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Shipping containers rise to form Lorcan O’Herlihy's new supportive housing development for South LA

2024-06-21T17:02:00-04:00

A new supportive housing project in Los Angeles for developer Holos Communities completed this month by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) that will serve as a tool in the city's uphill climb on the homeless crisis has opened amidst a wave of proactive movement on the issue meant to restore the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in search of dignity and a place to call home.

The design for Isla Intersections Supportive Housing and Paseo reused shipping containers to create 54 new units of housing integrated into the area’s transportation networks and replete with a healthy amount of greenery, greywater irrigation, and gardening amenities that establish it as a “living lung” in the middle of a heavily-trafficked neighborhood known widely for having an industrial character and the highest rates of unsheltered homelessness in the city.

Image: Eric Staudenmaier

The Isla was developed on a triangular lot adjacent to the 110 and 105 freeways in South LA and resolved the rather dif...

Five bespoke multi-family projects by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects: Your Next Employer?

2023-07-10T16:20:00-04:00

Following last week’s visit to Los Angeles-based Assembledge+, we are keeping our Meet Your Next Employer series in LA this week to explore the work of Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA).

Founded in 1994, and operating from studios in both LA and Detroit, the firm describes itself as “rooted in architecture’s role as a catalyst for change.” Back in 2017, Archinect spoke with LOHA on how interested applicants could improve their employment prospects at the firm. “We encourage applicants to treat their CVs like a design problem to be solved,” LOHA told us. “We recommend that the CV be tailored to the firm that they are applying for, and to focus on giving an understanding of what that firm does, and fundamental insight of how they can fit into the practice through their CV.”

Learn more about Lorcan O'Herlihy from our previously published Archinect LAX >< DET Mini Sessions; A Conversation With Architect Lorcan O'Herlihy About His Approach to Architecture and Urban Design in LA and Detr...

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects' latest adaptive reuse project takes center stage at Chapman University

2023-05-08T12:36:00-04:00

A new adaptive reuse academic project from Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) for Chapman University is getting students' feet moving following the completion of the Sandi Simon Dance Center this January.

The project remade an aging century-old former fruit packing warehouse space operated by the school’s namesake, the orange growing magnate C.C. Chapman, into a 72,000-square-foot educational and performance facility complete with new five dance studios, breakout areas, classrooms, and a lounge.

Photography by Eric Staudenmaier

Acoustic upgrades were paramount to the project, along with a full seismic retrofit and a new circulation strategy that reorganized the structure’s interior into three levels. An influx of natural sunlight is incorporated through a precise cut into the original floor, allowing for the introduction of new volumes that house separate programs and are connected by a multi-story central atrium.

Photography by Eric Staudenmaier

Phot...

L.A. architects are embracing modular multi-family housing

2019-11-18T14:05:00-05:00

Across Los Angeles, architects and developers are embracing factory-built multi-family housing construction across a variety of projects. A selection of recently proposed and currently under construction efforts highlight the fact that while previously limited mostly to single-family projects, modular construction is increasingly being used for larger projects.

In Hollywood, for example, architecture firm Steinberg Hart and developer R.W. Selby & Co. have unveiled plans for a new 202-unit apartment complex that is built using prefabricated modular units.

The development is marked by balcony modules that overlook street-level retail. Image courtesy of Steinberg Hart.

The project, set to be located on a long, narrow site, will feature 14,200 square feet of ground floor retail spaces as well as apartment units marked by projecting covered balconies arranged to express the project's modular construction systems. Urbanize.LA reports that the project will bring a mix of one- and two- be...

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects design efficient spaces for Los Angeles density

2018-08-22T13:05:00-04:00

O’Herlihy’s “same old stuff” is, in actuality, bringing plenty of fresh thinking to the issue of density at a time in which Los Angeles is building up instead of out — a time when changes in zoning, especially along transit lines, is adding more condos and apartments to the skyline, transforming the landscape of single family homes for which the city is known. Over the last 15 years, LOHA has made a name for itself by working on projects that make innovative use of tight urban spaces.

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA) has been designing spaces for 24 years with an array of projects ranging from residential complexes to bus stations. Rather than creating luxury living, the firm has chosen to focus on affordable housing, dormitory, and non profit projects.

Dormitory building for UC Santa Barbara by LOHA. Image: Bruce Damonte/LOHA.

Currently LOHA is working on a project in Los Angeles' Exposition Park to house homeless individuals. As Los Angeles becomes denser, more and more efficient projects like LOHA's are needed to save on space and costs. The firm aims to create affordable housing and public spaces that don't compromise on high quality work.

Extra: Read our interview with Lorcan Read our interview with Lorcan about his approach to architecture and urban design in la and detroit.

Tomorrow — Art Share L.A. to unveil their redesign by Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects

2017-06-14T13:56:00-04:00

Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects teamed up with notable non-profit Art Share L.A. to redesign the group's creative art space at the corner of 4th Street and Hewitt, in Downtown Los Angeles' Arts District. Art Share L.A. will officially reveal the new design during an open house tomorrow night, June 15 from 7-10 p.m.

Photo via Art Share L.A.

The open house event will feature a talk by Lorcan O'Herlihy, exhibitions, poetry, and performances. Event is free, but space is limited. RSVP here.

Here's a quick peek of LOHA's redesign.

Entrance. Rendering courtesy Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects.

The redesign for the colorful 28,000 square-foot building features a more flexible, open reconfiguration of galleries, classrooms, a theater, and other multi-functional spaces with live-work studios.

Galleries. Renderings courtesy Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects.

Theater. Rendering courtesy Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects.

Proposed plan. Courtesy Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects.

In case you missed it, listen to Archinect's recent...

Archinect LAX >< DET Mini Sessions; A Conversation With Architect Lorcan O'Herlihy About His Approach to Architecture and Urban Design in LA and Detroit

2017-06-06T15:57:00-04:00

Today we finish off our series of conversations, or "Mini-Sessions", with architects and designers in LA and Detroit, sharing our conversation with Lorcan O'Herlihy. Lorcan is an Irish-American architect, with offices in Los Angeles and Detroit. His recently published book, Amplified Urbanism, was recently reviewed on Archinect.

Where did you grow up?

I was born in Dublin Ireland and I came here at a very young age to Los Angeles. I was two years old. My family was in the film business. My dad was a film actor so my early years was traveling extensively between the United States and Europe. I went back to Ireland at the age of eight and went to school there through 15, my formative years were spent in Dublin. I came back here at the age of 15 and began studying architecture in university when I was 16.

Sixteen is so young to be starting architecture!

I was 16 years old as a freshman at University. I was extremely green.

Where was that?

I have an MA in History and Theory from the Ar...