glass panels which are glazed into a laser cut stainless steel system. The store features cutting edge fiber optic and LED lighting to highlight the numerous diamond collections designed by DeBeers.

This 4,400 sq. ft. retail store is located on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, California. The shopping experience is dramatized by acrylic walls inset with stainless steel waves. Custom bust forms and shelves magnetize to lacquered steel walls, while mannequins and petal shaped tables delicately pin into the terrazzo flooring.

Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall*
Costa Mesa, California

Gruen Associates is the Executive Architect working with Design Architect Cesar Pelli & Associates for this $148 million expansion building which includes a new 2,000-seat concert hall with a 500-seat music hall and ancillary facilities for a total of 301,000 square-feet located across from the existing Performing Arts Center. The facility contains rehearsal rooms, restaurants, offices and feature state-of-the-art acoustics. The project was completed in September 2006.

Gruen Associates master-planned the 97-acre mixed-use shopping center which consists of offices, hotels, movie theaters, and performing arts theaters and designed the completed 3,000,000 sq-ft retail development phased over three decades which contains eight department stores, specialty shops and surface and structured parking for over 10,000 cars. Our most recent projects at the center include renovation and expansion of two parking structures, as well as extensive interior upgrades.

Completed in 2008, Gruen Associates designed the proposed improvements to the 29-acre site to unify the existing civic facilities on the west with the existing park and lake. Architectural and landscape solutions blend function and efficiency with distinctive architectural forms, spaces and amenities to develop and create a cohesive civic center, and a memorable sense of place as a focus for the East Los Angeles community, while equally enhancing the existing uses. Fetterly Avenue was vacated and a street promenade and public plaza were developed at its center. New landscaping, walkways, children playgrounds, picnic areas, and a new amphitheater were added to the park. Public art is integrally incorporated into civic center renovation improvements.

The Skyteam Alliance Lounge at Tom Bradley International Terminal in the Los Angeles International Airport serves as the business and first class waiting area for a number of airlines comprising Skyteam Alliance. Within its approximately 8,800 square feet are a business class lounge seating 140, a first class lounge seating 24, two private VIP rooms, and support facilities such as pantry, shower rooms, baggage storage, wireless internet access throughout the space and private telephone rooms. The design of the lounge is meant to provide a relaxed and calming atmosphere in contrast with a frantic and hard edge nature of typical airport terminal design. Curvy shapes, rich textures and materials combine to create a spa-like atmosphere.

Completed in August 2007, this 288-acre, 4.5-mile long beach environment is situated at the terminus of LAX runways, which offers breathtaking views of the Santa Monica Bay and the Los Angeles Basin. Gruen Associates' role is to create new and improved ADA-compliant public facilities that will either modify or replace existing facilities, which are nearly 50 years old. Among these improvements are: a new main pedestrian / vehicular entry plaza area, new public restroom facilities, a refurbished concession building, new lifeguard substations, a refurbished administration/lifeguard headquarters building, a refurbished maintenance headquarters building, and refurbished public parking lots.