PROJECTS Archives

UC Santa Barbara Associated Students Bike Shop

June 13, 2024/in Education, PROJECTS/by Jeffrey Morris

UCSB’s Associated Students desired to replace their beloved but decades-old bike shop. The design team with AS and Facilities selected a site along Ocean Road that fronts Admissions, located inside SAASB – Student Affairs and Services Building.

Admissions worried that the literal and metaphorical University entrance would consist of broken bikes, dirt, and oil, but came on board once they understood the design’s focus on sustainability, resilience through repair, do-it-yourself entrepreneurship, and cycling health and wellness. Outdoor seating areas and a sculptural “selfie wall” and bench were added for prospective students and families to hang out before and after tours.

The geometrically striking structure is a “pavilion” foregrounding the blocky SAASB. Its form references the campus figure-ground’s many roundabouts as well as the bicycle wheel and frame. A spoked shade structure defines an outdoor do-it-yourself area between the building and community selfie-wall/bench. The concrete bench holds steel plates supporting student backs as well as UCSB branding. Inside, the open, bright shop has ample space for repair stands and plywood interior wall panels that imbue casual warmth and easy sophistication. A service counter open to the main road is punched through a long wall defining a shaded queueing area; customers can be assisted without coming inside and enjoy interactions with passersby.

This shop for UCSB’s huge cycling population is designed so that anyone, while having a bike serviced or visiting the campus, can chat with others, take a shady outdoor break, snap a proud selfie, and fully engage in the community.

CSU Long Beach Alumni Center

January 12, 2023/in Education, PROJECTS/by Jeffrey Morris

The Anna W. Ngai Alumni Center serves as a one-of-a-kind gathering space for both alumni and the campus community. Built on the former site of the Soroptimist House, the building was revitalized, making the alumni center one of the most beautiful and eye-catching spaces on campus. Maintained and operated by University Relations, the Anna W. Ngai Alumni Center is a venue that can be rented by the CSULB campus community for meetings, receptions, and other social events. The Center fosters programming dedicated to social and professional networking opportunities between students and alumni. It also serves as a repository for traditions, and a home-away-from-home for all alumni to gather. The alumni center is more than a state-of-the-art structure built with beauty and integrity – it’s a masterfully crafted living space where connections are garnered, cultivated and celebrated.

Westbrook Academy

October 18, 2022/in Education, On the Boards/by Jeffrey Morris

JFAK was selected to transform a property in the City of South Gate into the future home of the Westbrook Academy. Founded last year by Los Angeles native and LA Lakers basketball star Russell Westbrook, the Academy, currently housed at three separate leased facilities, is dedicated to improving access to educational and outdoor opportunities for the youth and greater community of South Los Angeles. The South Gate site is currently occupied by a 50,000 SF warehouse-turned-classroom-building used by East Los Angeles College (ELAC), a Carl’s Jr. restaurant, and parking. Owned and operated by LA Promise Fund (LAPF) and supported by the Russell Westbrook Foundation, the Academy comprises both a middle school and high school. From its new home in South Gate, the Academy will expand on the educational, career support, and outdoor community opportunities it offers to local students. JFAK has commenced master planning the site and will design facilities to host a variety of new programs including a community recreation center and gym, classrooms, daycare, parking, and food service. Also being integrated are outdoor education, recreation, and dining functions. The existing Carl’s Jr. is expected to be transformed and usable by the summer of this year. The 50,000 SF warehouse, renovated to contain 37 classrooms, will open to middle and high school students in Fall 2024. Working collaboratively with LAPF, Russell Westbrook Academy, and Owner’s Representative and Project Manager Primestor Development, JFAK will assist in realizing the remaining master plan components beyond that date.

Pio Pico Pocket Park and Parking Structure

October 18, 2022/in Civic and Institutional, On the Boards/by Jeffrey Morris

The Pio Pico Library Pocket Park and Parking Structure will consist of a public park located on-grade, at the location of the current surface parking lot that serves the Pio Pico Public Library. This area is one of the most park poor in the City, with a very dense population. The
Park is intended to serve the neighborhood and visitors to Koreatown. It will function as an outdoor extension of the Library providing reading areas and social spaces for Library patrons. The project will also include façade enhancements to the public library, which fronts directly onto the park. The library’s new façade will include a new building logo that will form a bold graphic on the building and will help to enliven the identity of the park. This much-needed new public park for Koreatown will ameliorate the neighborhood’s hard surfaces with a softened multi-purpose outdoor public space that is vibrant, colorful, and functional. It will be a space that the entire Koreatown community (and indeed, the City) can enjoy. Part plaza, part event space, part play and recreation area, Pio Pico Pocket Park will also nurture a greater understanding of biodiversity and environmental sensitivity through its design elements and embedded graphics. As such, it will provide a great venue for outdoor learning and library activities.

