Affectionately referred to as the Blue Whale, the Pacific Design Center was designed by Cesar Pelli when he was Partner for Design at Gruen Associates.  Phase I of the Pacific Design Center, located in the heart of the City's well-established trade center, provides showroom space to serve the specialized needs of professional interior designers, specifiers, decorators, architects and dealers involved in contract and residential design.   

From the second to sixth levels, which vary from 100,000 to 130,000 square feet, a permanent array of showrooms displays furniture, carpeting, floor coverings, specialty decorator items, gifts and accessories.  Corridors on each floor vary from 30 to 120 feet in width.  Contained within the corridors are glass-walled kiosks for additional show space.  The Galleria mall areas on the fifth and sixth floors are covered by a skylit barrel vault that extends the full length of the building.

The Pacific Design Center was conceived as a single, free-standing structure.  The decision to expand the Center raised the complex issue of how to add to a distinctive landmark.  Because of the isolated form of the original building, both Phase II (Green Building) and Phase III (Red Building) additions were designed as a series of oversized fragments to form a collection of pieces.  Each addition has a unique shape and color, although materials, scale and detailing correspond to the original blue structure.  Phase II is clad in green spandrel glass; Phase III is clad in red.  Each is organized as a series of stacked two-level atria, providing high visibility for tenants.  The original building is connected to the Phase II building at the terrace and first floor levels.  

Pacific Design Center

This competition-winning design for the U.S. Embassy in Berlin adds a well-mannered statement of American presence and partnership to a context that is both potently historic and recently rebuilt. The building serves simultaneously as supportive urban framework and companion for the nearby Brandenburg Gate, occupying a focal position at the symbolic and political center of the reunified Germany.
Entry sequences through the main lobby on Pariser Platz meet strictly-prescribed security criteria, yet are made more gracious: a glass-roofed rotunda offers the experience of an open courtyard. The grand cylindrical niche in the north-facing limestone façade allows direct and reflected sunlight to break through to the flag hanging just over the front door.

With a narrow building section wrapped around a spacious courtyard garden, the workplace is everywhere enhanced by proximity to light and views of landscape. The Embassy features green rooftops, using plant materials native to the American continent, giving the Embassy a green narrative, and linking the site to the grand context of the Tiergarten. 

The glass lantern of the rooftop State Room presents a compelling image of democratic ideals, and provides a venue for luncheons and other high-level receptions, with spectacular views of the Reichstag and the new government center. Using only soft interior lighting at night, the lantern joins the Reichstag’s dome and the Quadriga sculpture on the Brandenburg Gate as part of the civic district’s collection of skyline landmarks.


United States Embassy, Berlin

The Convention Center, designed by architect Charles Luckman, opened in 1971 and expanded in 1993 and 1997. It was originally built as a rectangle building, between Pico Boulevard and 11th Street (now Chick Hearn Ct.) on Figueroa Street. The northeast portion of the Center was demolished in 1997 to make way for the Staples Center. The Convention Center Annex of green glass and white steel frames, mainly on the south side of Pico, was designed by architect James Ingo Freed.

The LACC is one of the largest convention centers in the United States with over 720,000 sq ft (67,000 m2) of exhibition space, 147,000 sq ft (13,700 m2) of meeting space, and a 299 seat theater.

Los Angeles Convention Center

The Otay Mesa Land Port of Entry Modernization and Expansion project, led by Gruen Associates in association with Jones Studio, aims to enhance the infrastructure and functionality of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego. The project, part of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Design Excellence Program, involves expanding the port's capacity to handle increased commercial and pedestrian traffic. Atkins/Clark, a joint venture of Guy F. Atkinson Construction and Clark Construction Group, is responsible for the construction. Key features include doubling the number of pedestrian processing facilities, adding new commercial vehicle processing lanes, booths, and canopies, and achieving LEED Gold and Net Zero Energy certifications. The project also includes a 34,000-square-foot Commercial Annex Building and other facilities for Customs and Border Protection, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The modernization and expansion are designed to create a safer, more efficient, and welcoming environment for travelers and port staff.

Otay Mesa Land Port of Entry (Expansion)

The Audrey Irmas Pavilion at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple, designed by the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and led by partner Shohei Shigematsu, is a 55,000 square-foot multi-purpose event space in Los Angeles' Koreatown/Wilshire Center. Gruen Associates served as the Executive Architect for the project, working alongside OMA and other consultants. The pavilion complements the Temple's historic 1929 Byzantine-Revival sanctuary and serves as a new civic anchor for the community. Its west façade slopes away from the existing temple, creating a buffer and framing a new courtyard, while the south-facing façade opens the courtyard to the sky, bringing in natural light. The pavilion's form reaches out towards Wilshire Boulevard, establishing a new urban presence. The facade draws from the geometries of the temple’s dome interior, featuring a pattern of hexagon units and rectangular windows. Designed as a gathering space for cultural activities, celebrations, and performances, the pavilion fosters community connections and invites the urban realm into the new civic anchor.

Audrey Irmas Pavilion at Wilshire Boulevard Temple

The building located near Third and Brown streets was once part of The Commons Mall designed by Cesar Pelli (then of Gruen Associates, Inc.) and completed in 1973. The Commons Mall and The Commons were part of an urban renewal plan initiated in the late 1960s and overseen by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill. The glass-enclosed complex brought retailers to downtown Columbus while also providing a civic gathering space. The large expanses of clear glass on Washington Street allowed passersby to see Jean Tinguely's kinetic sculpture "Chaos 1" and encouraged them to participate in the cultural activities that took place in The Commons. Pelli's The Commons and parts of The Commons Mall were demolished in 2009. Yes! Cinema and IUCA+D (Indiana University Center for Art + Design) currently occupy parts of the former Commons Mall. A new Commons was designed by Koetter Kim and Associates and was completed in 2011. The building is located within the Columbus Arts District.

Commons Mall

Robert E. Coyle United States Courthouse

Gruen Associates, founded in 1946 by Victor Gruen, is an architectural firm based in Los Angeles. The firm provides services in architecture, interior design, planning, urban design, environmental assessment, landscape architecture, community participation, and transportation planning. Over the years, Gruen Associates has completed over 10,000 projects worldwide and received more than 250 awards. The current leadership team includes Michael A. Enomoto, Larry Schlossberg, Debra Gerod, Ashok Vanmali, and Jill Wagner. Gruen Associates has also been certified by the Mayor’s City of Los Angeles Green Business Program.Recent projects include the Wilshire Boulevard Temple Audrey Irmas Pavilion with OMA, the Tower Theatre Adaptive Re-Use with Foster + Partners, and the La Brea Tar Pits Reimagining with Weiss Manfredi. The firm has also been involved in the Pasadena Central Library renovation, the Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan, and the Los Angeles River Bikeways and Greenways projects.Gruen Associates has received several awards, including the AIA|LA Design Honor Award for the Audrey Irmas Pavilion, the ENR Best of the Best Projects Award for the Tower Theatre, and the California Preservation Foundation Preservation Design Award for the La Brea Tar Pits.

Gruen Associates

John Ruble talks about the design of Robert E. Coyle United States Courthouse.

Gruen Associates

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Gruen Associates

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