Last year, Gensler‘s LA Office researched how they could turn an existing building into more useful and sustainable structures. By highlighting the architectural phrase of ‘hacking the planet’, they even envisioned a plan to hack the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington, DC (and LA’s Union Bank) by adding residences, big box retailers and a rooftop soccer field. As part of the NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association) competition, their vision for the office building of the future focused on how offices could become obsolete unless we turn them into useful spaces that improve the overall urban fabric.
More images and architects’ description after the break.
To explain their concept, Gensler hacked both the J. Edgar Hoover Building in DC and the Union Bank tower in LA. For the formidable Hoover building, Gensler proposes a series of changes that opens up the building to the public. This included adding new windows, internal atriums, public plazas and entrances.
They also attached new volumes like a big box retail to the top, a green roof soccer field, retail, a conference center, residences and more. To modify Union Bank, Gensler changed the single-use office tower into a multi-purpose project with a hotel, residences, new atriums, retail and an on-site data storage. The hacks also include energy-efficient and sustainable strategies to upgrade the buildings and make the interiors healthier.
Story via Inhabitat