Netflix Animation Hub

October 18, 2022/in Commercial/by Jeffrey Morris

We are embedded in Los Angeles’ tech culture and embrace LA as a city of innovation. Over the years, many leading tech companies have engaged us to test-fit spaces for their needs, including Honey, Plenty Unlimited, and Netflix. Here, we worked with Netflix Animation, an animation studio and subsidiary of Netflix. The studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and feature films. This project features a transformation of existing soundstage “cube” volume into creative workspace for a major animation company. Offices were comprised of individual modular pods designed by JFAK and constructed by a Film and television set design professional. Lounges, pods, open workstations by Steelcase, and two freestanding conference room volumes rounded out the programmed space.

LACCD LA Harbor College Job Placement and Data Center (JPDC)

October 18, 2022/in Education/by Jeffrey Morris

Awarded through a design-build competition hosted by BuildLACCD, LACCD’s sustainable building program, JFAK designed the full modernization of an existing 1-story administration building on the L.A. Harbor College (LAHC) campus to serve as headquarters for the LAHC Job Placement and Data Center as well as a division of the Fire Department / Homeland Security and a WorkSource OneSource Center. The re-design of JPDC strengthens its connectivity to the campus by enhancing the visual impact of the building by creating fluid connections between interior and exterior spaces. A new clocktower featuring a changeable LED display enhances the building’s presence and transforms it into an iconic landmark for the entire campus. It also marks the main entrance to the building. A new photovoltaic trellis cantilevers out over the roof to mark the building’s second major entrance. The design fosters a welcoming and inviting environment for students, faculty, and staff and encourages interaction. A new photovoltaic skylight covers an existing roof opening, creating a new interior atrium space which is the focal point of this new and catalytic environment.

DCTWRP Maintenance Facility

October 18, 2022/in Civic and Institutional, On the Boards/by Jeffrey Morris

The new Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant (DCTWRP) Maintenance Facility will include approximately 48,000 SF on two stories. The building is divided into two programmatic volumes connected by a common roof. The volume to the south includes the warehouse on the ground floor, which provides storage space for all parts, materials, and portable tools required for the maintenance of the DCTWRP. Above it on the second floor is the facility’s main administrative wing, with three closed offices and a workroom, as well as three conference rooms that will be used to hold meetings and training sessions. Movable walls between the conference rooms will allow the three separate spaces to be combined into one large room that can accommodate over 100 people. Portable, modular furniture will make a multitude of furniture layouts possible. In addition to upgraded shops and warehouse, the new facility will house all required support functions including offices, conference rooms, library, lunchroom, locker rooms, and other programmatic elements. The facility will be LEED certified with a target of LEED Gold.

Crossroads School Performing Arts Classroom Building

October 18, 2022/in Education, On the Boards/by Jeffrey Morris

This project gives students and faculty of the Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences new opportunities for creativity, invention, and high achievement by establishing a new center for education and performance focused on drama, dance, film, and music.

The new facility is designed as a courtyard building, with classrooms; studios and rehearsal spaces for dance, drama, and multiple use; an office wing for performing arts faculty, a film classroom, practice rooms for use across disciplines; a 250-person Studio Classroom, and a large Scene Shop. Workspace and office space for the Equity and Justice Institute, a newly formed program at Crossroads, are also located at the Classroom Building.

City of Anaheim Crew Quarters Building (CQB) and Sustainability Education Center (SEC)

October 18, 2022/in Civic and Institutional, On the Boards/by Jeffrey Morris

The City of Anaheim’s Public Utilities Department will replace its current field office building with a new state-of-the-art facility – Crew Quarters Building, or CQB – that will establish inspiring and efficient workspace and support services for both field workers and those permanently stationed there. In addition, on a nearby property facing Vermont Avenue, a new Sustainability Education Center (SEC) will provide the community with an classroom, training, and exhibit facility that will educate the public about sustainability, available technologies, and resources, and the latest in single-family-home advancements. To address the latter, an 800 SF demonstration home will be included within the SEC that will showcase the latest affordable appliances, electronics, and materials that can be found in the typical American middle-class single family dwelling. The SEC will also include a large demonstration garden that will be used to hold outdoor classes and events and host larger-scale outdoor exhibits. The project, currently in Schematic Design, is expected to be completed by Spring 2022. It is envisioned that the SEC will attain Net Zero Energy performance, and serve as a model for other cities.

Chapman University Rinker Campus Master Plan

October 18, 2022/in Education/by Jeffrey Morris

Rinker Health Science Campus, located in Irvine, is a satellite campus of Chapman University devoted to graduate education and research on the human health-related challenges of our time. Currently housed in a segregated group of office buildings, Rinker Campus is poised for transformation into a unified and interconnected environment that advances wellness and sustainability. JFAK produced a conceptual masterplan that conjoins three major components of Rinker Campus – a new parking structure, an East Quad, and a West Quad. Added programs such as a new fitness center, new research building, and active landscapes merge to form an interconnected center that will recruit new talent, inspire students, and enhance the community-at-large.

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