Designed by Foster + Partners, with landscape architect Mark Rios, One Beverly Hills puts in place a unifying vision for Beverly Hills’ western gateway. Proposing two residential buildings, a new ultra-luxury hotel, a casual dining, and retail pavilion, and expansive publicly accessible botanical gardens, the development, expected to open in 2026, aims to become a striking and dynamic mixed-use project.
Presented by Alagem Capital Group, in partnership with Cain International, and Gensler as executive architect on the project, the One Beverly Hills development encompasses the Iconic Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and introduces residential buildings, hotel, dining & retail pavilion, and botanical gardens. Envisioned as one of the largest and most environmentally advanced projects underway in the United States by Foster + Partners, the intervention will add three environmentally sustainable buildings to the site: two residential condominium towers and a third building housing a 42 All-Suite luxury hotel and 37 shared ownership condominiums.
Designed by Foster + Partners, the master plan highlights the authentic Southern Californian landscape, with buildings that complement the surroundings through the curving and receding forms, soft edges, and slender white balconies. Moreover, the mixed-use project will integrate the existing hotels with a new hotel, add two residential buildings, a four-story pavilion with boutiques and casual dining, replacing the garage along Santa Monica Boulevard, and 10 acres of open space, of which 4.5 acres will be publicly accessible botanical gardens and sculpture gardens. RIOS has envisioned nine distinct botanical gardens, water features, and winding paths to provide cohesiveness to the site. The individual gardens will reflect the diverse landscape of Southern California.
In its beginnings, Beverly Hills was agricultural flat land – a green oasis that fed a growing urbanity. A century later, we have seized on this inspiration to create an organic architecture that merges with landscape, a large part of which is publicly accessible, creating a shared resource for the City. The richness of Californian culture owes much to its diversity of influences, which comes together with the urgent need for sustainability – particularly conservation and recycling of water for the greenery. We welcome the opportunity to create a holistic masterplan based on a green approach across the entire site. -- Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman, Foster + Partners.
Armstrong Yakubu, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, explains that “the design is all about working with nature, with buildings set within the landscape and opening up the interior to the outside. The result is a sustainable ensemble that is in tune with its surroundings.” Located on a 17.5-acre site, One Beverly Hills “bridges commercial, social, and residential life to create an environment that gives back to its community”. On that note, Beny Alagem, CEO of Alagem Capital Group states that the project will provide $1.2 billion in new revenue for local government and schools over the next 30 years and will create 1,500 construction jobs and 900 full-time jobs. On another hand, aiming for LEED Platinum and WELL certifications, the project features “smart luxury” technologies. In fact, the new 1.375 million square feet of buildings will be built from recycled, low embodied carbon, and low toxicity materials. "The space is also designed to promote multimodal mobility, encouraging walking, biking, and alternative transportation, as well as offering extensive EV charging capabilities in the underground parking garage".
The design of One Beverly Hills is sensitive to the history and rich traditions of California. Set within lush greenery, the organic architecture and the landscape come together to form a symbolic gateway that is very much of its place. -- David Summerfield, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners.
Editor's Note: This article was first published on July 08, 2020, and updated on July 14, 2021.
