BROADWAY LOFT
Los Angeles, CA
Originally starting life as the Irvine Byrne Building and designed by Sumner Hunt, the Pan American Lofts is the second oldest building in downtown Los Angeles. Converted into loft condominiums in 2005 many of the Beaux-Arts exterior features of the 1800s remain as well as the memorable Hitchcock interior staircase made famous in movies such as Se7en and Blade Runner. The newly rehabilitated residential units were originally designed as plain interior loft shells. For the design of this large corner unit we accentuated this contrast of original and new. Early features from the 1800s such as ironwork posts and brick windows are set against recycled waste oak flooring and repurposed vintage furniture. We wanted to remove the vanilla loft feel to this downtown loft and create moments of amusement such as the tanker desk converted to a bathroom vanity.
Originally starting life as the Irvine Byrne Building and designed by Sumner Hunt, the Pan American Lofts is the second oldest building in downtown Los Angeles. Converted into loft condominiums in 2005 many of the Beaux-Arts exterior features of the 1800s remain as well as the memorable Hitchcock interior staircase made famous in movies such as Se7en and Blade Runner. The newly rehabilitated residential units were originally designed as plain interior loft shells. For the design of this large corner unit we accentuated this contrast of original and new. Early features from the 1800s such as ironwork posts and brick windows are set against recycled waste oak flooring and repurposed vintage furniture. We wanted to remove the vanilla loft feel to this downtown loft and create moments of amusement such as the tanker desk converted to a bathroom vanity.
SML worked with the homeowners association and preservation consultants Historic Resources Group to obtain a Mills Act historic preservation contract with the city of Los Angeles for the property. This was one of the first downtown condominium buildings to take advantage of the expanded Mills Act program that allowed larger structures to participate. The property tax savings realized from the Mills Act contract reduced costs for the owners while also creating dense residential units through revitalization.
© Studio MacDonald Libit
| Photography by
Bryan Libit